B
Bill K
Does Microsoft have a Register Cleaner for Windows XP Home Edition?
S
Shenan Stanley
Bill said:
*sees the float bobbing on the top surface*
*answers anyway*
At this time, Microsoft does offer a registry cleaner of sorts. I
personally have not chosen to utilize it on any production system of mine -
but just to be thorough I have utilized it on virtual machines to see it
work (on Windows XP so far.)
It did not seem to do harm on these (and many supposed registry cleaners
would not do harm to your system either, used properly) systems - but I
don't see that it did much good either. I have used other tools in the past
to search for 'orphaned' entries and the likes on systems that have been
around since the release of Windows XP, had several repair installs done to
them, have gone through multiple install/uninstall of many different
applications (hundreds to thousands) and have yet to notice any noticable
performance change before/after performing such acts - and have seen a few
machines just not boot afterwards - needing a complicated procedure
performed on some to repair the problem and a repair installation performed
on some others (sometimes after trying the complicated procedure first in
hopes of avoiding the repair install actually.)
My hesitancy has nothing to do with the maker of the software - but what it
claims to do and how loosely the wave away the possible issues. No matter
how 'glossy and shiny' the blurb about it is - Registry Cleaning should
(IMHO) have more warning than, "We don't recommend trying to remove registry
items on your own." and "What if I accidentally remove something I need in
my registry? Not to worry. Just like Microsoft Word, your PC has an 'undo'
option. In this case, it's called System Restore." ( Blurb in its
completeness:
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-Us/article/registry_cleaner_why.htm )
Having said that... Here's the thing you seek:
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-Us/center/cleanup.htm
Something else to consider:
On a system freshly installed from an SP3 plus post-SP3 patches/update
medium (so there was few patches left to install right after the
installation from Microsoft) and nothing else installed on the system (no
third party software other than the Virtualbox add-ons, Internet Explorer 7
is installed - the hardware drivers are even those that come with the OS) -
the above scan found 127 registry entries to get rid of. That is either
witness to a bad and dirty installation routine on Microsoft's part (being
displayed freely top the world by Microsoft using their own product) OR
registry cleaners finding things that just do not matter in the scheme of
things and telling you "go ahead - get rid of these"...
To be fair - CrapCleaner finds 28 items - and out of all the supposed
'registry cleaners' out there - I have found its version to be the easiest
for even the novice to use safely - although I usually recommend against
using that part of the software unless you are very meticulous. Yes - the
28 are mostly included in the 127 the other product found and said I should
get rid of.
Interesting differencial - 127 and 28.
However - having presented all that - (reinforced by it even) I can say I
would *NOT* recommend for the uninitiated user (one who is not *at least*
willing to at least investigate each entry found fully before removing it;
better if they trust their own abilities so much they could - over time -
have found each of the entries the 'registry cleaner' found on their own by
looking through the registry manually) ever running and using a registry
cleaner. Microsoft's, a third party's, etc.
My argument is not against registry cleaners in general - it is an argument
for safety and lack of evidence that removing these items from the registry
does *anything noticable* to the performance of an average computer users'
machine. I have been cleaning/tweaking machines for years - and yes - I do
dabble in such tools and utilize them in some cases - but I have, as of yet,
not had a single case where performance was changed (but I have had cases
where something could now be done that could not be done before because the
registry entry(ies) were messing with the operating/installation of
something else - and in those cases I usually found and removed the entries
manually and then maybe used the registry scanner/cleaner to look for
related items to be thorough.)
In the end - I recommend against the use of *any such tool* to clean your
registry (although the tools may have other parts that do have benefits to
you/your machine) and remember - I have *no stake* in your system working or
not. If you do something and it breaks your machine beyond your ability to
repair it or if you do something and it has no noticable effect or even if
you do something and it makes your machine quadruple in speed - it does not
bother me in the least. If *I* was doing the cleanup on your machine - *I*
would not likely dabble with registry cleaners unless I saw a specific issue
I knew the registry cleaner could help me uncover.
caveat user...
T
thomas
I use CCleaner, but like Shenan Stanley said, there is no noticcable
performance increase.
I am no expert by no means or a novice for that matter and am now just
delving into regisrty tweaks, and have installed xp ooohhh, about 6 or 7
times now, maybe more, and luckily, I have all my stuff on another computer
on my network.
performance increase.
I am no expert by no means or a novice for that matter and am now just
delving into regisrty tweaks, and have installed xp ooohhh, about 6 or 7
times now, maybe more, and luckily, I have all my stuff on another computer
on my network.
S
Shenan Stanley
thomas said:
I suggest using a Virtual Machine for testing things first... You can
easily undo a VM, not so much a production machine (other than imaging...)
T
thomas
This computer is my personal computer so it is basicly a learning tool. If I
brake it, no biggy, just reinstall.
It takes me about 4 to 8 hrs. to get my computer back to the way I had it
before, updates and all the programs I had before the reinstall.
brake it, no biggy, just reinstall.
It takes me about 4 to 8 hrs. to get my computer back to the way I had it
before, updates and all the programs I had before the reinstall.
S
Shenan Stanley
thomas said:
Shenan said:
A virtual machine would take you less than two minutes to reset to a state
it was before you tried anything. ;-)
Applying an image (that you make when you think your system is the way you
want it - like right after one of your 4 to 8 hour sessions you mention
above) would take likely less than 20 minutes. ;-)
D
Daave
thomas said:
Reinstalling an image of your hard drive takes ten to fifteen minutes.
It's your time, though.
T
thomas
How do I image my hard drive?
D
Daave
thomas said:
First, if you don't have one already, get an external USB hard drive.
Although you can save your image archive to CDs or DVDs, saving to
another hard drive is very convenient.
Then you need to get an imaging program. If you want to try something
free, here's one I like:
http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm
If you'd like something with a lot more features, including the ability
to *incrementally* image your hard drive or even to clone your hard
drive, this program is great:
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/
To comparison shop:
http://www.google.com/products?q=Acronis+True+Image+Home+2009&btnG=Search+Products&hl=en