JamesJ said:
I've googled on the internet to find a non-bias informational website about
whether one needs to use a windows registry cleaner to optimize system
performance.
But so far I have gotten nothing but some links that appear non-bias but
are simply
egging you onto the web site to use their product.
Because that's all there is.
What I'm looking for is info on:
1) Can the windows registry actually cause your system to slow down.
No. And none of the registry cleaner advocates have ever been able to
provide any links to any *independent* laboratory tests that would
support such a claim. I've certainly asked often enough, but all they
ever offer, when they bother to respond at all, are links to the
registry sellers' marketing pages or "white papers."
2) Could malware put lines in the registry that can cause harm to your
system
Yes. But you wouldn't need an automated registry cleaner to deal with
such entries. The various anti-malware applications (anti-virus,
anti-spyware, etc.) are better for this purpose, as they've been
specific designed to seek and remove only those entries associated with
the malware. They don't use a registry cleaner's "chainsaw" approach to
what should be a precise surgical excision.
3) Does defragging the registry help performance
Not measurably, that anyone has been able to demonstrate scientifically.
Personally, I download and try allot of shareware which I then need to
uninstall if I don't
want it which is probably 99% of the software I download. I know I
shouldn't be doing this
because I'm just asking for trouble. But this probably leaves allot of
unused registry keys.
Yes, such actions may well leave a lot of unused registry keys. So
what? No one has ever offered any scientifically verifiable evidence
that such entries have any impact upon system performance. In fact,
given the fact that the registry is, in reality, an indexed database,
there's no really any way for unused entries to affect anything other
than a microscopically small consumption of hard drive space.
If someone can point to a web site with this information it will be
appreciated.
Why do you even think you'd ever need to clean your registry? What
specific *problems* are you actually experiencing (not some program's
bogus listing of imaginary problems) that you think can be fixed by
using a registry "cleaner?"
If you do have a problem that is rooted in the registry, it would
be far better to simply edit (after backing up, of course) only the
specific key(s) and/or value(s) that are causing the problem. After
all, why use a chainsaw when a scalpel will do the job? Additionally,
the manually changing of one or two registry entries is far less likely
to have the dire consequences of allowing an automated product to make
multiple changes simultaneously. The only thing needed to safely clean
your registry is knowledge and Regedit.exe.
The registry contains all of the operating system's "knowledge" of
the computer's hardware devices, installed software, the location of the
device drivers, and the computer's configuration. A misstep in the
registry can have severe consequences. One should not even turning
loose a poorly understood automated "cleaner," unless he is fully
confident that he knows *exactly* what is going to happen as a result of
each and every change.
Having repeatedly seen the results of inexperienced people using
automated registry "cleaners," I can only advise all but the most
experienced computer technicians (and/or hobbyists) to avoid them all.
Experience has shown me that such tools simply are not safe in the hands
of the inexperienced user. If you lack the knowledge and experience to
maintain your registry by yourself, then you also lack the knowledge and
experience to safely configure and use any automated registry cleaner,
no matter how safe they claim to be.
More importantly, no one has ever demonstrated that the use of an
automated registry "cleaner," particularly by an untrained,
inexperienced computer user, does any real good, whatsoever. There's
certainly been no empirical evidence offered to demonstrate that the use
of such products to "clean" WinXP's registry improves a computer's
performance or stability. Given the potential for harm, it's just not
worth the risk.
Granted, most registry "cleaners" won't cause problems each and
every time they're used, but the potential for harm is always there.
And, since no registry "cleaner" has ever been demonstrated to do any
good (think of them like treating the flu with chicken soup - there's no
real medicinal value, but it sometimes provides a warming placebo
effect), I always tell people that the risks far out-weigh the
non-existent benefits.
I will concede that a good registry *scanning* tool, in the hands
of an experienced and knowledgeable technician or hobbyist can be a
useful time-saving diagnostic tool, as long as it's not allowed to make
any changes automatically. But I really don't think that there are any
registry "cleaners" that are truly safe for the general public to use.
Experience has proven just the opposite: such tools simply are not safe
in the hands of the inexperienced user.
A little further reading on the subject:
Why I don't use registry cleaners
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=643
AumHa Forums • View topic - AUMHA Discussion: Should I Use a Registry
Cleaner?
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099
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