Registry Cleaner?
- Thread starter Santilli
- Start date
Tannin
Storage? I am Storage!
I rather suspect that this is because people are in that awkward situation where they vaguely know a little about the subject but not enough to make fools of themselves, Greg.
I vaguely remember being told how wonderful reg cleaners can be by someone that was fairly computer savvy some years ago, and played with the one he gave me for a while, then gradually forgot about it. Did it really achieve anything? Don't know.
I do know that there is at least one, and probably a whole stack of phoney registry cleaners that are nasty as you like. Spybot picks these fake registry cleaners off people's machines regularly when I'm doing the eternal spyware and virus removal jobs. Can't remember their names, alas - I just trust the usual tools (Spybot, Ad-aware, Hijackthis, Ewido) to get stuff right.
So don't just download and hope for the best!
If you are going to try one, do a good solid Google search first and make sure it is legit. Be sure you are getting good info by notiicing which site says Program A or Program B is fake or legit. (E.g., if Castlecops says it's dodgy, don't touch it with a bargepole. If they say it's OK, you can be pretty confident.)
But will it do any good?
Hmmmm ..... probably about as much as a Granite Digital cable on your CD-ROM drive.
In reality, I suspect that the performance benefits to be gained are minimal to nil (guess only - no certain knowledge) and the real registry nasties are dealt with much more effectively by Spybot & etc.
But, as I said, none of this is from certain knowledge (apart from the known bad egg stuff). Maybe someone will drop by and fill us in with something a bit more concrete.
I vaguely remember being told how wonderful reg cleaners can be by someone that was fairly computer savvy some years ago, and played with the one he gave me for a while, then gradually forgot about it. Did it really achieve anything? Don't know.
I do know that there is at least one, and probably a whole stack of phoney registry cleaners that are nasty as you like. Spybot picks these fake registry cleaners off people's machines regularly when I'm doing the eternal spyware and virus removal jobs. Can't remember their names, alas - I just trust the usual tools (Spybot, Ad-aware, Hijackthis, Ewido) to get stuff right.
So don't just download and hope for the best!
If you are going to try one, do a good solid Google search first and make sure it is legit. Be sure you are getting good info by notiicing which site says Program A or Program B is fake or legit. (E.g., if Castlecops says it's dodgy, don't touch it with a bargepole. If they say it's OK, you can be pretty confident.)
But will it do any good?
Hmmmm ..... probably about as much as a Granite Digital cable on your CD-ROM drive.
In reality, I suspect that the performance benefits to be gained are minimal to nil (guess only - no certain knowledge) and the real registry nasties are dealt with much more effectively by Spybot & etc.
But, as I said, none of this is from certain knowledge (apart from the known bad egg stuff). Maybe someone will drop by and fill us in with something a bit more concrete.
mubs
Storage? I am Storage!
The only legit one I know of is at MaceCraft. If you don't want to pay for it, the last freeware version is floating around somewhere; I can't find a link right now.
As to how effective it is, I don't know. Some people swear by it. It's a powerful tool, and so can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Proceed with caution.
AFAIK, there's no "automatic, easy" way to clean the registry. That POS is so badly tangled/mangled even Microsoft gave up on the unoffical tool they had.
As to how effective it is, I don't know. Some people swear by it. It's a powerful tool, and so can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Proceed with caution.
AFAIK, there's no "automatic, easy" way to clean the registry. That POS is so badly tangled/mangled even Microsoft gave up on the unoffical tool they had.
mubs
Storage? I am Storage!
The last freeware version of JV16 is here. Either search the page or scroll down to the middle.
Bozo
Storage? I am Storage!
I've used Registry Mechanic. I has lots of options to clean out the registry. My systems seems to be a little quicker booting up but I didn't time it or anything.
At least it still boots up and runs
Bozo :mrgrn:
At least it still boots up and runs
Bozo :mrgrn:
timwhit
Hairy Aussie
I would say the best way to clean your registery is a good format and reinstall.
I doubt any of the registry cleaners will do much to help you out.
I doubt any of the registry cleaners will do much to help you out.
Bozo
Storage? I am Storage!
Not that many years ago you did a clean install once a year to keep the OS from crashing.
Now you need to do a yearly clean install to make sure you don't have some nasty root kit or other desease in your system.
Bozo :mrgrn:
Now you need to do a yearly clean install to make sure you don't have some nasty root kit or other desease in your system.
Bozo :mrgrn:
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
- Messages
- 5,278
Thanks all. Funny how computing has changed. Long term OS installs, vs. the old 98 days.
Guess I'll leave it as is. Was wondering since trendmicro.com is now offering such a tool, and, even though it is a pain in the ape, my current system has not been infected with anything, thanks to condoms, and Penicillin. :wink:
S
Guess I'll leave it as is. Was wondering since trendmicro.com is now offering such a tool, and, even though it is a pain in the ape, my current system has not been infected with anything, thanks to condoms, and Penicillin. :wink:
S
timwhit
Hairy Aussie
I try not to reinstall any more often than every few years. My last install of Windows 2000 lasted a good 2.5 years, if I am remembering correctly. Sure, it didn't run as well as it did when it was clean and new, but going through the trouble of reinstalling is hell for me.
paugie
Storage is cool
I still can't get over the habit of erasing my drive when I get the feeling it's acting up. And sometimes it's just acting up in my imagination.
maybe every 5 months.
Well, it's better now. In the old days (w98) it was something like 5X in 2 days.
maybe every 5 months.
Well, it's better now. In the old days (w98) it was something like 5X in 2 days.
paugie
Storage is cool
oops, I forgot to say, have not used any registry cleaner at all.
Format - reinstall. If it gets really weird, backup, sell the hard drive, buy a new one, Format - reinstall.
Format - reinstall. If it gets really weird, backup, sell the hard drive, buy a new one, Format - reinstall.
mubs
Storage? I am Storage!
W2k was installed on this laptop in 2001. It has 2 VMs and a trillion tons of Oracle shit on it. I used it extensivey then in a 3-tier config - client in the foreground, database & forms servers each in their own virtual machine. Bought VMWare 2.0 at that time for the purpose.
It's still quite reliable and doesn't crash or act up. My trusty rusty desktop is running W2k from 2002, and is still fine.
It's still quite reliable and doesn't crash or act up. My trusty rusty desktop is running W2k from 2002, and is still fine.