Alan_B

You are 100% WRONG There is NOT unanimous agreement. I am totally and fundamentally opposed to any such integration. Normally XP behaves tolerably well, but a right click is horrendously different and always variable, depending on what I click and how often. If I select a 200 MByte *.exe file and right click, Windows realises it is so feeble and slow compared to Linux that it cannot act soon enough if I delete the file, so it locks me out of the system whilst it copies the file into a restore point just in case, and perhaps a minute or so later I regain control and can choose "properties" because ALL I wanted was the version number. There have been occasions when the context menu is open, and I need to choose a different item in the menu. Then there can be further delays as it shifts and shuffles, and I have known it to wait for my ENTER before it shows its last shuffle selection, And what I intended as "Create Shortcut" becomes "Delete". Heads will roll if my daughter does a right click to play a tune and instead all her purchased iTune folders are shredded. A thousand times, NO THANKS Alan

Windows protects various system files to various degrees. Using CACLS I can take ownership of almost anything which is otherwise "Access Denied", but when stealing what Windows owns is not a safe life style. I suspect you are desiring the results achieved by other tools that throw caution to the wind. Alan

For the majority who know nothing of Big Fish you will have to specify the names and locations of these files. If you do not know that information then launch CCleaner and 1. Do NOT clean the registry 2. Analyze the files and examine the list of files to be deleted, and with any luck you will see your games Then come back and tell us. Alan

How promptly ? Is it slowly, i.e. do you see evidence on the screen and on the task bar that CCleaner has actually launched and started before it disappears ? Or does it never appear and you wrongly assume it has disappeared to quick to see ? Alan

I disagree. You can download Winapp2.ini and you will find entries such as FileKey1=%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\OIS|OIScatalog.cag I have adapted my copy by adding a special %UserProfile% section, and now everything which is cleaned from my profile when I run CCleaner, is also cleaned from each of the other private profiles when the owner of the profile shuts down. Alan

What exactly have you done to reach this conclusion ? You should have a folder C:\System Volume Information\ Its attributes are Hidden and System, so you need to set explorer to show such files before you can see it. That actually holds all the information relating to Restore Points. Does that and all its contents disappear ? If C:\System Volume Information\ is really missing or empty, there was major data loss. Start -> System Restore -> Restore to an Earlier Time That should give you a calendar - do you get that ? There should be faint dates when no R.P. was created, and Bold dates with available Restore Points. Do you have nothing but faint dates ? If you have nothing but faint dates yet there remains data in C:\System Volume Information\, perhaps Windows has lost the ability to see what is still present. Alan

It is pointless to backup those entries on the system drive because the backup would use at least the same amount of disc space as the what you are deleting. You could put the backup into another partition, but I do not know if Windows would close a door and be unable to use it if you restored it to its original place. I have Moved my hotfixes to a separate NTFS partition and replaced them with a reparse point named $hf_mig$. I did this in March. The latest hotfix is ACTUALLY in the remote partition But Windows Explorer can still see this and all the hotfixes at the original position and does not realise they have been moved. I am hoping the rest of Windows will oblige should I want to undo a hot fix. If you need information on reparse points, see the answers I received in my post on http://netez.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=6642 You can find other information there also. You can also search Microsoft, but that always hurts my brain. They assume their information is being read by people who are happy to format and re-install Windows before breakfast ! ! Alan

Windows loves wasting time, and this is one of its stupid habits. I only have to create a junk file called junk.jnk, and even if I immediately delete it Windows will obsess about *.jnk, wanting to know what to do with it should I double click on it. The same stupidity occurs with *.odt, and in fact with any Open Office extension, because I use Portable Apps version of Open Office to conserve disk space and avoid registry junk. When I launch Open Office it records the registry keys it will take over and then I can access *.odt etc, Windows immediately takes notice and records somewhere the fact that *.odt is a significant extension, and that a double click should use Open Office to process that file. At that stage Windows knows of this extension, and it is NOT unused. When I close Open Office its tidy-up procedure is to :- move relevant things into its own *.ini file ; restore the system back as it was, which includes the keys it had taken over. Unfortunately nosey parker Windows still remembers that *.odt is a relevant extension, but it has forgotten what to do with it. I have no qualms at all about ill effects of deleting unused extensions, but I am always (almost) alert to any possible evidence of a Windows hiccup to fix, or of a malware intrusion, so I simply scan the lists of files and registry keys selected for deletion to see if something new has happened, and then they get purged. Alan

If you clear cookies and confirm nothing remains on the left side and then close CCleaner, then login for mail access and possibly read one but do NOT click through on any link, then logout, then launch CCleaner and you will probably find the relevant cookie(s) on the left and ready to be kept. Alan

Hi I have special skills in real-time embedded computer systems using 8 bit processors, having spent 30 years designing both the hardware and the software. That gives me the ability to see where a problem might be resolved with additional information, hence my involvement in this thread. I have now been using XP for 3 years and am still learning, so it is unlikely I will be able to make constructive comments upon what happens on Vista - but there are others here with that capability. I use CCleaner 2.20.920. "Save to Text File" works as I described for cleaning files, you can right click on a file to be deleted, or you can right click on the empty space below the last such file. When cleaning the registry this option only appears at the bottom of a list of options when you right click a key, you get nothing at all for a right click on the empty space below the last such key. I have recently learnt of and started to use reparse points. I believe Vista makes extensive use of them for backward compatibility with applications that expect to find data at "My Documents" etc. It occurs to me that if a reparse point was accidentally in a TEMP location and was targeting your "Documents", then when any junk cleaner ( including CCleaner ) cleans TEMP it would not be aware that it was actually blowing away your "Documents". It is a very reasonable assumption that you would then be complaining about loss of actual files rather than loss of properties, but 30 years experience has taught me that assumptions should never be trusted, their only benefit is saving time as one lurches from one disaster to the next ! ! Best wishes Alan

You misunderstand I wanted you to REPEAT the self same screenshot BEFORE Ccleaner "removed the properties". i.e. I wanted the blanks filled in so I could see what you were talking about. I was uncertain because there is in fact no "Documents" so far as I am concerned on Windows XP. The THREE nearest matches are :- "Documents and Settings" "My Documents" "Shared Documents" Using your navigation directions from Start I now understand Vista "Documents" corresponds to XP "My Documents". Moving on. Do you restrict cleaning to Files only, or do you also cleanse the registry ? I was not asking for "a screen shot of ALL of the actions in a long list of stuff", and if you present such a list I would probably not recognise where the problem might be, but there are experts here who have far more experience than I. Instead of many screens shots all you need to do is run "Analyze", and either on or under "Analysis Complete" right click and then hit "Save to Text File", which you can then post. Regards Alan

Different people may have different understanding of "Documents". It would certainly help me if I could compare "before" and "after" screen shots of the CCleaner action. Alan

I fully agree. For any new tool/application I create a short-list of candidates that do NOT install, preferably that make no use of the registry and hold all settings etc. in their own *.ini. If they never use the registry, and leave it for me to add a desktop short cut they are top of the list. I also like Portable Apps which also never install. But am wary of some offerings that have been adapted from registry oriented applications. My experience has been that when launched they swap "certain" registry keys with what they hold in an *.ini file, and when they close they swap everything back so the final registry is exactly as it was, and the *.ini is updated with changes. That all works perfectly, but unfortunately it uses a registry manipulator that always has a random variable name, and my own Malware protection has never seen that name before so I get one or two "suspicous action" alerts to acknowledge. Regards Alan

Epson have absolutely no excuse. They were making printers before there was DOS. Deluxe DOS machines used a 1 Mbyte memory card, and Bill Gates said no one can use more than 640 KByte, so the first thing every one did was to use the spare 360 KBytes as TEMP. Upon reboot TEMP never remembered what was there yesterday, but could have random garbage. So Autoexec.bat always cleared TEMP on startup. No one expected TEMP to be permanent; except Epson whose designers apparently clear their memories everytime they wake up ! ! Alan

I tired of the standard built in Windows search. Too slow, too difficult to control, FAR to inclined to plunge into Acronis TIB files and then crash phenomenally. I am more than happy with Super Finder from http://freesoftland.sytes.net/products.html They have now released "Super Finder XT" - but I have no experience of that because I have only just visited their web-site to confirm my update link was still correct. Alan

I vote with Nergal and ishan_rulz. I prefer CCleaner as a safe utility that errs on the side of caution. If anyone wants more thorough cleaning, use a different cleaner. You can get more aggressive (dangerous) cleaner for FREE. You do not have to spend $100 to remove more junk. Just $19 will give you death by a thousand cuts - or you could have got it for free on 11 August at http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/2009/08/11/ Every day I visit www.giveawayoftheday.com to see the "special for today". If I think it might be useful I visit in the morning ready to download and install etc etc. If it is is another file / registry cleaner I visit in the evening to see how many people have managed to get back on line after re-installing Windows following a disaster caused by "today's free bargain". I have suffered daily BSODS all the way from DOS 3.? through to Windows 98. XP is a lot better. I do not know if it is better at being error free, or better at concealing its errors to reduce Help Desk work load ! ! I always expect a BSOD. I am able to HOPE a simple file deletion or registry key deletion that is interrupted by a BSOD or power failure will either cleanly accomplish its task, or cleanly do no damage at all, and a normal reboot will follow. I have no such hope for any defragmentation that involves moving stuff around. I would fear that a BSOD might interrupt in mid-shuffle, and there might be no reboot if vital items are not in the expected places. When I see the defraggler forum I hear a voice - "Beware all ye who enter here" ! ! I admire those adventurous spirits. They may appreciate a registry defragmenter. I use ERUNT which makes a registry backup each morning. When I wish to remove "empty space" in the registry I will use NTREGOPT, BUT only immediately after a clean reboot and a fresh registry backup so that if a BSOD trashes the registry I can immediately restore from the ERUNT backup. Alan

It is a false positive given by Antimalware - that is what needs fixing. A Google search for "Malwarebytes Antimalware forum" gave 658,000 results. Top result is http://www.malwarebytes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=41 That starts with 8 important and pinned topics, 2 of which are :- Basic procedures to correct freezing or disappearing program issues with McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.x Basic procedures to correct freezing or disappearing program issues with Trend Internet Security Pro. Please visit there, and and if those solutions do not help, post your problem there and you may be rewarded with Basic procedures to correct freezing or disappearing program issues with "Junk and Temporary file cleaners" Deleting a file is always potentially dangerous I will forgive protective software for making a mistake distinguishing between potentially and actually dangerous, BUT ONLY if it suspends the "dangerous" action whilst it gives an alert and awaits my instructions. Also high on the list of benefits that Comodo gives me is the ability to be told "this is O.K. now and in the future." If Antimalware has so much trouble with CCleaner deleting a file, what will happen when 1001 applications are installed and then updated / deleted ? Even worse, if Antimalware locks up solid when you ask it to quarantine an innocent file, can you depend upon Antimalware to be more effective than a wet paper bag if it meets a virus ? Comodo CIS does have a "Nanny Mode" that sounds like your Antimalware. It will block all "dangerous" stuff, but does not alert and therefore cannot be given permission to Allow. I liked the idea that my non-administrator daughter would not be able to authorise anything risky, but after 2 days I could no longer live in Nanny Mode. Alan

Keith Here it is - 4 times over in the hope that one of them can display. If I cannot see them in Firefox I will be back with the 1000 words a picture is worth ! ! Alan OOPS Only 3 - this website refused a TIF image. What I can now see, from left to right, are GIF, PNG, and JPG n.b. the JPG was correctly aligned when it left my P.C. ! !

PC GUARD is obviously a total waste of disc space and processor cycles. It's only benefit is that you get a warm cosy feeling because you think it protects you. Please get PROPER malware protection which locks itself in to prevent malware from killing it. CCleaner is safe and mild, and only runs with your user privileges. There is no way in which it could terminate protective software that is supposed to defeat malware that has the ability to run with "elevated privileges". I use Comodo CIS for all my protection. I am certain that if I used Options -> "Included Files" to delete vital Comodo files the only damage will be inflicted on CCleaner. I might be able to retrieve CCleaner from Quarantine; or I might have to download CCleaner again, and immediately it is downloaded perhaps Comodo will remember what it did before and take pre-emptive action ! ! I have two foreign language help files with the Comodo package. Comodo would probably allow CCleaner to delete those, but their absence would be detected and they would get downloaded by the next AV signature update/ I am sure that most "Proper" protection, both free and licensed, should survive anything that cleaners such as CCleaner could do to them. http://www.sofpro.com/ suggests that .NET framework may be a requirement for PC GUARD I cannot think of a more insecure foundation ! ! Alan

NEVER EVER download any Recovery utility to a drive partition which has lost files. What you want to recover can be over-written and totally destroyed by what you thought would rescue them. You must anticipate your need before downloading / installing. Otherwise, in you case, download to a different partition. If you have no other partition - get a flash drive. Also ensure that what you retrieve is NOT saved on the partition you are rescuing from. Observe the above and Recuva is safe. Alan

Bad thing to do. If termination of Firefox launched Ccleaner so the Firefox cache was cleaned, after a Firefox crash how would it be able to restore your pre-crash tabs ? Much better to have a shortcut to a batch script that :- closes Firefox; waits for FireFox.exe process to terminate; Launches CCleaner. Alan

You can preserve the Lotus junk from removal via Options -> Exclude Lotus Notes is rubbish if it carefully positions essential files in TEMP. Temporary means Stuff I need right now, and I am to lazy to purge myself when I close - some one else can clear up after me ! ! With DOS it was absolutely standard that TEMP should be erased upon start-up. I think Lotus were around when DOS was the only thing. If Lotus don't even understand the fundamental rules of DOS I am surprised they can do anything under Windows. I vote against CCleaner accumulating bloat that will waste cleaning time and disc space, Special code to exclude from cleaning Lotus files in TEMP would be unjustified bloat for 99.9% of all users, wasting their disc space and wasting execution time. If similar effort was wasted on other applications which disregard fundamental rules of computer hygiene, then Ccleaner would be monstrously bloated and burdened. I vote against any such bloat. I am more than happy to fine tune Ccleaner for by individual requirements via Include / Exclude / Winapp2.ini. Regards Alan

Obviously inadequate knowledge, so is mine, but easy to get more ! ! Just keep on un-checking everything, a bit at a time, regardless of apparent relevance, and Analyze (but do NOT clean) and you will then see which options affect which MRU. Regards Alan

You could alter a CCleaner desktop short cut to NOT run CCleaner, but to run a batch script that will run your vbscript and then run CCleaner. You can use short cuts with different arguments for different modes of operation and depths of cleaning. I am using a script that uses 3 arguments and concludes with "START CCLEANER %2 %3", and that allows the shortcut arguments %2 %3 to determine whether to assert /AUTO /SHUTDOWN You can of course omit any arguments and simply do "START CCLEANER" I have posted details of my script at http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=23228 I would like to start my script with something like "cscript //nologo Stop_Firefox.vbs", then I will know that the Firefox cache in all user profiles are cleansed when they log off. Please post your vbscript. preferably in a code box because I believe there may be difficulties in downloading from this site Regards Alan

Even though you use Firefox, I.E. is still busy in the background, hence the need to apply I.E. security patches even though you never launch I.E. Perhaps an I.E. security patch did this to you I forget the precise details, but I think I remember Firefox was broken or bent out of shape a some weeks ago, when a M.S. update exceeded expectations and gave Firefox an Add-on / Plug-in or some such thing. My interpretation is that M.S. wish to have similar protection in I.E. as Firefox and could not jump that high, so they crippled Firefox down to the same level ! ! Alan