mr don

P.S. Have you tried Dos Box (http://www.dosbox.com/)? It is supposed to allow you to run games that normally don't work in XP. They have different front ends for it. I haven't had time to test it lately, but older versions were a pain. I heard it has improved a lot lately...

There are 3rd party task manager apps. Some resemble windows task manager. There is also a program called End it All (get version 2). Helps kill any running processes (great for malware scans, freeing up mem before beginning a task, etc) Opera (latest version 10) seems to install & run on Win ME, so I assume it will work on 98 as well. You just need to update Windows Installer to version 2 first, then reboot. Opera was 2 times faster or more in loading, compared to Firefox 2.00.20 (the next browser I tried) since the newer & faster firefoxes would not run on ME or below. Google Chrome, IE 7, 8, 9, Browzar, The World & some others just would not work. I will try to remember to test your way later to see how it does.

Make sure you have a backup before proceeding. Then, if you right click My Computer/Properties/System protection, you can untick the drive you want the restore points deleted on & click apply. After they are erased, re-enable the points by ticking them again & this time click ok. Test the new system restore points to be sure this is some bug in CCleaner, or merely old points that were already suffering problems. You can go to start/all programs/accessories/system tools/system restore to create new restore points to test. Thanks!

Did you try unchecking the classes section first, along with the unused extensions? IF you run it with those checked, yes, it will produce a lot of entries that are not safe to remove. But then, so will CCleaner if you leave unused extensions checked. Please let me know if you tried it WITH or without those checkmarks earlier. Thanks! Edit: Also, the section I was MOST interested in, was the section that lists references to files that no longer exist. I don't believe I found any that were "unsafe" to remove under that section... It may be possible you did find some under that section, however. I'd love to know what happens when you try it without those checkmarks I described earlier. Because I already know it does list entries that are unsafe to remove, as will ANY registry cleaner that tries to show "unused extensions" to remove. Which is why I was asking if you had tried it with or without those checkmarked. Most people probably leave everything checked, so I was wondering if that was what you did too? Let me know sometime! Thanks!

Long story short, make sure you have a backup & then try a system restore. Then, before you "update", run CCleaner uninstaller & delete CCleaner folder from program files/ccleaner Install the new version. Hope this helps!

I downloaded the application you are talking about. --> http://sourceforge.net/projects/freefilesync/ is much better, & free too. Also, this program should not give you that problem. Hope this helps!

That is interesting. What version are you using that shows hotfixes?

I am not 100% sure on this, but I believe I have seen something similar in time past. If I recall correctly, this is a problem that exists because of certain registry entries being removed. I don't even know if this will help or not, but have you tried downloading & installing the Visual C runtimes? http://www.freewarefiles.com/Microsoft-Visual-C-Redistributable-Package-x_program_39486.html It may not fix it, but if someone else has a better suggestion/idea... Also, do you know how long ago this has been? If it was fairly recent enough, you may be able to go to Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore & restore back to before you had the problem. As always, be sure you have a backup of everything before proceeding.

I was going to suggest running CCleaner in debug mode to see what it came up with. Guess you guys have this one covered. Peace! Edit: Meanwhile, have you thought about trying an older version of CCleaner from Filehippo.com? Perhaps start with 2.05 & see if it gives the same problem or not. Alternatively, have you done a clean uninstall of the version you have, then deleted the x86 program files/ccleaner folder before reinstalling? Or tried the CCleaner portable version? These may or may not help, but I figured I would throw out a few suggestions to try... Perhaps it may help to pinpoint the problem.

That sounds neat, but then you will have users complaining that Registry editor is greyed out. One of the major problems with the registry cleaner is the "check for unused extensions". I have long since wanted this out, as this causes many users problems.

Thanks, Hazel. I am aware of that. I only wanted Adavari to try Abexo so he can see what I mean. He can't see what I mean if he doesn't try it. I wanted someone to take a look at WHY it can find more entries that are safe to remove (Yes, ccleaner is a gentle cleaner, I am aware... But yes, I also tested it a lot & it does work really good. Several years no problems, + manually checking to see that it really was only "removed" entries it was suggesting to be sure it was safe...) The issue here, was NOT trying to get people to use something instead of CCleaner, but merely to use it to see what I mean, so that CCleaner can be updated with a better cleaner for the registry. I am not sure, I think you may have misunderstood my intent here. I am not sure, though. The Context Menu cleaner, I merely suggested Allan try that as he mentioned above having context menu problems. Currently, CCleaner does not support editing or removing context menus, so how am I supposed to recommend ccleaner for context menu's when it just doesn't do context menu's? I was only trying to help... Hopefully, you can see what I mean now. I do hope I cleared up any misconceptions. Peace! I am out to help someone with something. Take care! P.S. In addition to improving the registry check for references to files that no longer exist, I do highly recommend the removal of the highly dangerous "check for unused extensions". I have no idea why this was implemented at all. Even experienced users may be tricked into believing that yes, CCleaner knows what it is talking about, so yes, it IS safe to remove .exe, .mp3, etc, etc... How will it find .mp3 or other extensions as "safe to remove"? Easy! Example: - You install KM player. It takes over as default player for .MP3. - You uninstall KM player. File associations do NOT get returned back to WMP. - CCleaner registry cleaner sees this .MP3 extension as having nothing associated with it, therefore = as "safe" to remove. Out of all the registry cleanup sections, this one alone accounts for about 90% or more of problems with computers that I have seen so far. I believe it will increase system stability & reduce registry problems a lot if this section is removed. Hopefully, it will be added to CCleaner 3, but that's a different story for later... Thanks again, & do have a good day!

That's basically the only reason I have kept it too. I have gotten Hexen patched so that it works right in XP, along with doing "a few enhancements for 98" including: - A zip/rar/7z extractor for use in 98 - Better image viewer (than 98) - Icon update (looks like win ME/2k style) - Opera is the ONLY major modern browser that lets you install their latest version, I think. I tested on ME, & it worked, so I believe it will on 98 as well, but you will have to update the Windows Installer to version 2 first There are a few others, but I chose to dwell only on the major pains of 98 for now... I have a race driver game with steering wheel, gas pedal, brake pedal etc that will not function properly in XP, but runs like a champ in 98. Haven't figured out the problem yet, so I keep 98 just because of that game alone! Edit: http://www.filehippo.com/download_cpuz/tech/ That says it is for all versions of windows, & I do know it works in XP... I haven't tried it in 98 yet to be sure, but it sure would be easier to have it show in CCleaner...

That works under XP/Vista/7, Adavari. I am not sure how familiar you are with older OS property boxes, but in W98 or WME, it will not show CPU speed when you do that. Win ME does show the CPU speed if you go to start/run & type in DXDIAG & hit enter. I forget if Win 98 shows it, even in DXDIAG. W98/WME show the amount of installed memory in CCleaner, just not the CPU speed. Was wondering if there can be a check made to test the speed in cases where it doesn't show it. Newer OS versions show the CPU speed when you right click My Computer/properties, but 98/ME don't. I occasionally have to work on a few systems that are older. Believe it or not, some people still cling to those, so having the ability to see what their clock speed is would be worth it to tell them if an upgrade is feasible. Thanks for your replies, & I hope this can be added. It seems like it would not be that hard, & it would really help people like me who have to deal with a number of them. I have to deal with 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7 pretty often, as well as other OS from time to time. If this can be added, it would help so much! Thanks!

+ 3 from me. Very good idea. Extra clicks are a nuisance. Perhaps CCleaner can read the standard install folder settings.ini to "know" what to check or uncheck. Most people will be installing to the standard location, after all, so if it misses a few people/locations, then they should know already that using nonstandard locations (flash drive, anyone?) will result in it creating new settings anyway!

Temp folder is built into CCleaner. If you want total cleaning of that folder, just go into CCleaner settings & uncheck "Don't delete files older than 24 hours". This will let CCleaner erase it all. Prefetch is sort of supported, where it can remove old entries. I haven't tried adding Prefetch as a folder to clean to see how it does. I suppose you can use WinRar to create a self extractor version where after running CCleaner, it will silently run a command to delete the files in that folder. For icons, you can use Batch Icon Extractor (free & the best quality icons extraction I tried so far). http://www.filehippo.com/download_winrar http://www.rw-designer.com/batch-icon-extractor If you do a little googling & experimentation, you can find the proper del commands to empty a folder of the contents. Just be careful, be sure you have a backup before beginning, & have fun!

I tend to agree with you, Andavari. I am not sure what OS you are on now, but I encourage you to download the Abexo Registry cleaner for XP & test it out. I turn off the classes checkmark, & the unused extensions, but everything else I leave checked. I believe you will find it to be pretty safe. Just try it a few times & report here what you found. I too have tested a LOT of cleaners that can/will/DO damage your registry, but after using Abexo for a number of years, it seems pretty safe in what it suggests. If you have time sometime, just try it & let me know what you think. I have never had a problem with the ones it suggests for removal that point to files that no longer exist. I verified they did not exist a number of times (before actually removing them) by navigating directly to the folder (& checking, even with the ability to view hidden files/hidden system files enabled just to be certain) that these files did not exist. Additionally, I ran Locate32 update, then tried finding the exact titles to some of the missing files. It seems to do a pretty thorough job. It certainly can't do worse than CCleaner (in my opinion). Additionally, I tend to test thousands of programs (resulting in thousands of left-over registry entries that slow up the system over time). Abexo is one of the safe, free, registry cleaners that does improve performance by suggesting safe entries that do not exist. References to old files. The one for Vista or 7 may not be free, but they do have a free version for XP that works great from what I have tested. I do encourage you to test it out, rather than to blindly label it as just another utility. I do agree that there are untold numbers that are dangerous for your PC. If you will try it sometime, however, I believe you will be pleasantly surprised. There is also 1 more that I can think of off the top of my head at the moment that is pretty safe. I have, but have not tested yet, the newer version of Clean My PC registry cleaner. I know the older version, 2.16 or so, was a champ in registry cleaning. It was really great & did not seem to suggest entries that would harm your PC to remove. If you can find that somewhere, that one also is great. I don't know if you know any friends with that version, but I know when I got that one years back, it is good as well. P.S. Allan? This may help you. --> http://www.bartdart.com/ Context Menu Editor is free & works great for me. Try it & see if you like it.

Keep in mind, that were a logging feature to exist, it would pose a security risk because of it detailing all the sites that were visited, etc. Cookies to your secret XXX sites, etc. OR XXX pop-ups & things. CCleaner is meant to improve privacy, not become a utility to spy on people. Peace

What do you mean that Windows 98 is not supported anymore? I ran CCleaner 2.35 in Windows ME/Windows 98 a few days back. I did not test the 2.36 in W98 yet... Peace!

If the uninstaller fails, go to C:\Program Files\CCleaner & delete the contents of that folder, including the CCleaner folder itself in case someone marked files hidden & it still has a hidden .ini settings file or something. Download the portable CCleaner & try it first, then if it works, try the slim CCleaner --> Both are available here! http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds If it still fails, you may have malware on your system. --> http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=20214 Generally good advice, although some of it may be puzzling/redundant such as the advice to use McAffee site advisor when Firefox already has a website advisory that throws a big red GET ME OUT OF HERE box if it thinks a website is malicious. Perhaps he was simply unaware of this, since Firefox is pretty quiet when it needs to be about such issues. But check over what they guy says. He has some good points. If you still have problems installing or using CCleaner, check using the recommended links above, & see if you do have malware or other nasties on your system. Make sure that you do not have something like Microsoft's Steady State that will eliminate any changes you make on reboot. Certain drive/deep freeze utilities or combinations may cause installation or usability problems. Also worthy of testing, is rebooting, tapping F8 key every second or so till Safe Mode comes up, & try it in safe mode. Additionally, sometimes a user profile settings get corrupted enough that "weird things" happen. Such as not showing Flash drives that are inserted, etc, etc. In this instance, simply create a new user profile & copy over all your old My Documents, My Pictures, My Videos, Desktop files, Favorites, Start Menu items etc. to the new user profile if that is determined to be the cause. Then delete the old account. Files & settings transfer wizard can assist you if you need help, & is located in the System Tools folder under Accessories on the Start Menu. Thank you!

CCleaner works fine in XP/Vista/7 etc, but I noted that in Windows 98/ME etc, it fails to show the CPU speed. It does show the amount of ram, but not speed. This is using the latest version of CCleaner. It would be nice to be able to show it. I do not think it would be that hard to fix, because DXDIAG in Win ME does show the speed of the processor. I forget if DXDIAG works for speed rating in 98, but will have to check. I always need to know the speed of a computer I am checking so that I can know exactly what I am working with, & what recommendation to make to someone about what to do to their system (if it is feasible to update). Please fix this "bug" because, it really bugs me (seriously!) to not be able to see the rated speed in older OS systems without taking extra steps! I really hope this gets fixed, because it is soooo "annoying" if you know what I mean! I know you cannot support everything on older OS, but is it too much to ask for Processor speed support on 98/ME/Older OS? Thank you!

Not sure your problem there. I use 2.36 & it cleans my XP SP2 in 5 to 15 seconds or less. - Perhaps you have Wipe Free space checked? - Perhaps it was a Windows Update that caused this? - Is there a security application interfering? - Have you defragged your drive lately? - What your your computer specs? Operating System version? Amount of Ram? Processor speed? Free space on drive? # startup items you have? Please help us with additional information. Do a complete uninstall of CCleaner including deleting the program files/ccleaner folder after uninstall, then try the older version again. Compare to the newer. Let us know the results.

I don't have that problem on my machine either, & I have the latest 2.36 version.

I was running Defraggler on a machine earlier, & I found that it seemed to hang at "98%" done! The file is a 24 GB video file. I have no way of knowing what Defraggler is doing here, since there are no yellow or green blocks showing, but it is still "defragging" I hope! Could you please add some visual progress bar that comes up on files over 1 GB or so? I seriously do not want to be waiting around all day for enormous files to "defrag" only to "do nothing"! Yes, I say do nothing, because prior to that, I ran Windows Defragger (XP Media Center) & it said that 1 file (the 24 GB one) could not be defragged! I would seriously love for Piriform to check into this. I am running Defraggler right now, but it has been stuck on 98% so it appears it is not really defragging this file either! Is this a bug? Limitation? Does defraggler even support such large files? I really need the file defragged if possible. Can you either add support for huge 24+ GB files with %defragged visual indicators on these files so we can actually see what is happening? If this is a bug, please let me know! Thank you! P.S. While defraggler takes seconds on the other files, it takes several minutes to even "Analyze" this file, & this is on a Pentium D 2.8 GHZ machine that isn't using all the ram, & is clean from malware. There is about 50% free space on the 160 GB Sata drive.

Sometimes that works. If a program is the cause. But sometimes, the registry really IS the cause of the problem. When there are tons of references to files/folders that no longer exist, for example, or extensions such as .mp3 set to open with incorrect handlers like wordpad as "default" etc.... Sometimes, yes, sometimes, a good registry clean will solve a lot of problems. CCleaner is good, but I vote for 2 things to change in CCleaner registry cleaner... - Remove the very dangerous "unused file extension" scan, because when it comes up that .exe is unused, so it is safe to remove because of some malware infection hijacking things, uh, no, no, no. It makes the system much safer to simply remove this dangerous threat for users to play with! In fact, this part of registry cleaning is where 99% of problems occur while "cleaning" the registry on a PC! Please, remove this, make it safer, ok? Thank you! - CCleaner does need to do a more thorough search for references that point to files that no longer exist. I have used Abexo Registry cleaner a long time for XP, testing how it does. In many cases, it finds 500 to 1100 or more that are 100% safe to remove... Meaning, that I have tested it day in & out with no problems. Of course, I do check a ton of software so registry entries do accumulate! When you run Abexo Registry cleaner, I untick the --> Clean Classes Section + Invalid Files Associations. Those 2 seem a little dangerous to me, but everything else seems 100% safe! Another really good registry cleaner is Clean My PC Version 2.16. I am not sure how the newer versions work, as I haven't had time to test, but I DO know that that version kicks registry cleaning butt & seems 100% safe. I am not sure that the newer versions many not be a little too aggressive, but I will try to test later on. There seems to be a lot of similarity in reg keys shown in CleanMyPC & Abexo in the invalid references section, so my questions are: - Why does CCleaner still have the unused file extensions scan when it is the most dangerous part of the registry cleanup it does? (See above ^) - Why can't CCleaner do a better job of detecting invalid references to files/folders that no longer exist? I do love CCleaner, & I only suggested the above because after a lot of experience using, I have found the above ^ to be true. In conclusion, I have found roughly equal amounts of cases where programs are the cause of problems, but so also are invalid registry keys, corrupted/missing/replaced system files, malware etc. I do not believe it is accurate to just say that it is always the fault of programs, since the registry can definitely cause problems if invalid settings are retained! Comments? Thanks!