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ady4um

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Posts posted by ady4um

  1. Dennis, maybe I wasn't clear enough about why I haven't decided to delete it or not.

     

    It's not about *me* having to check its content in case some app had a problem. It's about not knowing how *Vista* deals with it or its content.

     

    Whether I run into some problem with some app or not, I don't think I would remember to check its content, specially if this log is so big. Even if this file is "just" a log, I don't know if Vista would *need* it (or its content) in some procedure related to apps. As I already mentioned, there are contradict recommendations about it.

     

    Now Marmite and Hazelnut, about the reason to delete this log, or why this log is bothering me, is because it seems to keep rapidly growing and growing. If not now, with its 100's MB, eventually its size will get to the point I will have to deal with this issue.

     

     

    I will keep searching as suggested. In the meantime, the question about CCleaner not offering to clean this setupapi.app.log is still relevant.

     

    Since CCleaner is offering the possibility to clean other Windows' logs, I thought maybe the devs already evaluated the possibility to include this one (which in most cases will be the biggest Vista's log file, by far). If the devs could comment about that, maybe their comments could point, me and other Vista's users, to a real answer about the usefulness of this log.

     

    In this context, by "usefulness" I mean the use that *Vista* does, or *Vista's* needs (as oppose to the user manually dealing with its content, which I'm not interested in right now in this topic).

     

     

    To be perfectly clear, I'm not doubting about me needing this log. It's about Vista (or the installed apps) needing it. If there are no consequences in that sense, any user could delete it and CCleaner could offer that possibility.

     

    If the devs don't really know about this log, then I guess adding it could potentially be a suggestion (or at least to evaluate the consequences of deleting it).

     

    Thank you.

  2. Thank you all for your posts.

     

    First, the reason I would like to delete it is its size. Microsoft considers a setupapi.app.log file bigger than 5 MB to be too big. But they do not mention how to manage its size (after all, even logging just the minimum, except for not logging anything, the file will eventually get to 5 MB; in my case several 100's MB).

     

    Speaking about windows, I usually opt for knowing what is going to happen when choosing some setting, before actually choosing it. This is specially true for some procedure I could not undo if I get into trouble.

     

    Of course I wouldn't delete it without some backup first. But, as Dennis says, setupapi.app.log could be related to installed apps. If deleting it has some influence when I would decide to uninstall some app, then it could be dificult for me to realise that this specific log is the problem, and by then, restoring the file with the backed up log could be even worse. And what if there is some problem and I don't realise there is one till it's too late to repair?

     

    Dennis, I couldn't find relevant posts here about this log. You mentioned there were discussions before. Could you point me to those?

     

    I still hope someone having some experience about this setupapi.app.log to come and post about it.

     

    Thank you in advance.

  3. @marmite, Windows Cleanup knows about the last restore point (you can't delete it using CCleaner). It simply deletes the old ones. It does not really need the references to delete the actual files, since they are in the System Volume Information folder.

     

    You can search this forum for the actual procedure. Before cleaning the restore points with windows cleanup, take a note of the free space. Then clean and again take a look at the free space. Cleaning old restore points will free several 100's MB. Just be sure everithing is ok in your system and that your are not going to need those old restore points. (your own risk)

     

    If you first "clean" old restore points using ccleaner, you would expect not to free several 100's MB after using windows cleanup just 2 minutes after that. But windows cleanup does.

     

    You are right about sth: deleting references to restore points and leaving the files does not make much sense. But according to http://docs.piriform.com this is what ccleaner does.

     

    As I said before, if you are not really needing the space right now, let windows manage those restore points by itself. Windows will delete the old ones when getting to some % of total volume space.

     

    Search this forum for more info, and you are welcome to come back to ask if you still have questions about it.

  4. Dennis, thank you for your post.

     

    My problem with all those articles/posts I've read, is the same the one you arise. I could change the option to log less than before, but this does not mean I could delete the file. Changing the log option does not reduce the file either, and I haven't found any setting to limit its size (like deleting old info after getting to 5 or 10 MB or sth similar).

     

    Moreover, I couldn't find any comment anywhere about the results after deleting it. When I read sth like "Yeah, go on and delete it", there is no "ok, I did it successfully and test it for several days/weeks and there are no problems".

     

    Now, for you and anyone else reading this post, this setupapi.APP.log is about "applications". So drivers and/or devices are not related, except for apps related to drivers. For drivers and devices, there are other logs, one of them being setupapi.DEV.log.

     

    I'm still very much interested in this issue. As I mentioned before, there must be a valid reason not to include this setupapi.app.log in CCleaner.

     

    I'm not suggesting to include it. I'm just want to know what to expect if I decide to delete it. Maybe the devs could mention the reasons not to include it in CCleaner. Maybe someone already knows what to expect, or in which situations this log is used by windows.

     

    Thank you in advance.

  5. Actually, CCleaner does not remove the restore point itself, but only the references to it.

     

    The backup files of the restore point itself are not removed by CCleaner. Of course, there is no simple way to use those files if the references are gone, but the volume space is not really recovered.

     

    To recover that space, use the windows disk cleanup utility (or disable system restore). You should know that windows itself deletes old restore points according to several conditions.

     

    By this, I'm just offering options, not recommending one over the other. I myself have system restore "on" and I let windows to manage it.

  6. Thank you Dennis.

     

    Actually, I've already read that article, including the comments.

     

    But I've also read other post elsewhere indicating not to delete it. This other post gives at least 2 reasons.

     

    One, since setupapi.app.log is inside c:\Windows\inf (or equivalent "inf" folder), then generally speaking I shouldn't "play" with anything in that folder.

     

    The second, setupapi.app.log is related (?) to installed applications.

     

    So, IMO those 2 are not really "reasons" not to touch it. What I would like to know is what is really that relation to applications they are talking about and what simptoms/problems/consequences I would see if I decide to delete this file.

     

    As I said, since CCleaner *has* the option to delete several Windows logs, but setupapi.app.log is not included, I assume it has to be related to some "conservative" consideration, or that it could be somehow problematic.

     

    So again, what are the consequences of deleting setupapi.app.log ?

     

    Thank you in advance.

  7. I'm using Vista home basic x86 with SP1.

     

    What would happen if I manually delete setupapi.app.log ?

     

    I mean, Is there any problem deleting it? What consequences would be in case I delete it?

     

    AFAIK, this Windows Vista log is not part of CCleaner's cleaning, so that makes me think there *is* some problem while deleting it.

     

    Thank you in advance.

  8. Short suggestion description:

     

    I think Ccleaner results window should display not only bytes to delete / bytes deleted, but also the information about RegKey cleaning when cleaning Windows and Applications, including those added using winapp2.ini and similar ini's.

     

     

    Now, the Full suggestion description:

     

    I used winapp2.ini to add an additional application to clean.

     

    There are only RegKey items to clean this particular app.

     

    No files are part of the clean process.

     

    When I analyze the app in Ccleaner, the result window shows zero bites to clean (which is correct). There is no text about the RegKey cleaning. I have to open the registry and double-check that the keys were successfully deleted.

     

    Moreover, when the results window shows just "zero bytes to clean", this message gives the false sensation that there is no need to perform the cleaning process.

     

    Finally, when the results window shows just "zero bytes *were* clean", this message gives the false sensation that nothing was cleaned.

     

    Actually, in both cases the user does not really know if something can be, or was, cleaned (in the registry), or if the " Detect= " line in winapp2.ini result was false.

     

    So,

     

    a_ " Detect= " line is false, or

    b_ No registry keys to clean, or

    c_ Registry keys were successfully clean

     

    all three possible real results display the same in Ccleaner (that is, just information about files, but no information at all about registry keys).

     

    Of course, a fourth possible real result could be that sth went wrong while trying to clean registry keys, but this possibility is not in the scope of this suggestion.

     

    I think Ccleaner results window should display not only bytes to delete / bytes deleted, but also the information about RegKey cleaning when cleaning Windows and Applications, including those added using winapp2.ini and similar ini's.

     

    I hope this suggestion could be implemented in the near future.

     

    Thank you in advance.

  9. @Augeas and @TechHarmony

     

    English is the language in the exe. For other languages, you don't need to reinstall if you have the "lang" folder. Just use the settings panel in ccleaner to change the language, as described in Piriform docs:

     

    http://docs.piriform.com/ccleaner/ccleaner...e-ccleaner-uses

     

     

    For a list of which number is used for dll filenames in the "lang" folder, just see the windows local ID decimal codes ( LCID:dec )

     

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/0h88fahh(VS.85).aspx

     

    In that list, you can see for example that "French - France" corresponds to decimal locale ID 1036, as Aethec said. Use that list to know which dll in the "lang" folder corresponds to which language.

     

    Important Note: if you want to manually delete unused lang dll's, check first that ccleaner is not running (not even minimized and not at the system tray).

  10. @Bercilak, I hope this still helps you, or at least this may help other users.

     

    In Vista, "System Restore" and "Shadow Copy" are related, and the default is to use up to 15% of the Disk Volume.

     

     

    AN IMPORTANT NOTE: Even when you allow Windows Explorer to show Hidden Files and System files, you will see that the folder named as "System Volume Information" is empty, no matter how many files are there. Using Windows Explorer, the "System Volume Information" will be shown as empty, always. So this does NOT mean "there *must* be data loss". There are several ways to know how much allocated space this special folder has, but Windows Explorer is not one.

     

     

    There are several reasons for Windows to delete previous Restore Points. System Restore is not always active by default, and it depends on several parameters, including total Volume space, free space, if System Restore is active for that specific Volume (search Vista's Help for more info).

     

    So, assuming all those conditions are matched, every time you install/uninstall some program, update windows, change drivers, or even defrag the Volume, the space Vista allocates to System Restore and Shadow Copy also changes.

     

    Moreover, CCleaner doesn't really clean the corresponding files when you use its System Restore tool. Instead, it deletes the references to those files. This means that it is possible for Windows to think the allocated space for System Restore is almost full (though the user can't really make use of those files since the *references* were deleted). If this is the case, for every simple change you make to the Volume, Vista will delete previous Restore Points, but not immediately. The deletion of previous Restore Points will be executed while creating new ones.

     

    So, when you say you installed new AntiVirus and AntiSpyware software, or when you delete System Files (including Logs), Vista tries to make a new Restore Point, and since there may be not enough free allocated space for that purpose, the previous Restore Points are deleted. And even if you don't make any changes of those that trigger a new Restore Point, System Restore may be making a new point if the programmed automatic frequency is reached.

     

    Using multiboot systems also deletes all Restore Points. And if the Volume is FAT32, System Restore and Shadow Copy do not apply.

     

    Most probably, your issue is related to the max allocated space to Restore Points being reached.

     

     

    My suggestion is this:

     

    1-Reboot your pc. This will free memory and/or files.

    2-Close any non-essential program.

    3-Run Windows Vista Disk Cleanup *as administrator*.

    4-While in Disk Cleanup, choose to clean "for all users" (as opose to clean only your user profile).

    5-Let Disk Cleanup scan whatever it needs to.

    6-Select the options you want to clean.

    7-Click over the "more options" tab, and select to clean previous Restore Points.

    8-Let Windows Vista Disk Cleanup do the job.

    9-When all the cleaning is done, wait for the HDD led to (almost) stop blinking, then reboot.

    10-Make a new Restore Point.

     

    Probably you will see now much more free space in your Volume than before, since Vista deleted files that CCleaner couldn't. There are more advanced procedures, but for now I think it's ok.

     

    From now on, I would suggest to use ccleaner to clean temp files or application files, and leave system files alone, including Restore Points and Windows Log Files.

     

    I hope this helps.

  11. AFAIK, Windows Log Files are just text files which contains info about several processes. System Restore Points are much more than text files.

     

    CCleaner "cleans" (deletes) those logs when you run it with the Windows Log Files option checked.

     

    If your restore points are being deleted, then it's because either:

     

    A_ You are using some software (i.e. CCleaner or Windows own Disk Cleanup) to clean them, and in CCleaner's case you have to do it manually (is not "by default").

     

    B_ Some other process is deleting those Restore Points without your knowledge (not CCleaner).

     

    C_ Windows deletes "old" Restore Points when they take 15% of your HDD volume.

     

    D_ Your are using multiple OS in your system.

     

    E_ For some reason System Restore could be disabled at all (recheck in Windows if it is "on" or "off").

     

    F_ Some other reason that maybe I'm not remembering right now.

     

    Moreover, CCleaner's System Restore tool is not so efficient (search the forum and Piriform Docs), and if you have enough free HDD space, it is better to leave Windows to manage Restore Points (when getting to 15%, Windows deletes old Restore Points automatically)

     

    I hope this gives you some clues.

  12. Metalj, thank you for your contribution.

     

    I already know about this option using Windows' Disk Cleaner.

     

    In the case of cleaning Restore Points, I'm not so sure about the differences between using CCleaner or Windows Disk Cleaner, because in my personal experience both methods release HDD space.

     

    In my system, each Restore Point uses between 700 MB and 1.3 GB. If I use CCleaner's System Restore tool, I can see several 100's MB new free space. Using Windows Disk Cleaner tool for the same purpose (the same as you described it), I also see 100's MB new free space.

     

    But of course, once I use one of the tools over a specific all-but-the-last Restore Points, they are gone, so I can't really compare the action of both tools applied to the SAME group of Restore Points.

     

    What I *can* tell you though, is that after using the Windows Disk Cleaner tool, I still can see the deleted old Shadow Copy items in the device manager (using the method I described above in my first post in this topic). So this is the same behavior for both Windows' and CCleaner's tools.

     

    I agree with you that if the user has enough disk space, then is better to leave Restore Points to work normally (not to delete them, not using CCleaner, nor Windows' tool). Windows will take care of them automatically (by default, about 15% of HDD). And according to what I described in Device Manager, deleting Restore Points manually could even get the system with more junk (files + device manager drivers + registry ).

     

    I'm still interested in those issues I asked about. This topic could lead to:

     

    A_ users discovering they are actually making their systems worse instead of improving it,

     

    B_ CCleaner's devs discovering bugs in this tool and/or improving it.

     

    So please, if Metalj or anyone else knows sth about the questions I presented in my first post, I'll appreciate it.

  13. I have questions about CCleaner's System Restore tool.

     

    First, some background.

     

    Reading about it here:

     

    http://docs.piriform.com/ccleaner/using-cc...-restore-points

     

    I noted this:

     

    "Note: CCleaner removes references to the System Restore points, but may not actually remove all files related to each point."

     

     

    I know Windows System Restore takes HDD space until it gets to some predefined percentage. Above this percentage, older Restore Points are deleted automatically while creating the new ones.

     

    So, the reason to use CCleaner's System Restore tool is to temporarily gain some HDD free space.

     

    Additional info:

     

    Windows Vista Home Basic 32 bits x86.

    CCleaner portable 2.22.968.

    Windows User with administrative rights, and running everything with "Run As Administrator" option.

    UAC enabled.

    My system is working ok.

     

     

    So now, about my questions.

     

    ------

     

    Maybe someone could explain about my first question/issue:

     

    A_ What is the meaning of removing "references"? If all related files are still there (according to the above note), but the Restore Point is already deleted, what can Windows do with those files? Does these "leftover" files are just talking free space from the HDD, or there are useful or essential to Windows?

     

     

    ------

     

    The second question/issue is:

     

    B_ If I disable Windows System Restore at all, are those "leftover" files indeed deleted by windows? Or in this case will those files still be there?

     

     

    ------

     

    The last issue is about the relation between CCleaner's System Restore tool, and Windows Device Manager.

     

    Using devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices environment variable, I displayed old devices in Windows Device Manager. By showing also hidden devices, I displayed old "Generic volume shadow copy" (grayed) items. I managed to delete those items, leaving only the active (not grayed) shadow copies.

     

    Then, I realized that when I delete Restore Points using CCleaner's System Restore tool, then Windows Device Manager shows them as old (grayed) "Generic volume shadow copy" items.

     

    Of couse, when I deleted those Restore Points using CCleaner, I knew 100% that I will not need them.

     

    So, the third question/issue is:

     

    C_ Is it safe to delete those old items in Windows Device Manager? What's the relation in this case between those "leftovers" files and the deleted items in Windows Device Manager?

     

    ------

     

    I just want to understand all this about System Restore so to use it the best way I can.

     

    Thank you in advance.

  14. I have downloaded CCleaner 2.22.968. Thanks for the improvements.

     

    Looking at the "Detailed Results' Panel", right now the first column to the left is "Description", and then there is the "Size" column.

     

    I would like to suggest adding the possibility to move (drag) the columns, so the user could change their positions, "Size" to the left, and then "Description" to the right.

     

    This kind of display is simpler to read, since the width of the "size" column is significantly shorter and less variable than the width of the "description" column.

     

    While exporting the results to a txt file, it is easier, both to read it and to convert it to a csv file, when the columns' widths are fixed; so positioning the "description" column as the LAST one (from left to right) is the best way to get this done.

     

    I hope I was clear enough. Thank you in advance.

  15. Analizing "START MENU SHORTCUTS", ccleaner lists shortcuts that are no longer pointing to a valid location (either the original file has been deleted, changed name, or changed its location).

     

    I have seen in more than one occasion a program being uninstalled but leaving behind an empty folder (or a folders' tree) in the START MENU (and probably in some other locations too).

     

    Many times I think to myself "it should be ok after a restart", but most of the times the empty (tree) folder is there after a reboot.

     

    I would like to suggest adding this "cleaning" to the "Window -> System -> Start Menu Shortcuts" option in ccleaner.

     

    Or maybe it could be a new cleaner's item, or maybe a new "Tool" option along with the "Uninstall" tool (so to find empty folders, wherever they are).

     

    Thank you in advance.

  16. When performing "ANALIZE", the results are displayed as (first) ITEM (then) SIZE in each row of the results list. By ITEM I mean "file" or "registry key" or whatever ccleaner is listing.

     

    I would like to suggest to add an option to invert this sort, as in (first) SIZE (then) ITEM. I mean in each row, first display the SIZE and then the ITEM to its right.

     

    Pros:

    -When saving the list as a text file, it will be easer to "convert" it to a CSV file.

     

    -Since the SIZE info is just a few characters long, but the ITEM (name) length is very variable and longer than the SIZE, IMHO it would be easer to read the list.

     

    -Easier to find "big/heavy" items so to clear them (Sometimes I do not want to just clear the whole list, but only some specific items, maybe manually, by using ccleaner's results).

     

    Cons:

    Well, comparing to the current display, I can't see any cons. So if the devs would like to implement this change as the "default" display (instead of adding an option), that's fine with me (and I suppose it would be even easier to implement).

     

    Thank you in advance.

  17. Hard disk drives will always be growing.

     

    So please, add to Defraggler the ability to change the map's blocks cluster density. I mean, that the user could change this ?zoom? manually. It's like a "zoom" for the disk map. For example, showing 10 clusters per displayed block is a closer "zoom" than showing 100 clusters per displayed block. Of course, 10 clusters per displayed block will display more number of blocks than a density of 100 clusters per displayed block.

     

    Also, please add the ability to show or hide the disk map completely. Hiding the map completely could make Defraggler run quicker (although, the command line version would be the quickest I suppose).

     

    Thank you in advance.

  18. I have several suggestions for Defraggler and its forum.

     

    For the forum, the pinned "suggestions" topic is too big for users to read, so the same suggestions are presented again and again. Just one example would be to display the disk map. BTW, actually users can just display the map once and leave it at that status while returning to the main window. (So please, all those users who keep requesting this, take note) :)

     

    Moreover, all kind of suggestions in one very big topic means there is no real discussion about each suggestion.

     

     

    So, my first suggestion would be to open a new Forum Category (as with Ccleaner and Recuva): Defraggler Suggestions. It might be useful also to "unpin" the current big Defraggler Suggestions" topic.

     

     

    About Defraggler itself, I would like to suggest some improvements regarding the Disk Map.

     

    I think the most important advantage of Defraggler is that the user can defrag specific files or areas and quickly, as opposed of taking resources and time to defrag and optimize the whole disk.

     

    The disk map is useful for the user to decide if it's time to defrag the whole partition, and I can think about some other uses. In any case, disks are always growing and growing, so each (disk map) block shown will "concentrate" in time more and more files when upgrading to bigger disks (and fragments, clusters, disk sectors...). This is, in a way, a problem, because depending on this clusters "density" (clusters per map block), the user "reads" the map differently. Currently, you can see this density change and the visual effect when moving the map's limits up and down. While changing its size, the map shows blocks changing colors.

     

     

    So, since disks are always growing, it is essential (IMO) to add some kind of "zoom" method and a Scroll Bar to the disk map. One option to resolve this "zoom" is actually a numeric "density". The user could set this number as, for example, X KiB per (map) block, or even better, maybe it could be X ?clusters? per (map) block.

     

    The last one, "clusters per block", is more general, since each partition could be formated with different cluster sizes, so setting this density as KiB per block could require from the user to set it differently for each partition. Setting "number of clusters per block" doesn't require from the user to change this set for each partition.

     

    The limits for this density are between 1 cluster per map block, and the current "automatic" density when the map is displayed as one and only one row. Setting this option to ?automatic? (instead of a number bigger than 1) would take the map's display to its current behavior, when there is no scroll bar and moving its limits automatically changes its ?cluster per map block? density.

     

    For users not interested in showing the disk map but only the fragmented files' list, there should be an option for displaying or hiding the map. I suppose hiding the map could help Defraggler to run quicker and with less resources, so this is a very important option to add, specially for those with older systems and after adding the suggested "cluster per map block density" zoom to the map.

     

    I hope I was clear enough, and I would like if the devs and other users could comment about my suggestions. Sorry for the long post.

     

    Thank you in advance.

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