It doesn't look as though I can get a direct answer to the question, so I give up, but appreciate the time of everyone who responded.
Keithuk, I don't mean to be disrespectful or ungrateful, but..
I did *not* ask how to register files.
I did *not* ask how to unregister files.
I did *not* ask for a tool to register or unregister files. So I appreciate your input, but it wasn't what I needed.
What I had asked - twice - was whether deleting a single CC registry reference to a particular file would automatically cause that file to be Unregistered in the Regsvr32, which I did *not* want to happen. No one has been able to give me a definitive answer to that, but thanks anyway.
Let's say that I find 3,000 entries in Reg Cleaner. If I back them all up and delete them all, then if anything breaks because of the Unregistering phenomenon that I asked about, then I have to restore all 3,000 from the backup. Nothing is simpler, but nothing has been accomplished, either. So it looks like I'll have to delete perhaps a handful of entries and wait a few days or a week to make sure nothing breaks. If it does, I have a limited number of "restores" to try, to isolate the guilty party. If not, delete a few more..... That should keep me busy for a year or so.
Thanks, Jamin, but I didn't see any references to the slim version anywhere, until I clicked Download, with the intention of perhaps picking up the portable version. Only then were the options presented. May I offer the suggestion to have some references to the Slim Version in the general product information page?
Most of the recent changes seem to be oriented towards Vista, Win7, and some other things not applicable to my situation. Since it presently isn't broken, I'm inclined to keep the version I have -- unless there's an actual bug in it that I've missed? Haven't seen any in a year or two of happy operation.
Thanks again for the programs, the welcome, and the efforts of all who responded. Cheers to all.