Mr Don, I did not know about the old versions of CC using an INI file. I also overlooked the fact that a version newer than 2.29 had the "set to default" settings. Have the default settings always been the same for all versions of CC? Proving the default settings for 2.29 may be, uh, problematic.
It may have gotten lost in the thread... my tests showed that changing the settings (with 2.29), uninstalling, and then reinstalling restores my settings, not the default settings.
I'm still open and looking... Thanks for the input!
Thought I'd have a mess around with this, so I "Revo Uninstalled" CCleaner, and then did a manual trawl through the registry for anything Piriform or CCleaner related, and there was absolutely nothing remaining. Just the entries for Piriforms other software.
I then installed Version 2.29.1111 and none of my old settings were picked up.
The content of the ccleaner.ini file confirmed this, as after installation, the following are the only entries in the ini file when the "Save settings to INI file" option is chosen.
[Options]
Language=1033
UpdateKey=10/15/2010 08:30:30 PM
WINDOW_HEIGHT=450
WINDOW_LEFT=202
WINDOW_MAX=0
WINDOW_TOP=144
WINDOW_WIDTH=620
The following screenshots show the default settings of version 2.29.1111, and I'll repeat, none of these settings appear in the ccleaner.ini file, which confirms that they are the default settings. Any deviation from these settings would immediately appear in the ccleaner.ini file.
Windows Tab:
Applications Tab:
Options - Advanced:
Options - Settings:
Registry Integrity - Settings:
There are no user customisation options as above for the "Include" and "Exclude" windows, and these are obviously blank. I also unchecked the "Save to INI file" box after using it, as unchecked is the default setting.
DennisD - Wow! Above and beyond the call of duty! Thank you! Except for the choice of uninstaller, we followed the same "uninstall, search the registry, & reinstall" process, with the same results up to that point. So now I'm confused - why did my reinstall pick up my previous settings? It looks like I did the same registry search you did looking for "piriform" or "ccleaner". What a puzzle. I'll have to do all that again just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating! It may be a couple of days - the calendar is stacked up - but I'll post my final results.
May i just ask. Is this thread still continuing because this "one" time you uninstalled ccleaner. Reinstalled and rather then default it used your custom settings?
ROTFL! Well, it didn't start out that way! While your summary is succinct (after the fact) I certainly had no idea where things would go. The result was "one" result, on "three" different Windows platforms. Are you asking me if I'm sure of my results? When you make an observation and take a screen-shot of the result, how many times do you need to redo the test?
Judging from the participation in this discussion it generated some interest, perhaps of zero use to anybody but me. Thank God for the curious minds contributing here! The CC settings are just one facet that needed to be nailed down and I mean NAILED DOWN. While your summary is concise, and we routinely live with more than a little "undeterminism" in the Windows environment, I hope you're not trivializing the need for absolute accuracy to withstand harsh legal cross examination! I admit, it's not a path we often tread in the world of software.
I'm still chuckling at the brevity of your summary, great observation!
I'm really enjoying this thread, and all the input the guys have made.
It was this bit which piqued my recent interest ...
Have the default settings always been the same for all versions of CC? Proving the default settings for 2.29 may be, uh, problematic.
... I thought the relationship between a new install of CCleaner V 2.29.1111, and it's INI file being devoid of any settings (save the window dimensions), was a pretty good confirmation of what the default settings are. CCleaner is obviously hard wired not to include the default settings in the INI when first installed.
That would make for an unnecessarily large INI File.
Anyways, that's my humble attempt at proving conclusively what the default settings for that version are.
Great fun, even if someone can find flaws in that little exercise.
Mr Don, I did not know about the old versions of CC using an INI file.
I believe it was sometime before the 1.41 version, but I forget just how far back it was. It has been a long time since I used anything earlier than 1.41.
They used to include default settings in an INI file. But in newer versions, they started building that INI file into CCleaner.
The personalized settings ini is totally different from the default INI file.
If you go back to the very earliest versions of CCleaner, I am sure you will be able to see this file.
When you say "it restored my default settings"... This is very confusing what you mean here. CCleaner already has default settings it restores that it draws from the built in INI file. If you mean that the default includes "Internet Explorer -> Cookies are checked/Temp internet files are checked/ etc etc etc, those are from the built in INI.
You will never be able to do an install of CCleaner with "blank" settings if that is what you are looking.
You can make it that way by saving the settings to an INI file under advanced, then uncheck everything.
But the default CCleaner settings are usually pretty good. I have to assume that this is what you mean, because Dennis & several others in here crawled the registry & other settings. I don't know of any other locations it would have been.
So the only other option in my mind, is you are referring to the built in INI file that checkmarks the default internet explorer, windows temp, firefox, etc settings. Again, these are built into the EXE, or a part of the EXE, so that is not "picking it up" from anywhere other than CCleaner itself.
