Thanks for the information given Moderator DennisD. However, I'd like to add a few comments.
First: Regardless of the fact that CCleaner itself can create registry backup, it is also possible to backup Registry via (1) System Restore and (2) Windows Backup utility.
Second: Although I use CCleaner and love it as a good cleanup utility, I consider its Registry Cleanup module unsafe and dangerous. I have spotted multiple cases in which CCleaner deletes valid Registry entries. For example, CCleaner deletes some valid per-user file associations (such as those created by ACDSee) under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts.
However, there is no point reporting these issues in this forum: Any such report in Bugs subforum is shot down immediately. Developers of CCleaner seem to be of the opinion that Registry Cleanup module is only for advanced users and not everything that it finds is junk.
Personally, I use another product to safely cleanup registry and compact it. (Is it acceptable if I name it here?)
However, there is no point reporting these issues in this forum: Any such report in Bugs subforum is shot down immediately.
That is why there is a bug reporting part of the forum for ccleaner, to report any problems.
The devs read these, and any emergency issues are brought to their attention by the moderators. Also some members spend considerable time and effort helping other members sort out any problems they have if you look in the bug reporting section.
Yes it is a good idea to have backups in place, this applies for using any software not just ccleaner.
Sorry that you have such a bad opinion of ccleaner's registry cleaning ability, many use it without any problem at all.
I've moved these posts to this section of the forum for a number of reasons.
Firstly Fleet Command, I'm not as polite as hazel, and I think it extremely discourteous of you to vent your feelings about one of Piriforms products in the topic of another member who is genuinely asking for help.
You brought nothing to that topic except scaremongering.
Secondly, on behalf of all the volunteer members here, who freely give up their time to help anyone with any type of problem, I find your comments re being "shot down" quite offensive. I can't recollect any genuine poster being "shot down" on here for expressing an opinion.
Members go to a lot of trouble on this particular "Community" forum to help others as best they can.
Thirdly, if you are so unhappy with CCleaner and it's registry section, I would suggest you simply don't use it.
To express the opinion that you find CCleaner to be a "dangerous" registry cleaner, is an opinion which should be made in your own topic, not another members.
If you find it dangerous, then that is an issue for you, and for that reason you should post your observations in the correct part of the forum, where they will be noted.
Any reg editor is dangerous. I have about ninety of'em. Have actually tried some. The WXP native reg editor is dangerous. CCleaner is better than most, but I guess that if you are going to develop an app that is powerful enough to be useful, it will also be powerful enough to be dangerous.
I once (actually several times) deleted everything CCleaner said to delete after making a three backups, one w/ CCleaner, one w/ ERUNT, one w/ regedit. Those were experiments prompted by a complaints somewhere in this forum (not by Fleet Command). No problem created. Threw away the backups. Still running along nicely.
Hazelnut, DennisD, and Andavari are volunteer moderators who have helped innumerable members with issues I didn't even know existed. Don't rile'em up. Got an issue, post it.
To add to what hazel and Dennis have ALREADY stated.
ALL registry cleaners find valid registry entries. this is not the fault of the cleaner but instead either poor programing by the program which wrote to the registry in the first please or (more often) purposfully done by said writing program (As in the case of Antivirus antimalware)
Really it is not the fault of either the cleaner program or the Writing Program but the user of the cleaner. Thus it is you who is dangerous to the registry.
From now on follow my signature with any registry "fixer" "cleaner"
The issue with CCleaner tagging some image formats isn't an issue with just ACDSee. I had a similar issue maybe a couple or years ago if I'm remembering that timeline correctly after ditching IrfanView for another image viewer only to go right back to trusty ole IrfanView a few days later (I'll never do that again). This caused a horde of registry issues with image associations, well beyond any patience or ability to deal with manually! With trial and error and tinkering over a few days going back and forth between CCleaner and in IrfanView's file associations out of nowhere CCleaner no longer noticed them as invalid and was thus a piece of the puzzle in fixing the whole mess.
I think but don't know for sure that this type of registry issue comes from applications originally stealing or taking over extensions from what Windows has setup by default for viewing images and that being Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, it just mucks up the registry so bad and with CCleaner being a good trooper notices the errors and offers to fix them. Again just trial and error on my part to fix it.
Also there really isn't a need to vent about CCleaner's registry cleaner being "dangerous" because in reality it isn't. And it has long had the ability to have exclusions inputted which most registry cleaners actually require, it's inevitable that something will have to be excluded but unlike some actual dangerous registry cleaners you won't need an exclusion list a mile long. I personally have 22 registry exclusions for my system.
Maybe I've just been extremely fortunate, but I've used CCleaner for several years, have all the registry items checked -- and have no exclusions. So far . . . no problems at all .
Same Tom, I've never had issues using ccleaner registry clean.
Losing a few filetype associations isn't a "critical" issue for me, its usually something I can fix. (Not that I've noticed any of the above problems but haven't needed irfanView in years)
and as above I always keep backups when cleaning, till i know there where no side affects
Maybe I've just been extremely fortunate, but I've used CCleaner for several years, have all the registry items checked -- and have no exclusions. So far . . . no problems at all .
The stuff the registry cleaner wants to remove on my system wouldn't actually break anything whatsoever. It's just registry data that constantly gets re-written so as soon as CC would remove it bam it would return in no time, which is why I've excluded it saving me much time not having to constantly look at the same entries over and over, what I'm left with are actual junk that can be removed.
I've been using CCleaner's registry cleaner since 2005, and have never once had a single problem caused by the removal of items that are cleaned.
As far as bug's being ignored/disregarded, that does seem to be true sometimes. It's as if certain problems just aren't important enough to the developers, so they don't matter. However, this is free software that overall is EXCELLENT, so I'm not going to complain. CCleaner is the ONLY system cleaner I trust and is constantly being improved, so it's in my top three of recommended apps (and has been for years).
So, let's sum it up: judging by the discussion above, all participants seem to be more or less of the opinion...
...that there is nothing wrong with CCleaner's Registry Cleaning module.
...that even if there is anything wrong with it, that's OK because it can be assumed that (1) the issue is not critical, (2) there is a backup available to reverse the damage and (3) you couldn't possibly get any better results anyway since all Registry-cleaning tools are imprefect and, to some extens, faulty.
...that I, Fleet Command, have posted my original comment with malicious intent and was not acting in good faith.
Personally, I believe that everyone's opinion is respectable for his own. Therefore, I respect your opinion and right to voice it; although, I do not necessarily agree with it.
... For example, CCleaner deletes some valid per-user file associations (such as those created by ACDSee) under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts.
Hi Fleet Command. Do you know that the extensions that ccleaner highlighted for removal actually had current file associations?
It is possible to have redundant file extensions that are present in the registry and which are in use by installed applications, but do not have a file association. Just because a program names files using a certan extension doesn't necessarily mean an entry is required in the registry.
Effectively what's taking place is an integrity check - ccleaner is cross-referencing items either internally - (like checking for orphaned file extensions) or externally (like that a filename a progam path in a start-up entry actually exists). All that any reg cleaner can do is report these 'inconsistencies'.
I would hope that anything that ccleaner removes is based on the idea that there is, definitively, an inconsistency. However, like many of these things, there's always the possibility that an application is using the registry in an unconventional manner.
However, ccleaner gives you ample opportunity to back up your registry and it also explains each and every 'inconsistency' to help the user to make a more informed decision about removing an entry. It can't really do more than that.
I understand your concerns, but have you actually run ccleaner regcleaner and it has caused you a problem, or are you just reluctant to do so because you believe that it will?
Edited to add ... I note that ACDSee is a photo viewer. Is it possible that another program has re-established or changed a file association previously held by ACDSee - thereby orphaning its association?
^ I'm afraid there is no doubt the CCleaner is doing it. I first noticed when I was on a voyage and my sister who was trying to open her JPEG2000 photos had surprisingly discovered that they are associated with nothing. Only after returning home and spending two hours I discovered that the associations were removed by CCleaner. I successfully reproduced the issue. It was not only that. Aegisub and another program had also lost associations.
Now, perhaps moderator sephiroth is right to think that exclusion lists can help but my ultimate objective is to use my computer to attend to my business not to attend to my computer itself and those problems which didn't exist in the first place.
^ I'm afraid there is no doubt the CCleaner is doing it. I first noticed when I was on a voyage and my sister who was trying to open her JPEG2000 photos had surprisingly discovered that they are associated with nothing. Only after returning home and spending two hours I discovered that the associations were removed by CCleaner. I successfully reproduced the issue. It was not only that. Aegisub and another program had also lost associations.
Now, perhaps moderator sephiroth is right to think that exclusion lists can help but my ultimate objective is to use my computer to attend to my business not to attend to my computer itself and those problems which didn't exist in the first place.
Yes, reporting it is the right thing to do, but just because your post was lost in the tide of other bug reports,
and you've assumed its been ignored/removed. Instead of hijacking someone else's post and saying that ccleaner is dangerous,
you should just bump your bug reporting topic now and then and wait for a competent reply.
In your bug report did you include the registry entries CC wanted to remove and the program they are associated with,
and while your waiting you should add the entries to your exclude list.
so you may want to include that info here and a link to your previous bug report, as you see you have gathered a bit of attention .
Practially, a such bug report only gets bashed. This thread itself is a live examle. You see, I just wrote a casual comment. While DennisD could have simply asked me no to do it again, he chose the hard way: Isolated my simple comment into a whole new thread (i.e. this same thread) which serves no purpose but to bash the evil Fleet Command and his molevolent comment! (Don't tell me that you were under the impression that I started this whole thread.) This not the only instance of cyberbullying in this forum.
Now, whenever you needed a real bug report, call me. I can send Registry backups and screen recordings. Otherwise, I've said all I have to say in this thread.
You see, I just wrote a casual comment. While DennisD could have simply asked me no to do it again, he chose the hard way: Isolated my simple comment into a whole new thread (i.e. this same thread) which serves no purpose but to bash the evil Fleet Command and his molevolent comment! (Don't tell me that you were under the impression that I started this whole thread.) This not the only instance of cyberbullying in this forum.
Fleet Command
Calling a moderator's actions cyberbulling is out of order. Totally.
Either calm down and act as other members do, (that is without making such comments), or action such as withholding posting ability may be applied.
Why not just calm down, and just enjoy and contribute to the forum.
I only have one condtion: Assume good faith in members. Next time, if you or any of your fellow moderators felt someone is crossing the fine line, just let him know. I for one, will stop immediately and will never do it again.