IMO, the Registry Tab should be 'locked' by default which would display a message "For Advanced Users only." Or something else with similar mechanism.
It would warn all the new users who think the Registry Cleaner is just as necessary as the normal Cleaner.
Also, CCleaner should take a backup every time a change is made to the registry via CCleaner.
What do you guys think?
I actually like the ''For advanced users only'' bit.
Some folk do indeed think it is all part of the 'normal' cleaning and so run it.
Yeah, I think the auto-backup feature was already suggested. But honestly I expect more from CCleaner in the future like better detection of junk files overall.
I disagree about always making a backup. I have never experienced problems using Crap Cleaner registry cleaner.
OTOH, a warning saying "for advanced users" sounds cool.
I disagree about always making a backup. I have never experienced problems using Crap Cleaner registry cleaner.
Then why don't we just suggest that there should be another checkbox for enabling/disabling autobackups???
Do not underestimate backups mate, they could just pull you from the abyss lol.... its better safe and sure than sorry as in contrary to your case, people have reported problems, possibly connected to the registry cleaning feature even if we say that CCleaner is the safest registry cleaner because its "light".
I disagree about always making a backup. I have never experienced problems using Crap Cleaner registry cleaner.
OTOH, a warning saying "for advanced users" sounds cool.
You should always backup, i very much doubt you know every entry.
I also like the "for advanced users only" suggestion!
Regarding backups; many programs take a System Restore Point before proceeding, e.g. before installing an update. If CCleaner would take a System Restore point before running the registry cleaner, that would be 100% safe. (Some users run the registry cleaner repeatedly, so only the the first time a backup should be taken.)
I use eruNT on a regular basis so I have backups of registry. I also back up entire partition every 10 days or so. But I agree that it's a safe measure to backup entries before deleting/cleaning them.
I have System Restore totally disabled so invoking it before cleaning would be useless for me, although it's not a bad idea at all.
I think the backup should actually be two-fold, the traditional .REG file CCleaner makes and a System Restore Point. Both of course configurable by the user to have one, both, or none.
I haven't kept any .REG backups CCleaner is capable of making for years now since I have ERUNT and System Restore to get out of an issue.
A resounding YES to a greyed out appearance by default.
I would be happy if it was inactive until specially enabled (once only) in the advanced options.
YES for a default of backup, so long as there is the option to negate backup.
That option could also be suppressed in the advanced options so beginners would always have a backup.
Almost every time I run the registry cleaner,
the only thing I see are "Unused File Extensions".
These are Open Office data files which when clicked do not cause Open Office to open.
I never click them, because I use the portable version of O.O. and select the files via its GUI.
I never need those extensions registered - it is junk information.
No way that I would ever restore a backup of that registry junk, so any backup *.reg will be junk.
... System Restore Point ...
I insist that the System Restore MUST be a single event,
never repeated until CCleaner starts again.
After the backup and the cleaning of the registry there may be more "issues" exposed,
and a further 55 MB R.P. can be of zero benefit - it is junk.
NB 55 MB is my experience with XP - I believe your mileage may differ on Vista etc.
CCleaner should be the enemy of junk - not its creator ! !
Alan
A button in the settings to activate the Registry cleaner is an excellent idea.
Automatic backups are a good idea too. However, I think creating a SRP is a bit too much, especially on Vista/7 where they usually take hundreds of megabytes - thus, the creation time is quite long.
I think this is a good idea too, though I think it should go one step further and say something like "Modifying the registry can cause serious system errors" when hovering over the greyed out button so user's know why it's for advanced users.
I guess I'm playing Russian Roulette but I've never had a problem with the registry cleaner and I've never backed up before using it!
I know it isn't a very good thing to bump topics from the grave but I just want to stress on how important this could be. O.o