Redstone 3 Edge browser problem

CCleaner for Windows CCleaner Windows Bug Reporting
1

Running Windows 10 "Redstone 3" 64-bit (version 1703 build 16278.1000) and CCleaner 5.33.6162.

The Registry cleaner function appears to be damaging the Edge browser, so that it subsequently either fails completely to appear on screen, or else appears for only a few seconds, then vanishes. This behavior has only recently occurred with the most recent O.S. builds: 16275 & 16278. The Windows.Old cleanup seems to function okay; CCleaner's Registry cleaner function is the apparent source of the Edge browser problem.

2

Firstly,

You are running an ‘Insider Preview’ version of Windows 10, and on the ‘Fast Ring’ at that.

It’s important to remember that these are beta testing versions of Windows, and as such may be unstable and incompatible with existing software.

You are in effect doing unpaid testing for Microsoft before they release the market version.

No software can be guaranteed to run correctly with a beta version of Windows, the programme developers have never had a chance to see what Microsoft has changed.

Secondly,

All current, informed, advice is that registry cleaners should not be used on a regular basis.

They are a tool meant for emergency action on an infected/broken system, not for everyday usage.

They are not a maintenance tool.

They don’t speed up your system, and can possibly break a healthy system. (Which is not a great problem if it is already broken anyway).

This is especially the case with Windows 10.

Windows 10 is different to older Windows versions, it is evolving all the time, small changes every month, bigger changes every six months or so.

Edge in particular is changing rapidly. (Because they released it well before it was finished).

A lot of the changes are made in, or show up in, the registry.

Again Microsoft don’t inform the writers of registry cleaners about these changes, and so the cleaner can’t recognise them and can remove the wrong things.

So the advice is - Don't use a registry cleaner unless your system is infected/broken, especially not on Windows 10, and definitely not on an Insider Preview.

3

Okay fine, but: the purpose of my post was to simply alert the author/authors of the existence of a potential problem.

Ideally, even if CCleaner were making this kind of "working semi-blind" type of error, then the authors would also be interested in determining where their program "went astray", so to speak.

Sort of along the line of the medical doctor's Hippocratic oath: "first: do no harm".

4

I'm sure that the devs appreciate notice of potential problems with the insider builds.

(I’ve no doubt that they have a few machines running the builds themselves, to try and track down what MS have changed each time).

I would not expect any big changes to CCleaner (or any other software) though until Redstone3 becomes fully Released To Market.

Maybe a minor update in the next few days to go with build 16278?