Registry cleaner function compared to others

Hi,

Other registry cleaners tend to find many more problems with the registry than CCleaner. I realize that registry cleaning may not be CCleaner's best function, but the difference is more than just a few findings. For example, according to CCleaner at the moment there are no problems with the registry (nothing reported anyway). Another cleaner I ran today reported nearly 500 invalid entries, and other cleaners I've tried in the past have reported significant numbers of invalid entries as well. I know some cleaners may be more ambitious and therefore more dangerous than CCleaner, but 500 is quite a difference. Maybe the 500 is not correct, but as long as I've had my system I suspect 0 findings, as reported by CCleaner, is not correct either. I'm just wondering why such a difference.

Hi Upacreek,

Every thing you said is correct.

As for the Windows Registry,just think of it like an old Name and Address book or an old Phone book.

There are entries in there for people who have passed or moved or the houses or businesses have closed.

You can still use those books for years even though there is some "invalid" information in there.

The only thing you have to guard against is losing the book or it getting torn or damaged.

ERUNT and NTREGOPT

For complete Registry Backup and Recovery and Registry optimization.

I recommend that all PC users use ERUNT and NTREGOPT.

ERUNT and NTREGOPT come as a package at this author's website.

ERUNT backs up the Registry and other important files needed for a greater chance of successful Emergency Recovery.

Select the ERUNT /AUTO backup feature and your Registry will be backed up automatically Once a day each time you restart.

It will automatically delete backups older than 30 days.

NTREGOPT will create a fresh compacted copy of your Registry.To be safe you must REBOOT your computer immediately.This is because any registry changes made after compacting will not reflect in the next REBOOT.

I recommend these two programs because of their outstanding reputation,ease of use,and the rarity of needed updates.

I also recommend using all of the default settings for home users.

http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/index.htm

Good Luck,

:) davey

P.S. My original reply somehow got lost between here and there and now is somewhere in Hyperspace.

I had a few paragraphs about why CCleaner's Registry is designed on the safe side.

It should also be known that some "registry cleaners and optimization" report every instance they find on your computer even many duplicated in each copy of System Restore points.

Andavari's following reply says it all about "Registry Cleaners".

I know some cleaners may be more ambitious and therefore more dangerous than CCleaner, but 500 is quite a difference.

That exactly hits the nail on the head. Aggressive registry cleaners can be more trouble than they're actually worth, causing the reinstallation of software, or even possible damaging default Windows settings resulting into a format and reinstall of the operating system. Hence the reason to follow Davey's advice and use ERUNT (which I also highly recommend and use myself) because System Restore may not save you when you need it the most, whereas using an ERUNT backup will restore the registry and have you up and running in a very short amount of time.

Although CCleaner's registry cleaner doesn't find anywhere near the amount that more aggressive registry cleaners find it's far safer. The only other registry cleaner I trust is a commercial one called Registry Mechanic by PC Tools - it is more aggressive than CCleaner however it does have an exclusion list for things you aren't sure about.

Are ERUNT and NTREGOPT Vista 64-bit compatible?

On the site, it only says Vista. Just thought you guys know?

Any good?

http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/faq.htm

Thanks everyone for your responses. I will take a look at the two utilities you suggest.