I use both REGISTRY BOOSTER (http://www.liutilities.com/) and also CCleaner v2.13.270 (which has a smaller Registry cleaner). One of them cut off the Registry Pointer to the Threatfire Heuristic Anti-Rootkit software (www.pctools.com) which put a couple of SYS files, including tfsysmon.sys, in my boot cycle. When I tried to boot VISTA, it would hang there every time. Safe Mode did nothing to help. Putting the install disk in the CD/DVD drive for "repair computer" didn't work. Thereafter, I could NOT boot my PC at all. With online tech help, and 4 hours of work, I'm back. Fortunately, the Boot Disk gave me the option to drop to DOS and I renamed the ThreatFire SYS files.
Then, I couldn't update some recommended security updates using WINDOWS UPDATE. That took lots of help to fix. The techs say almost all Registry Cleaners do this sort of damage. In doing a CCleaner Registry Scan, I notice, for example, the following line that CCleaner recommends I delete:
Since Wuaucpl.cpl is a Windows Update Service-related file that is named Windows Update AutoUpdate Control Panel, which makes part of the Microsoft? Windows? Operating System. This appears to be one example of CCleaner registry scan proposing that I delete something that may be really critical to my Vista PC. Now I'm afraid to use any Registry
cleaner, although I've long been a huge fan of CCleaner. What assurances can you give me your product is safe? What tricks can I use to only Registry/Clean junk, but leave in the important lines?
I just wanted to post a quick comment. I use Vista x86 with ThreatFire and CC. Never has CC removed any items or references to TF. I've been using TF for over a year and CC for about 11 months.
I'll make sure I stay away from Registry Booster
In the future if you ever have this sort of problem again. Boot into the recovery console. From there you can disable Services and Drivers. using the DISABLE command. I forget the parameters but you could always type DISABLE /? and get a list of parameters and example usage.
I had to do that once in XP when I had a botched install of Norton AV.
It is obvious to me that if CCleaner FOUND and proposed removal of the above, it was still present and had NOT been deleted by CCleaner.
It is therefore obvious that CCleaner was not responsible for preventing Windows Updates. You have to look elsewhere, and I think we all know what I am looking at.
I believe that Registry Booster probably "cleaned" something it should have left alone, with the results that :-
1) Windows Update stopped working, and;
2) Afterwards CCleaner CORRECTLY recognised ...\wuaucpl.cpl as JUNK because it could not work any more - the links / pointers / references that should have launched it were long gone.
It is generally accepted by any successful P.C. user, that you should only have one real-time anti-virus product in operation. If you simultaneously run two they suspect every action of the other as a virus activity to be nobbled. Mutually Assured Destruction.
I PROPOSE a similar rule, do not use different registry cleaners.
If one of them takes out a bit that is needed, the other one will subsequently want to take out everything that is now crippled, and every time you run the alternate cleaner you lose a bit more Windows till all you have left is DOS !!!