SpeedTouch - Obsolete Software?

[Newt]

I notice this reported by the registry cleaner:

 

Obsolete Software

SpeedTouch

HKCU\Software\SpeedTouch

 

However, I currently use a USB SpeedTouch modem for my Internet Access. If this is what it is referring to, then I'm not sure why it is considered obsolete. Therefore, I wondered why this is being flagged for deletion?

[DennisD]

Hi Newt.

 

You don't say which OS you have, so all the following is based upon XP. I really don't know if the entries would be in different locations under other Operating Systems.

 

I have a Thomson Speedtouch 330 modem, which I used for over 3 years, and still occasionally plug back in, and CCleaner has never flagged anything connected to it.

 

My entries under HKCU for the Speedtouch modem are as follows ...

 

"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Alcatel\SpeedTouchUSB"

 

"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\RAS AutoDial\Addresses\www.speedtouch.com".

 

"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\RAS Phonebook\Callback\SpeedTouch USB ADSL PPP (ISDN13-0)"

 

"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu2\Programs\SpeedTouch USB"

 

All other entries pertaining to Speedtouch are in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_USERS. I don't have the entry you mention above at all. Is there another product called Speedtouch? I'm not aware of one.

 

You could ignore it by adding it to a CCleaner "Exclude Registry" routine, or delete it after first copying it by navigating to that key with RegEdit, and right click copy and paste the key name to another location. Of course you should also follow the CCleaner dialogue to back-up before you delete anything in the registry.

 

The "Exclude" might be the most prudent solution.

 

If you're not sure about doing this, or the how-to, just post back and we'll take it from there.

[Willy2]

The best solution is - IMO - to delete the entry and re-install the modem software.

[Newt]

Thanks for your replies.

 

I am using XP Home SP 3 and have a Thomson SpeedTouch 330 Modem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpeedTouch_330). The software was installed from a CD, provided by my ISP (Virgin Media).

 

On my PC, the registry key that CCleaner reports only has one default value, which is not set. So it does not look like it is being used for much. Maybe best to leave it there though just in case, as my modem works with no problems.

[DennisD]

If you get tired of seeing it flagged Newt, a CCleaner "Exclude" entry will stop this happening. CCleaner will ignore it.

 

Exclude Registry:

[Newt]

Thanks for the Exclude tip.

[Lucky10]

I have a Thomson Speedtouch 330 modem, which I used for over 3 years

Note really related to this problem Dennis but I had a Thomson Speedtouch 330 USB modem when I first tried Broadband 5 years ago and it was a pain in the backside. Any large downloads and it would switch off. If you Google about this modem you'll see that the current draw is over 500ma which is more that the USB feeds. I contacted my ISP about this problem ans they gave a a few suggestions and downloads to fix it but it didn't. They had a different model of modem but they wouldn't give one so I cancelled the Broadband.

[DennisD]

Well Lucky, either you were unlucky, or I was lucky.

 

I didn't have too many problems with the old 330, but as a freebie with my broadband package, it wasn't gonna be the best modem available. Although saying that, it handled large downloads without any problems.

 

The Internet being what it is, it's sometimes hard to actually pin down the real cause of an issue. What you think is being caused by your modem, may in fact be an issue with your ISP, or even Line Quality. Or visa versa.

 

I've now had a Belkin modem/router for a couple of months or so, and at first I thought I had a faulty one because my connection kept dropping out.

 

Tried first with my ISP, who told me their end was working perfectly, so it must be the router. Tried Belkin support, and they came to the conclusion (after hearing what my ISP said), that the Router must be losing it's settings. So I exchanged it.

 

Connected the new one up, and after a couple of days, the connection started dropping out again, and to cut a longish story short, the support guy I spoke to this time at my ISP, actually took the trouble to do a lengthy line check.

 

He discovered a fault at my exchange, and although it took a couple of attempts to get it fixed, my connection is now rock steady. So I probably exchanged a perfectly good Modem\Router for nothing.

 

I mention this in case other folk have had, or may have, similar problems. It isn't always straightforward to find the cause of a problem, as you're dealing with different possible causes, and different companies. It can be hard work finding out who's to blame.

[Andavari]

The best solution is - IMO - to delete the entry and re-install the modem software.

 

Any registry cleaner can give a false positive, or the registry key in question can just be different enough to fool a registry cleaner into thinking it's invalid which is a serious problem with overly aggressive registry cleaners constantly getting fooled and wrecking systems.

[Newt]

Maybe CCleaner just goes through HKCU\Software\ and flags any keys that have no values (as they are unlikely to be used)? So, perhaps the only reason why it flagged SpeedTouch was that this was an empty key, and it isn't singling out SpeedTouch for any other specific reason.

[DennisD]

As mentioned above Newt, amongst all the entries I have for my Speed Touch, there isn't the key you mention which CCleaner flagged, and my old modem still works fine. I also have XP SP3.

 

Maybe CCleaner removed it for me a long time time ago, and I can't recollect.