Registry data ignored by ccleaner after uninstalling app

[Xircal]

I know that ccleaner is considered to be the holy grail of registry cleaners, but in my opinion, it falls short of doing the job properly in many respects.

 

For example, I updated an app called Quick Media Converter yesterday which went pear-shaped and after trying various options to correct the problem, I finally decided to uninstall the app and remove the registry entries before proceeding with the reinstallation. When I ran ccleaner after uninstalling it via Add/Remove Programs in Windows XP Pro and rebooting, it displayed a number of HKLM entries which I allowed your app to remove.

 

I then ran a scan of the registry using the "Find" option and was surprised to find a plethora of entries which ccleaner appeared to have missed. I then checked the Application Data in the "Documents and Settings" folder and found a number of entries for QMC which I dispatched to the Windows Recycle Bin. I then ran ccleaner again, but it didn't find anything. Checking the registry once more, I was surprised to find all the keys and subkeys complete with their data still present. Thinking that the Recycle Bin may be the culprit, I rebooted and then emptied that too. No change with ccleaner, but doing a manual search of the registry as before, all the data was still present.

 

I've attached a few screenshots to illustrate what was found by ccleaner during the first scan. After deleting the relevant "Application Data" mentioned above, the second ccleaner scan found only two problems both of which have nothing to do with QMC. You can see the results in one of the other images. The third image shows a number of entries pertaining to the PC SOFT key which is part of the QMC installation.

 

My question now is, why does ccleaner ignore these registry entries? Your app ignored all the HKCU data listed on this site: http://www.checkfile...Index/0/sTab/2/ for example.

[Ishi]

What did you use to uninstall this Quick Media Converter again? You used the Add/Remove Programs option on the Control Panel?

 

Why don't you try uninstalling Quick Media Converter with its own uninstaller. You might just find it if you look at Quick Media Converter's Start Menu folder. It may have an option there that says something like "Uninstall Quick Media Converter". Try using that to remove the program and see if it leaves as much in the Registry.

 

CCleaner also has an uninstaller tool but I guess that only takes use of the program's own uninstaller.

 

The Registry cleaner of CCleaner is also a "light" Registry cleaner so it doesn't burrow that much deep into the Registry, finding obsolete entries but that in turn reduces the risk of deleting potentially needed keys in the Registry.

 

What CCleaner version were you using?

[Alan_B]

RevoUninstaller is a FAR better way of purging what you do not want.

 

When you tell RevoUninstaller to zap a target it KNOWS that target is not required,

and if it finds registry remnants have been left behind it takes them out regardless of the existence of any executables that may remain.

CCleaner is NOT given information that a target is to be removed, so if an executable remains the correct action HAS to be that the registry key is preserved.

[Ishi]

RevoUninstaller is a FAR better way of purging what you do not want.

 

When you tell RevoUninstaller to zap a target it KNOWS that target is not required,

and if it finds registry remnants have been left behind it takes them out regardless of the existence of any executables that may remain.

 

Yes, I use Revo Uninstaller too. Its a powerful uninstall utility. Not only does it remove many of the program's remnants in the Registry but it also has the ability to take care of remnant files and folders that the program leaves behind.

 

Most of us only use its free version though.

[Xircal]

Sorry, but I don't quite get your drift. I'm talking about ccleaner not removing registry data, not about another utility which may or may not do the same job. This is the ccleaner support forum is it not?

[Alan_B]

Sorry, but I don't quite get your drift. I'm talking about ccleaner not removing registry data, not about another utility which may or may not do the same job.

Read me again. I fully explained how and why RevoUninstaller does not do the same job

 

 

This is the ccleaner support forum is it not?

Sarcastic BUT ACCURATE answer to a sarcastic question :-

CCleaner WILL clean these registry remnants without need other utilities,

but first you must INCLUDE the FILE remnants that Quick*!$* left behind and then use CCleaner to clean those files so it may then clean the registry.

 

Sincerely, CCleaner is NOT designed to uninstall ANY application.

Tools => Uninstall is merely a much quicker alternative to Control Panel;=> Add/Remove in getting a list of applications that can be removed,

and when you use this to uninstall it merely launches whatever code the application has provided for its self-removal,

 

You may easily find alternative Registry CCleaners that will take out some of the keys which CCleaner leaves behind.

Those alternatives take bigger risks with your machine, and when they get it wrong it is you that suffer.

 

I have just searched with this search term

Quick Media Converter uninstall problem

I received About 2,890,000 results (0.10 seconds)

Obviously you are not the only victim

On the first page of results was this FREE tool which may find and remove even more junk,

http://www.freeunins...r-HD-30218.html

unless of course you object in principle to considering any alternative utility

 

N.B. You need to be aware that sometimes after an application is uninstalled it may need a reboot to complete removal,

and a further reboot may be appropriate to achieve a full reconciliation of the registry with the rest of the system.

I have experienced this when doing a clean upgrade of AntiMalware protection software,

which is more concerned with locking in tight to resist removal by malware,

and not so concerned about consequent difficulty for removal by a user.

 

There are various tools dedicated to removing Security software.

It would appear that Quick*!$* is as obstinate as Security software if this tool is needed

http://www.freeunins...r-HD-30218.html

[Xircal]

Read me again. I fully explained how and why RevoUninstaller does not do the same job

 

 

 

Sarcastic BUT ACCURATE answer to a sarcastic question :-

CCleaner WILL clean these registry remnants without need other utilities,

but first you must INCLUDE the FILE remnants that Quick*!$* left behind and then use CCleaner to clean those files so it may then clean the registry.

 

Sincerely, CCleaner is NOT designed to uninstall ANY application.

Tools => Uninstall is merely a much quicker alternative to Control Panel;=> Add/Remove in getting a list of applications that can be removed,

and when you use this to uninstall it merely launches whatever code the application has provided for its self-removal,

 

You may easily find alternative Registry CCleaners that will take out some of the keys which CCleaner leaves behind.

Those alternatives take bigger risks with your machine, and when they get it wrong it is you that suffer.

 

I have just searched with this search term

 

I received About 2,890,000 results (0.10 seconds)

Obviously you are not the only victim

On the first page of results was this FREE tool which may find and remove even more junk,

http://www.freeunins...r-HD-30218.html

unless of course you object in principle to considering any alternative utility

 

N.B. You need to be aware that sometimes after an application is uninstalled it may need a reboot to complete removal,

and a further reboot may be appropriate to achieve a full reconciliation of the registry with the rest of the system.

I have experienced this when doing a clean upgrade of AntiMalware protection software,

which is more concerned with locking in tight to resist removal by malware,

and not so concerned about consequent difficulty for removal by a user.

 

There are various tools dedicated to removing Security software.

It would appear that Quick*!$* is as obstinate as Security software if this tool is needed

http://www.freeunins...r-HD-30218.html

Here we go again. Users jumping to conclusions and just paying a cursory glance to the original post before going off at a tangent.

 

My observations - and that's all they were- are simply about ccleaner not doing the job it's supposed to do where it relates to registry data. I have no problems whatsoever uninstalling anything on my system and if you'd had bothered to read my initial post properly, you would have seen that!

 

If ccleaner requires that the user installs another third party utility in order for it to work, then that should be explained in the release notes. Since it isn't, I assumed that it will do the job it's supposedly been designed for.

 

I've uninstalled it now since it's obviously not what I'm looking for and since I don't propose to clog up my system with superflous apps, there's no point in retaining it.

[Andavari]

ccleaner not doing the job it's supposed to do where it relates to registry data.

That would be because CCleaner doesn't have an over-the-top powerful registry cleaner, thus it won't butcher your registry possibly causing you to reinstall programs or worse Windows itself.

[DennisD]

I think you've completely missed the point Alan made in post #3, so I decided, as an exercise in showing what a lousy uninstaller can do, to install and uninstall Quick Media Converter as this may be useful information for others expecting CCleaner to do the impossible.

 

Very few programs clean up after themselves when uninstalled, and if you had removed it with Revo UIninstaller you would have seen exactly what this program leaves behind in way of registry entries and files/folders.

 

Media Conversion programs in particular either download a lot of codecs and lib files, or link via the registry to similar files already installed on your computer.

 

I installed Quick Media Converter and then uninstalled it, via Revo, with the programs own uninstaller, which CCleaner utilizes by the way, and this is what it left behind ...

 

Registry:

 

 

It left behind 149 registry entries which meant 7 screenshots to show all of them.

 

Files and Folders:

 

 

It left behind the entire AppData folder which contained files which would have been linked to the main program by a host of registry entries.

 

As these files are all still intact, CCleaner will not, and should not, remove registry entries associated with these items, as it can't possibly be aware that they are the detritus left behind by a bad uninstaller.

 

If it did haphazardly remove stuff like this, it would break many legitimate programs.

 

The problem is with the installed program's uninstall routine, and not with CCleaner, and this situation is pretty standard with most uninstallers, especially those belonging to programs with large installations.

[Super Fast]

It is possible that someone reported a problem after removal of those entries, prompting them to include them on the exclude list for the purpose of maintaining registry integrity.

[Xircal]

It left behind the entire AppData folder which contained files which would have been linked to the main program by a host of registry entries.

 

As these files are all still intact, CCleaner will not, and should not, remove registry entries associated with these items, as it can't possibly be aware that they are the detritus left behind by a bad uninstaller.

 

If it did haphazardly remove stuff like this, it would break many legitimate programs.

 

The problem is with the installed program's uninstall routine, and not with CCleaner, and this situation is pretty standard with most uninstallers, especially those belonging to programs with large installations.

As mentioned already in my opening post, I deleted the data in the Application Data folder and emptied the Recycle Bin before rebooting prior to running ccleaner again. So theorectically at least, ccleaner should have been able to identify those items as no longer present on the system and therefore safe to delete.

 

Incidentally, you missed a few QMC registry entries in your screenshots. Do a registry search for Actecom and you'll find a few more.

 

Although my post was primarily about QMC, if you check out the following key @ HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Startmenu\Programs you'll probably find a ton of stuff pertaining to the Start menu's Programs list which don't exist anymore (having been uninstalled some time ago in my particular case). I would have thought ccleaner would have been capable of identifying those as safe to delete. However, that's just a personal opinion.

[Alan_B]

You are free to hold any opinions you like,

but when a product fails to achieve what is NOT claimed to be part of its intention,

that really is not a sound basis for a Bug Report.

 

It is your expectations that have gone off at a tangent - I was not jumping to conclusions.

[Xircal]

You are free to hold any opinions you like,

but when a product fails to achieve what is NOT claimed to be part of its intention,

that really is not a sound basis for a Bug Report.

 

It is your expectations that have gone off at a tangent - I was not jumping to conclusions.

Well, I'm sorry to have to contradict you on that score, but that's not what it says on the tin.

 

Taken from your own website @ http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner "Registry Cleaner - Advanced features to remove unused and old registry entries". I would have thought that data in the HKCU hive mentioned in my previous post would have qualified as 'old registry entries'. If that's not the case, then please explain what these 'Advanced features' are supposed to do exactly?

[Alan_B]

Well, I'm sorry to have to contradict you on that score, but that's not what it says on the tin.

 

Taken from your own website @ http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner "Registry Cleaner - Advanced features to remove unused and old registry entries". I would have thought that data in the HKCU hive mentioned in my previous post would have qualified as 'old registry entries'. If that's not the case, then please explain what these 'Advanced features' are supposed to do exactly?

It should be obvious that a key which points to a non-existent file is a key for which there is no use.

A key that points to a file which DOES exist may be pointing at a file that could still be used even if the application UN-installer has only crippled the application with an incomplete remover.

How is CCleaner supposed to know YOUR intentions.

RevoUninstaller DOES know your intentions when you aim it and click for removal.

 

My impression is that you MAY have a lot of PC SOFT stuff besides Quick*!$*

Do you understand what shared dll's are ?

They are "common" executables that may be used by a multiplicity of applications.

When a defective Quick*!$* UN-installer operates it would be essential for it to leave intact any common executables that are still used by other PC SOFT stuff

Since the executable exists then any Quick*!$* registry key which designates that executable should still be retained.

 

CCleaner is deliberately designed to err on the side of caution.

 

It should be obvious to anyone that what you quoted is inaccurate.

If CCleaner removed "old registry entries" then Windows would never boot up after all its vital keys are deemed to be 'x' days old.

Obviously it is another way of saying "obsolete or out of use registry entries"

 

I cannot explain all the intricacies of "Registry Cleaner - Advanced features".

If you really want to know then I suggest you start a separate topic under CCleaner Discussions.

 

You say you have uninstalled CCleaner - no objections here.

 

I see no point in continuing with this topic since you seem to have no interest in taking any advice on better ways to do things,

and this seems to me to be a never ending argument which I do not wish to continue.

[Andavari]

if you check out the following key @ HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Startmenu\Programs you'll probably find a ton of stuff pertaining to the Start menu's Programs list which don't exist anymore

Most registry cleaners I've used never even touch that location. Sometimes Revo Uninstaller Free will get rid of them, but not always.

 

One way to overcome such horrible uninstallers that really don't uninstall much at all is to start tracking installations with an install watcher program such as ZSoft Uninstaller (Freeware), or Total Uninstall (Last Freeware Version) or the paid version if you want someone more up-to-date, or another install watcher you prefer.

[Xircal]

It should be obvious that a key which points to a non-existent file is a key for which there is no use.

A key that points to a file which DOES exist may be pointing at a file that could still be used even if the application UN-installer has only crippled the application with an incomplete remover.

How is CCleaner supposed to know YOUR intentions.

RevoUninstaller DOES know your intentions when you aim it and click for removal.

You see? There you go again: talking about a third party app which has nothing to do with the subject matter.

 

My impression is that you MAY have a lot of PC SOFT stuff besides Quick*!$*

No, I don't.

 

Do you understand what shared dll's are ?

Yes.

 

CCleaner is deliberately designed to err on the side of caution

In that particular case, it shouldn't claim to have 'Advanced capabilities'. .

 

If CCleaner removed "old registry entries" then Windows would never boot up after all its vital keys are deemed to be 'x' days old

That's ludicrous and you know it.

 

I cannot explain all the intricacies of "Registry Cleaner - Advanced features".

If you really want to know then I suggest you start a separate topic under CCleaner Discussions.

I thought I did actually. Maybe a Mod could move there if I've somehow or other posted in the wrong one.

 

I see no point in continuing with this topic since you seem to have no interest in taking any advice on better ways to do things,

and this seems to me to be a never ending argument which I do not wish to continue.

Fine by me. Most have what you've written so far has been next to useless anyway.

[DennisD]

I really think this thread has gone as far as it can go.

 

If you believe the "Issues" feature of CCleaner falls short of what you require, then I would simply suggest that you seek out and use one of the many other registry cleaners available on the web.

 

As there's nowhere else for this thread to go, I'll close it.