Registry Cleanup

On Tue, 19 Sep 2006 08:18:02 -0700, Flowerlady wrote:

> How do I do a registry cleanup? I seem to have bits and pieces of old
> programs, that have been uninstalled, in my pc. I would like to clean it up.

RegSeeker and Ccleaner are excellent programs and will do a good job of
cleaning your registry. Ccleaner I know has been used by literally
millions of people over the years. You can check on CNET what USERS have
to say about other programs.

Flowerlady wrote:
> How do I do a registry cleanup? I seem to have bits and pieces of old
> programs, that have been uninstalled, in my pc. I would like to clean it up.


Why do you think you need to clean your registry?

What specific *problems* are you actually experiencing (not some
program's bogus listing of imaginary problems) that you think can be
fixed by using a registry cleaner? If you do have a problem that is
rooted in the registry, it would be far better to simply edit (after
backing up, of course) only the specific key(s) and/or value(s) that are
causing the problem. After all, why use a chainsaw when a scalpel will
do the job? Additionally, the manually changing of one or two registry
entries is far less likely to have the dire consequences of allowing an
automated product to make multiple changes simultaneously.

The registry contains all of the operating system's "knowledge" of
the computer's hardware devices, installed software, the location of the
device drivers, and the computer's configuration. A misstep in the
registry can have severe consequences. One should not even turning
loose a poorly understood automated "cleaner," unless he is fully
confident that he knows *exactly* what is going to happen as a result of
each and every change. Having seen the results of inexperienced people
using automated registry "cleaners," I can only advise all but the most
experienced computer technicians (and/or hobbyists) to avoid them all.
Experience has shown me that such tools simply are not safe in the hands
of the inexperienced user.

The only thing needed to safely clean your registry is knowledge
and Regedit.exe. If you lack the knowledge and experience to maintain
your registry by yourself, then you also lack the knowledge and
experience to safely configure and use any automated registry cleaner,
no matter how safe they claim to be.

Further, no one has ever demonstrated, to my satisfaction, that the
use of an automated registry cleaner, particularly by an untrained,
inexperienced computer user, does any real good. There's certainly been
no empirical evidence offered to demonstrate that the use of such
products to "clean" WinXP's registry improves a computer's performance
or stability.

I always use Regedit.exe. I trust my own experience and judgment
far more than I would any automated registry cleaner. I strongly
encourage others to acquire the knowledge, as well.



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

Bruce, this is good information. However, how does one get to know which
changes are to be made in the registry using regedit?

At present my Help and Support, and my System restore etc. do not function -
could this be due to registry problems?

When I click Help in the popup start menu I get a message that Windows
cannot find 'helpctr.exe' - I have located it to
C:\windows\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\helpctr.exe - so why can't Windows find
it there?

"Bruce Chambers" wrote:

> Flowerlady wrote:
> > How do I do a registry cleanup? I seem to have bits and pieces of old
> > programs, that have been uninstalled, in my pc. I would like to clean it up.
>
>
> Why do you think you need to clean your registry?
>
> What specific *problems* are you actually experiencing (not some
> program's bogus listing of imaginary problems) that you think can be
> fixed by using a registry cleaner? If you do have a problem that is
> rooted in the registry, it would be far better to simply edit (after
> backing up, of course) only the specific key(s) and/or value(s) that are
> causing the problem. After all, why use a chainsaw when a scalpel will
> do the job? Additionally, the manually changing of one or two registry
> entries is far less likely to have the dire consequences of allowing an
> automated product to make multiple changes simultaneously.
>
> The registry contains all of the operating system's "knowledge" of
> the computer's hardware devices, installed software, the location of the
> device drivers, and the computer's configuration. A misstep in the
> registry can have severe consequences. One should not even turning
> loose a poorly understood automated "cleaner," unless he is fully
> confident that he knows *exactly* what is going to happen as a result of
> each and every change. Having seen the results of inexperienced people
> using automated registry "cleaners," I can only advise all but the most
> experienced computer technicians (and/or hobbyists) to avoid them all.
> Experience has shown me that such tools simply are not safe in the hands
> of the inexperienced user.
>
> The only thing needed to safely clean your registry is knowledge
> and Regedit.exe. If you lack the knowledge and experience to maintain
> your registry by yourself, then you also lack the knowledge and
> experience to safely configure and use any automated registry cleaner,
> no matter how safe they claim to be.
>
> Further, no one has ever demonstrated, to my satisfaction, that the
> use of an automated registry cleaner, particularly by an untrained,
> inexperienced computer user, does any real good. There's certainly been
> no empirical evidence offered to demonstrate that the use of such
> products to "clean" WinXP's registry improves a computer's performance
> or stability.
>
> I always use Regedit.exe. I trust my own experience and judgment
> far more than I would any automated registry cleaner. I strongly
> encourage others to acquire the knowledge, as well.
>
>
>
> --
>
> Bruce Chambers
>
> Help us help you:
> http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
> They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin
>
> Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell
>

ballelars wrote:
> Bruce, this is good information. However, how does one get to know which
> changes are to be made in the registry using regedit?
>

Generally, by carefully following the instructions provided in relevant
Knowledge Base Articles, etc. It's a learning process.


> At present my Help and Support, and my System restore etc. do not function -
> could this be due to registry problems?
>


Possibly. If I remember correctly, when WinXP was first released,
there was one registry "cleaner" whose use invariably caused this very
problem. Can't remember the name of it, though.... Don't even know if
it's still on the market.


> When I click Help in the popup start menu I get a message that Windows
> cannot find 'helpctr.exe' - I have located it to
> C:\windows\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\helpctr.exe - so why can't Windows find
> it there?
>

That makes it sounds like your Path Statement is screwed up, and
lacking the normal entries for WinXP's system folders. Therefoe, WinXP
doesn't know how to find the applications.

It should look something like this:

%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem

To edit the Path, right-click My Computer > Properties > Advanced >
Environmental Variables. In the System Variables windows, highlight
"Path" and click the <Edit> button.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

On Mon, 2 Oct 2006 13:01:03 -0700, ballelars wrote:

> Bruce, this is good information. However, how does one get to know which
> changes are to be made in the registry using regedit?
>
> At present my Help and Support, and my System restore etc. do not function -
> could this be due to registry problems?
>
> When I click Help in the popup start menu I get a message that Windows
> cannot find 'helpctr.exe' - I have located it to
> C:\windows\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\helpctr.exe - so why can't Windows find
> it there?
>
> "Bruce Chambers" wrote:
>
>> Flowerlady wrote:
>>> How do I do a registry cleanup? I seem to have bits and pieces of old
>>> programs, that have been uninstalled, in my pc. I would like to clean it up.
>>
>>
>> Why do you think you need to clean your registry?
>>
>> What specific *problems* are you actually experiencing (not some
>> program's bogus listing of imaginary problems) that you think can be
>> fixed by using a registry cleaner? If you do have a problem that is
>> rooted in the registry, it would be far better to simply edit (after
>> backing up, of course) only the specific key(s) and/or value(s) that are
>> causing the problem. After all, why use a chainsaw when a scalpel will
>> do the job? Additionally, the manually changing of one or two registry
>> entries is far less likely to have the dire consequences of allowing an
>> automated product to make multiple changes simultaneously.
>>
>> The registry contains all of the operating system's "knowledge" of
>> the computer's hardware devices, installed software, the location of the
>> device drivers, and the computer's configuration. A misstep in the
>> registry can have severe consequences. One should not even turning
>> loose a poorly understood automated "cleaner," unless he is fully
>> confident that he knows *exactly* what is going to happen as a result of
>> each and every change. Having seen the results of inexperienced people
>> using automated registry "cleaners," I can only advise all but the most
>> experienced computer technicians (and/or hobbyists) to avoid them all.
>> Experience has shown me that such tools simply are not safe in the hands
>> of the inexperienced user.
>>
>> The only thing needed to safely clean your registry is knowledge
>> and Regedit.exe. If you lack the knowledge and experience to maintain
>> your registry by yourself, then you also lack the knowledge and
>> experience to safely configure and use any automated registry cleaner,
>> no matter how safe they claim to be.
>>
>> Further, no one has ever demonstrated, to my satisfaction, that the
>> use of an automated registry cleaner, particularly by an untrained,
>> inexperienced computer user, does any real good. There's certainly been
>> no empirical evidence offered to demonstrate that the use of such
>> products to "clean" WinXP's registry improves a computer's performance
>> or stability.
>>
>> I always use Regedit.exe. I trust my own experience and judgment
>> far more than I would any automated registry cleaner. I strongly
>> encourage others to acquire the knowledge, as well.
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Bruce Chambers
>>
>> Help us help you:
>> http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
>> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>>
>> They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
>> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin
>>
>> Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell
>>

Forget regedit. That is the worst advice that can be given to a computer
user. Not one person in 100 can safely use regedit for exactly the reason
you mention. What exactly do you do? There are several free registry
cleaners availble. Install and run. You do not have to do anything. Take
a look at the results. Then you can post with further questions.

BobN wrote:
> On Mon, 2 Oct 2006 13:01:03 -0700, ballelars wrote:
>
>> Bruce, this is good information. However, how does one get to know which
>> changes are to be made in the registry using regedit?
>>
>> At present my Help and Support, and my System restore etc. do not function -
>> could this be due to registry problems?
>>
>> When I click Help in the popup start menu I get a message that Windows
>> cannot find 'helpctr.exe' - I have located it to
>> C:\windows\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\helpctr.exe - so why can't Windows find
>> it there?
>>
>> "Bruce Chambers" wrote:
>>
>>> Flowerlady wrote:
>>>> How do I do a registry cleanup? I seem to have bits and pieces of old
>>>> programs, that have been uninstalled, in my pc. I would like to clean it up.
>>>
>>> Why do you think you need to clean your registry?
>>>
>>> What specific *problems* are you actually experiencing (not some
>>> program's bogus listing of imaginary problems) that you think can be
>>> fixed by using a registry cleaner? If you do have a problem that is
>>> rooted in the registry, it would be far better to simply edit (after
>>> backing up, of course) only the specific key(s) and/or value(s) that are
>>> causing the problem. After all, why use a chainsaw when a scalpel will
>>> do the job? Additionally, the manually changing of one or two registry
>>> entries is far less likely to have the dire consequences of allowing an
>>> automated product to make multiple changes simultaneously.
>>>
>>> The registry contains all of the operating system's "knowledge" of
>>> the computer's hardware devices, installed software, the location of the
>>> device drivers, and the computer's configuration. A misstep in the
>>> registry can have severe consequences. One should not even turning
>>> loose a poorly understood automated "cleaner," unless he is fully
>>> confident that he knows *exactly* what is going to happen as a result of
>>> each and every change. Having seen the results of inexperienced people
>>> using automated registry "cleaners," I can only advise all but the most
>>> experienced computer technicians (and/or hobbyists) to avoid them all.
>>> Experience has shown me that such tools simply are not safe in the hands
>>> of the inexperienced user.
>>>
>>> The only thing needed to safely clean your registry is knowledge
>>> and Regedit.exe. If you lack the knowledge and experience to maintain
>>> your registry by yourself, then you also lack the knowledge and
>>> experience to safely configure and use any automated registry cleaner,
>>> no matter how safe they claim to be.
>>>
>>> Further, no one has ever demonstrated, to my satisfaction, that the
>>> use of an automated registry cleaner, particularly by an untrained,
>>> inexperienced computer user, does any real good. There's certainly been
>>> no empirical evidence offered to demonstrate that the use of such
>>> products to "clean" WinXP's registry improves a computer's performance
>>> or stability.
>>>
>>> I always use Regedit.exe. I trust my own experience and judgment
>>> far more than I would any automated registry cleaner. I strongly
>>> encourage others to acquire the knowledge, as well.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Bruce Chambers
>>>
>>> Help us help you:
>>> http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
>>> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>>>
>>> They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
>>> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin
>>>
>>> Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell
>>>
>
> Forget regedit. That is the worst advice that can be given to a computer
> user. Not one person in 100 can safely use regedit for exactly the reason
> you mention. What exactly do you do? There are several free registry
> cleaners availble. Install and run. You do not have to do anything. Take
> a look at the results. Then you can post with further questions.



Are you deliberately trying to destroy someone's computer? If a
computer user lacks the knowledge and experience to maintain his/her
registry by him/herself, then he/she also lacks the knowledge and
experience to safely configure and use any automated registry cleaner



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell