When should you run a registry cleaner?

Tim87

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I'm just curious when you should run a registry cleaner if ever?
 

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Ideally never
 

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According to someone from Microsoft Answers. Registry cleaners are usually "snake oil" products. Some have claimed that they work (like CCleaner) but I guess its based on opinion.
 
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Registry cleaners generally cause more problems than they solve and should be avoided. They do have some value when used by an expert to solve a specific problem. But most people who use them have only a vague idea of what the registry is and that is a dangerous combination.
 

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    Windows 7
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Basically all of the above are true.
The Windows Registry doesn't need to be cleaned, it is a self sufficient element of the Windows Operating System.
The only reliable method of obtaining a 'fresh' Registry is to 'rebuild' it by resetting or re-installing your operating system.
 

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I had a glitch a while back.
I can't remember exactly but the Registry cleaner in CCleaner fixed it.
It was an obsolete entry.

I have never had anything bad happen because I used it. :)

Others may have had a different experience. :(
 

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I had a glitch a while back.
I can't remember exactly but the Registry cleaner in CCleaner fixed it.
It was an obsolete entry.

I have never had anything bad happen because I used it. :)

Others may have had a different experience. :(

Totally agree, it has saved me several times at least. As far as the registry being self-sufficient, I have to disagree. Anyone who knows how to use regedit can do a search and find all kinds of orphan entries. I am amazed whenever I go in looking for something specific but come across entries from a year ago from programs that I uninstalled using the software uninstaller provided by the program.

This is definitely one of those things people have much different experiences and opinions on.
 
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If someone regularly does image backups before messing around with stuff like the registry, then I say -- go at it and see if it does any good. But ... the sorry fact is that very few folks take these kinds of precautions, and the ones that just run registry cleaners without any restoration capability are asking for problems.

The registry acts like a database, in that it contains values that are used by apps and the OS. When you remove an app, all the remaining registry values that were not removed only take up space. And, in today's world of multi-GB hard drives, that amount of space is trivial.

If you corrupt the registry, there's a good chance that Windows will not even boot -- and you've "broken" the PC all to save a little bit of space.

So, without restoration capability, my advice is to leave well enough alone.
 

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So, without restoration capability, my advice is to leave well enough alone.

I keep 2 Macrium images all the time.

Then again, you can export the registry & put it back if you mess it up. :)
 

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    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
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    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
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    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
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    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
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    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
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    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
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    AMD K140
    Cores 2
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    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
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    Extended Family 14
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    Opera 24.0
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    Avast Internet Security

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    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
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    Acer V3 771G-6443
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    i5-3230m
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    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
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    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
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    Realtek High Definition Audio
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    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
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    1600x900 pixels
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    Comodo
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    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
I use CCleaner and run a registry scan about once every two months. Never had any issues (Cross my fingers).
 

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Maybe my OCD will bite me in the butt one day when it comes to registry cleaning. I just hate orphan trash in my registry. I do look closely at what the program (CCleaner) wants to remove though.
 

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    Acer V3 771G-6443
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    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
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    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
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    Realtek High Definition Audio
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    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
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    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
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    90 watt brick
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    Comodo
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    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
I use Tweaking.com's Registry Backup in Windows Repair(All in One).
View attachment 55786
It also restores. It's also good for if you uninstall something & regret doing it and reinstall it(I always save installers of favorite programs to my Data disk).
 

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    Intel Core i9-9900K
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    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
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    Edge; Chrome; IE11
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A subjective, personal opinion: There's no need for registry cleaners.

I am a heavy duty geek, have been it both professionally and private. Since early days of Vista I have never installed nor used any registry cleaners. The only thing I have done with registry is sometimes edit a value or two, for instance in order to sysprep an upgraded Windows which requires some values to be changed. That's all.

What if an orphan registry entry remains after uninstalling something? It's not a big deal, in fact it's totally irrelevant and has absolutely no effect on Windows, its speed and / or functionality.

Kari
 
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What if an orphan registry entry remains after uninstalling something? It's not a bid deal, in fact it's totally irrelevant and has absolutely no effect on Windows, its speed and / or functionality.

Kari

I use to think it was a registry file that was messing things up when uninstalling then reinstalling a program that had become corrupted...eventually I learned it was those darn INI files that hide in C:\Users\Clifford\AppData:tip:
 

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    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
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    1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
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    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
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    Trust GTX THURA
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    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
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    Edge; Chrome; IE11
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    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
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I use CCleaner and run a registry scan about once every two months. Never had any issues (Cross my fingers).
This is also what I do, except I clean monthly ... never had a problem in many years
 

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    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
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    Intel Pentium B940 2.00GHz Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology
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    OEM - ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Model K54C (CPU 1) Version 1.0 Chipset Vendor Intel Chipset Model
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No real need to do it regularly, only when something suspected that has something to do with registry. Even than, those programs like CC can and only find orphaned entries and can not replace anything missing. With some prevention like proper and thorough uninstallation of programs, registry cleaning becomes unnecessary.
 

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System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
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    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
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    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
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    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
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    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
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    40/2 Mbps
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    Firefox
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    WD
No real need to do it regularly, only when something suspected that has something to do with registry. Even than, those programs like CC can and only find orphaned entries and can not replace anything missing.
That's right Count! At least Ccleaner names it "cleaner" (correctly) and not "repair".
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome; IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
Well there have been cases, that people could not run/install software, because of some registry leftovers, completely unrelated to it and reg cleaner fixed it. One bad registry entry can cause crashes, BSOD and even prevent you from booting, something that is normally solved by reinstall only. Obviously the same can happen, if reg cleaner removes something, it should not. If you stick with reputable and avoid deep scans, you should be fine. It is just a regular maintenance, which prevents various bugs and keep OS problem free.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo E525
    CPU
    AMD A4-3300M @ 2,0GHz
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 6480G 512MB shared
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    WD 465GB
    Cooling
    Fusion Tweaker
    Keyboard
    Logitech K360
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    50/50 MBps
    Browser
    Yandex
    Antivirus
    No AV & No Firewall
    Other Info
    Headphones: Sennheiser RS170
Every now and than I feel compelled to show somebody usefulness of uninstallers like Revo and fire up CCleaner,all that could be found in it are some SS entries from internet past connections.
Here just did it now after a month or so:
cc1.jpg

In mean time, many programs installed and almost as many uninstalled by Revo Pro in most aggressive mode. Even AV was changed from Avast to Bitdeffender to AVG. Manually I found some entries for those past AVs (they were uninstalled using their own utilities) but CC did not find anything pertaining to them.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
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