what's the windows 8.1 best registry repair freeware (or other recommended freeware)

hi, there are at least 30 freeware registry repair downloads available. i like to get my downloads from major geeks and haven't traced any problems back to their downloads but i'd like to know of other safe download sites. what's the best freeware for windows 8.1, starting with registry repair (avast free says i have 140 broken registry items, which ccleaner free does not fix.) thanks in advance.

You don't need any of them, it's all snake oil nonsense.

8.1 said:

hi, there are at least 30 freeware registry repair downloads available. i like to get my downloads from major geeks and haven't traced any problems back to their downloads but i'd like to know of other safe download sites. what's the best freeware for windows 8.1, starting with registry repair (avast free says i have 140 broken registry items, which ccleaner free does not fix.) thanks in advance.

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Your best registry repair software would be your Windows System image repair disc you made or, the factory repair disc you got with your PC, or whatever Windows repair media that came compliments of Windows you already have. Disk Cleanup is a Windows program that comes with your o/s and if this doesn't repair those "broken registry" items you can always run check disk to repair any potential issues. The third party "registry repair" software, more often than not is snake oil nonsense as our college here has stated. That said for convenience sake some of these programs are more user friendly than digging for the programs that already come with your Windows o/s. If your Avast is the free version then it should be evident that they're trying to get you to subscribe to the paid version by reporting alleged "broken registry items". This is called "fear ware" and it's an old gimmick. I won't go so far as to aay that all of them are snake oil but you get what you pay for and more often than not you aleady have the tools to deal with registry issues that came with your operating system. Malware Bytes for example, is a legit program if you have the cash to get the genuine article but it isn't cheap and it certainly isn't essential.

There was once a forum where just breaching the topic of Registry Cleaning could get you banned.
But what IS registry cleaning? Well, for one, it could be getting rid of old entries placed in the registry by long gone programs, that can cause the registry to become Bloated.
I once removed Microsoft Office from my PC, and then ran ***** registry cleaner (not CCleaner) and it removed 30+ MB of left over garbage from the registry, greatly decreasing it's size and making it more efficient.
I test a lot of software and after removing the ones I don't want to keep, I clean my registry to remove left over entries. It's not black magic, just good system maintenance, regardless of what some people might say.

FREE software is not always the best software. The only Cleanup software I'll use today is Windows Utilities and the last I checked, it was NOT FREE. But it works GREAT and so far it's never damaged my OS.
Cheers Mates!
TechnoMage

Well, it's almost two months later, since the last entry here.

Just a little history. Back in the DOS days, we didn't have to worry about registry cleaning, because there wasn't one. lol
Enter Windows and the windows registry. Every program installed into Windows, adds a ton of stuff to the registry. And, very few program removal tools, remove all those now useless registry entries.
As we run our PC's daily, the OS is constantly referring to the registry for information on just how a program should run.
It surely doesn't require a Rocket Scientist, to conclude that in time, a bloated and possibly fragmented registry is going to take its toll on system performance.
Likewise, a badly fragmented Hard Drive.

Just like I've always liked to keep my cars in tip top tune, I likewise like to keep all my computers in tip top condition. Sorry Charlie, keeping the Crap out of your registry or HD is not Snake Oil.
It's called good Maintenance.

Just like very few people can properly tune up their cars, even fewer people can tune up their PC.
It's always been an interest of mine, so I've worked it down to a Science.

Over the decades that I worked as a computer tech, I've performed my own Computer Tune Up on hundreds and possibly thousands of PC's. When I would finish a Tune-Up, the typical response from my customer would be, "Dang, it didn't run that fast when it was new!"
All I could say, is, "I know. It's what I do."

Without fail, the first steps of any PC Tune-Up is to get rid of all the CRAP on the HD, including old, unused and possibly bad registry entries. THAT'S NOT SNAKE OIL!

I'll stop, , , I didn't mean for this to run so long.
Cheers Mates!
TechnoMage

@TechnoMage,
I have to agree somewhat. To start there is no such thing as registry REPAIR software. Only registry CLEANERS.
I too use a program (WISE RC) to clean out the useless junk and another to defrag and compact the registry.
I have never in over 20 years had any problems in doing this.
I personally would never use cCleaner.

Our Canadian friend, Dave, gives some useful tips on maintainence and janitorial in this video:

Most users, even those self proclaimed Experts, know very little about what goes on behind that Graphical user Interface. (GUI). Many don't even have the good sense to turn off their "appliance" when they're not using it. (a pet peeve of mine)
Every component of any computer has a definite life expectancy (time before death)
So every hour that a PC is ON, brings it closer to it's EOL (End of life).

Then there is the Load Factor. Like, how hard are you making your PC work? My own PC's, all of them, run on the KISS method. (Keep It Simple Stupid).
I even go through the "Services" list and disable every one that I don't need running all the time, or ever, and those that only need to run on demand, I put in Manual Start mode. I only have one CPU with one heat sink and one fan, so I try to keep their work load as low as possible.
That's less load on the PSU too, so hopefully it will run cooler and last longer.
There's just a lot more to properly and efficiently running a computer, Server, Desktop, Laptop or Tablet, than most users are up to. A clean and efficient Registry is just one little aspect of the bigger picture.
The phone company has a registry, , , it's called a Phone Book. Can you imagine what it would look like if they didn't purge the old, out of date, listings from it every year?

Cheers Mates!
TM

There is a solid element of truth to this. There are also some exceptions to the 'shut down' rule. Servers need constant maintenance because they're always running and in fact, always in use to a greater or lesser extent. Personally, I like to leave most services running on my work station so I don't run into the "where is that service when you need it?" conundrum; but then I also do regular maintenance and upkeep that most people simply don't have time for, as you so prudently pointed out. I guess what I'm trying to say is there another rule that applies here that might take precedence at times: If ain't broke don't fix it. Alas, I'm terrible at following this rule as I'm always "experimenting" with things. What many people don't know is the tools for keeping your Windows system clean and running efficiently already come with the o/s in most cases and one simply needs to do a little research to locate them. Third party software can bring these tools to the forefront and make them more easily accessible but in truth the software was already there for the most part. Windows 8.1 did do some streamlining in the way of backups that I wasn't crazy about but, there are always "work arounds" for those who have the time to fiddle. Everything has a price.