CCleaner and RegistryBooster = good cleaning?

[ErikAlbert]

I tested CCleaner + RegistryBooster, which is advertised in many computer-forums, including this forum.
The test-environment was a pure WinXPpro, based on the original Windows Installation CD, which has never been online and was activated by phone, in other words malware-free.No Third Party software were installed, except CCleaner or RegistryBooster.
I was wondering, what CCleaner and RegistryBooster would do in such a virginal Windows environment with a clean Windows Registry, that has never been used.

1. CCleaner reported 10 registry-errors.
2. RegistryBooster reported 55 registry-errors.

If I would have tested more registry-cleaners, they all would have reported a different number of registry-errors because they are created by different programmers. So every programmer seems to have his own opinion about which registries are good or wrong.
Which programmer am I going to trust : CCleaner or RegistryBooster ?
Why does a registry-cleaner reports innocent registries as so called errors anyway ?
There is nothing wrong with these 10 or 55 registries, so they don't need to be removed.

Will my computer run faster after removing 55 innocent ? No and it never will.
Any software that needs Windows Registry has direct access to the registries it needs and it doesn't matter how many registries there are, 1,000 or 200,000, it doesn't make any difference because there is no sequential reading involved.

Why are users using registry-cleaners ?
The main cause is "Windows Add/Remove Programs", which uses the uninstall program of each software to remove itself. The truth is that no software is able to uninstall itself completely, how ridiciulous this may sound and it is indeed ridiculous.
After installing/uninstalling any software your partition-C has still leftovers in Registry and folders. The more you install/uninstall software, the more dirty your harddisk becomes.
An average user doesn't know the location of these leftovers, so he starts using
cleaning/registry-softwares to clean the garbage. Unfortunately some registry-cleaners are so aggressive, they might damage your system.
So Windows Add/Remove Programs + cleaning softwares + registry-cleaners was a problem, at least to me.
I couldn't trust any of these softwares, it wasn't safe and it was incomplete.
Even the popular CCleaner was on my blacklist, because CCleaner doesn't clean everything.
I needed a much safer and better solution and it had to be very simple.
First I re-installed Windows and all my legal Third Party softwares from scratch.
I gave Windows and each software its settings, but I never used them.
So each software was in a pure and unused state and that was very important.
I created an image with my Image Backup software and stored on my external harddisk. I installed FirstDefense-ISR and freezed my partition-C, which also creates a "Freeze Storage" = clean partition-C.
Each time I reboot FirstDefense-ISR replaces my dirty partition-C with a clean partition-C, before Windows even starts.

Each time I test a new software and I want to get rid of it, I reboot and I have my clean partition-C back, without using Windows Add/Remove Programs, cleaning- and registry-softwares.
Less softwares required, less work, a natural/safe and thorough cleaning and a simple reboot to clean the mess.
Softwares like Norton and Nero, which are very hard to uninstall completely are not a problem anymore and that counts for every software in the world.
I can't do any better than this, it's close to perfect.

 

[Dalo Harkin]

Registry cleaners are dangerous and can leave a system needing a reinstall.

If you think you need to use a registry cleaner then you should be comfortable editing the registry and know what does what..and then remove obsolete entries yourself.

I don't even recommend defragging the HDDs (unless you have a specific reason to do so) so I know where you are coming from

 

[Synapse]

I would like to just say something in defence of CCleaner.

Firstly there are very good reasons to use it - it does a fine job of removing temp files, another Windows bugbear, and a job which for the average user may not otherwise be done, and negates the need to search around various folders removing the files.

Secondly there are times when the reg cleaner component is very useful - certainly it is not a tool for everyday use, but when something goes wrong a competent user of engineer can bring a PC back from the dead using CCleaner or similar tools.

Also consider that Revo Uninstaller Pro, so well recommended here and on other forums, does essentially the same job. If a program refuses to budge, or has for some reason been partially removed and causes errors and startup issues, Revo can remove them - how? Well of course it trawls the registry and the Programs folders to mark items for removal. Sure it does it on a different way but essentially it is one step up from CCleaner.

Whilst I do agree with your comment Dalo

If you think you need to use a registry cleaner then you should be comfortable editing the registry and know what does what..and then remove obsolete entries yourself.

I do feel there is a limit to what one man and a registry can achieve in a specific timespan - CCleaner's job is to automate that job and allow you to pick out the 5 dozen or so entries you may need to remove.

It's far from rocket science and all the warnings I hear you cry about CCleaner and others don't really stack up, more PC's are trashed by spyware, viruses, faulty drives and the like than this program.

ErikAlbert - I like your approach, its quite refreshing, I just don't think it will catch on - there's too much money to be made in PC security software .

Have you come across hardware cards that prevent changes to systems - I've seen them but never used them.

 

[ErikAlbert]

I don't even recommend defragging the HDDs (unless you have a specific reason to do so) so I know where you are coming from

The same here, I regret buying PerfectDisk, it never changed anything and it never will.
Defragging is a waste of time IMO.

The only little problem I have with your post is :
I don't see any housewife capable of doing a safe editing in the Windows Registry, unless they are knowledgeable enough, but these housewives are an exception.

 

[Dalo Harkin]

It all comes back to the same thing, people want to try and make their machines faster and think that these programs will help but thats not always the case.

Nothing can beat an image of the OS when it is first installed (something you can always go back to regardless what state the PC gets into)

All these issues, defrags, reg cleaners, spyware and malware 99% of the time occur because people 'mess' with things that are not broken.

 

[Synapse]

.....and when things are broken, some of these tools are useful, tis my point.

 

[ErikAlbert]

.....and when things are broken, some of these tools are useful, tis my point.

My recovery-system is so strong, that things can't be broken, so I don't need these tools anymore.
I just don't allow any good or bad change in my system, without my approval.
So called good changes can mess with your system too, even Windows Update.

 

[Dalo Harkin]

Well I have all my PCs backed up every other day by my server