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As a result of recommendations I've read in this forum I downloaded CCleaner to help with System housekeeping chores. I'm fine with using the "CLEANER" element of the tool ie, cleaning up temp internet files, programs, recycle bin, etc. However I'm not familiar at all when it comes to knowing how to manage / repair registry issues. When I do the "Registry" analysis with CCleaner it identifies about 200 issues. How do I know which specific entires / issues to select for repair / fix versus which ones to leave alone or should I just leave all of the issues selected and hit the fix button for everything? Haven't done anything with this yet at all for fear of screwing up any of my existing programs. Appreciate someone's advice and help on this. Thanks!
LAD, My advice is to not use the "Registry" analysis feature unless you're familiar with the Windows registry. This is only my opinion but registry cleaners do more harm than good.
Tufenuf
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Tufenuf is rightly concerned about registry cleaners ....but i have found that Ccleaners registry cleaner does not fix registry issues and only removes dead pathes and unused file extensions and active x files , all left over from uninstalled programs and deleted files. Other registry programs have a data base that it matches and will "repair" to the available data base.
Also Ccleaner has an excelent backup program that actually works in replacing the data that is removed if a problem exists after the cleaning.
I have used Ccleaner for years and have had only a couple of times had to use the back up.
In my opinion use it and when you use the registry cleaner it will prompt you to back-up. Do it and if there is any problem then it is easily restored.
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"if there is any problem then it is easily restored."
Yup, as long as the Registry isn't corrupted so bad that you can't get windows to start. :-)
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I'm from the UK but I do believe there is a USA phrase:
"If it aint broke don't fix it".We have a phrase along the lines:
"What is the problem for which this is the cure?"I'm with Tufenuf on this.
some other bloke...
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Yup, as long as the Registry isn't corrupted so bad that you can't get windows to start. :-)
Good point aegis but how the heck would I know? That's the problem the Ccleaner gives a good detailed read out of the register issues but I don't know enough to tell a dead path or unused file extension from anything else? As I understand it not fixing or eliminating these issues contributes to poor / slow PC performance so I'd like to clean it up if I can. Thanks!
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If there is any contribution to performance at all by cleaning the registry it will be minimal. The system largely ignores invalid registry entries.
Some more RAM would produce a noticeable improvement (assuming your machine is virus/trojan/malware free).
some other bloke...
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I agree with Derek. If your system is slowing down, run msconfig and check the startup tab. Try to trim it down to run only the applications that you 'really' need running all the time.
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Okay well I've got very slow response time and multiple issues with all of the things that are typcally recommended to help the problem. Could probably open a post on each one. Here's the major issues:
- Unsure which registry issues to fix (this post)
- When trying misconfig to de-select programs from running at start-up I get a message saying I need to be signed on as the system administrator to make this work. Okay well I'M ALREADY SIGNED ON AS THE ADMINISTRATOR ???
- Can't complete a "Clean Disk" scan without the system crashing
- After defragging the HDD the system still shows the HDD needs to be defragged ??
- It takes about 13 hours to run a complete McAfee virus scan which does finish successfully and shows no known infections.
and finally programs that do run at startup may or may not appear as an icon in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen depending on the PC's mood on any given day.So as you folks can see I'm trying to work my way through a multitude of issues on this machine. Having said all that, programs do not crash on me and I'm able to use the internet with no obvious problems or issues. It's just super slow though and some of the basic windows maint. tools as referenced above are not working the way they're supposed to. Someone also mentioned adding memory. I've got the memory maxed out for this machine at 512MB and if it matters my 40GB HDD still has about 16% free space. I also have an external 100GB HDD attached to the machine that I use to store pics and MP3 / video files, etc. Thanks to all who have responded to date !
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My suggestion would be to download and run 'HiJackThis'.
http://www.download.com/Trend-Micro...Then post your log at the following site for an automatic analysis.
http://www.hijackthis.de/index.php?...
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I agree that HJT would be a good idea because "nasties" can play havok with anything.
Like many, I can skate around the registry quite reasonably but I would be hard pressed to be certain about even half of the number you stated and it would be quite impossible to analyze them all on a forum. You might well get away with running a registry cleaner but you might cause additional problems. You have to decide whether to take that risk or not. I happen to be on the side of leaving well alone because I doubt if doing so will make much difference.
Sometimes defrag never quite finishes because of locked files. Again it is hard to resolve this and I doubt it will make much odds anyhow.
The coming and going of stuff next to the clock is not unusual either. Not everything shows in msconfig and there might well be services which are not all essential.
The long AV run makes me feel that there is too much activity going on.
In summary:-
Dealing with many of the stated issues would require lengthy explanations or hands-on help, so trying to respond to every one of them in the necessary depth on a forum is not really practicable.I would concentrate on malware/spyware (which your AV might not find). As well as HJT there are free malware/spyware finders which might help but I don't know whether you have these onboard or not.
It would also be beneficial to uninstall any programs which are unecessary. This would give your 512M of RAM a much better chance, as well as more leeway on your HD.
some other bloke...
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