Windows registry clean-up

[anacortesdamp]

There have been a lot of on line ads recently saying "the reason your computer has slowed down is that the Windows registry system is clogged up with junk. We can fix it!"

I've downloaded a couple of free programs that frighten the living daylights out of me by just saying "turn us on and we'll fix it".

I even got an update to my McAfee protection (part of my ISP's "freebies") which, when I ran it, gnarled up several things that I had to get someone in Bangladesh to fix for me.

Do any of you computer gurus have recommendations for a registry clean-up program that is clear and specific about what you're doing?

I've been around computers since the processors had individual transistors. We used to have a 747 flight simulator whose computer memory was the massive size of 64K! OK, it was words, not bytes, so by modern standards it was a 256K machine. The frame rate was 30 Hz (not Khz, Mhz or Ghz) yes, 30 cycles per second! Could never figure why a self-explantory thing like "cycles per second" was renamed by the metricators after a car hire company!

I saw a glowing report in our regional daily about "System Mechanic", but when I looked at the reviews from people who had bought the software from Amazon, I concluded it was not for me. I also downloaded a freebie called CCleaner. I couldn't understand anything it was telling me, so it's gone.

I'm running WinXP, Service Pack 3 on two computers. oOne of them is ethernet connected, the other by wi-fi.

Any advice is welcomed.


Frank

[noel]

There's a review of some here http://www.registrycleanercompared.org/2...1QodQHx83g
Frank but personally when this happens I reload Windows and wipe the slate clean so to speak. You'll find you get a free scan then have to pay to correct. Sometimes I wonder if the scan actually puts errors on so you have to pay the darn thing. Hope others have a bit more to add than I can.

[Spitfire]

Frank, I run three cleaners on a regular basis and havn`t encountered any problems. By far the easiest (and also free for home users) is `Advanced Windows Care V2 Personal`. Just type that into Google for a download. I`d advise you to look at it Frank (you don`t have to use it if you don`t like it). It`s a `one - click` program and very, very reliable. Your views will be interesting.
(PS If you DO decide to run it, don`t be scared stiff if it shows 100`s of problems after the first scan (this is quite normal)), the SECOND scan will produce only recent junk..

[anacortesdamp]

Noel:

The way my computer was sold, it didn't come with a Windows disk, just a "restore disk", so you don't get a proper reload. I also have a lot of programs that would prefer not to have to start over again.

Jim - I'll give that "Care" a look. I'm running XP on both machines.

I'll let you know. I also have the family MCSE coming into town next week (our son, who lives in Japan). I'll have him take a quick look also.


Frank

[Martin]

Frank, do you use windows Restore Point? It's a good idea to save your windows settings before making any major changes such as installing programs.

It doesn't always get your system back to the way it was before but can help if some software goes wrong.

[anacortesdamp]

Martin:

Yes, I use Restore Point on both computers on a regular basis. We had a failure about 18 months ago on an older Win98 box and it took a lot of messing around to get things back.


Frank

[noel]

I downloaded it, ran it, found 33000 "errors". Clicked on to correct the errors, half expecting to be told how much, but it did it for free.
Thanks Jim, looks a good program.

[Spitfire]

Noel, As a matter of interest, does your PC feel any smoother and quicker now that all the junk has been removed?
Noel's reply

It does actually Jim, particularly the boot up and shut down.

WHOOPS, sorry, meant to click on the reply with quote button and clickewd on "edit" by mistake. Humble apologies.[:o)]
[]

[Martin]

I've done that before []

[anacortesdamp]

Jim:

I downloaded Advanced Windows Care and ran the spyware and register portions. I run Spysweeper once a week and Windows Care found 18 more pieces. It found 660 problems in the registry. I ran the fixers and performasnce has improved. Boot up is now about 2 minutes (it was about 4) and start-up of the browser is 50 seconds compared to about 4 minutes.

Thanks for the pointer. It will be a regular activity to run this program. I'll be downloading to the other computer today.


Frank