[GeorgeA]

I have been trying to get in touch with the wizards at PC World, but have not met with any success. So I'm trying the forum. I'm having trouble deciding which Registry Cleaner to go with. The more I look into it, the more confused I get. I have Compaq Presario 6000 series with Windows XP on it. I have noticed over the last several mos. that the beast is slowing down. I've done the spyware, adware, virus cleanups with Webroot, Norton, and Windows utilities, but my PC is still sluggish. I suspected that the Registry was the problem, so I ran a free sweep with one of the freebies recommended by PC World. Apparently I have in the neighborhood of 700 to 950 registry errors/problems. All of the freebies say that I have to purchase the full program to clean up this volume of problems. Hence, my dilemma; which one to go with. I'm nominally computer savvy, but messing around with the Registry is a bit intimidating. I'm looking for a reasonably priced, user friendly, thorough, SAFE, and if possible, fast Registry cleaner. Any recommendations would be appreciated.GeorgeA

[SpiritWind]

:D Hi George : Being like you, I avoided using registry cleaner until someone mentioned "Registry First Aid" at www.rosecitysoftware.com/reg1aid . I use the FREE "Evaluation Copy" which is found by scrolling down this page; this will only allow SAFE entries to be "deleted". Unless you BUY it, only about 13 items can be "fixed" on each scan, for a maximum of around 3 scans per "session"; after that the limit is about 2 items per scan until the next day.

[GeorgeA]

Spiritwind, Thanks for the info. I'll look into it. With so many products available in this arena, some good, some bad, I'm going to proceed with caution.persevero futurus fortis

[Harmonic7]

GeorgeA:If you chose to try Registry First Aid, be very careful what corrections you allow it to make - it defaults to fix corrections (if found), but often picks ones that are truly outrageous (it's much better to delete a key than tie it to an application it has nothing to do with). Whatever you do, never trust any reg cleaner to always make safe corrections/deletions. Be careful & always make backups or set sys restore points until you get a good grasp on what you can/can't get away with. CCleaner's (www.ccleaner.com) "Issues" scan is about as safe as it gets (& it's an excellent file cleaner). Other than that, there's CM DiskCleaner (www.cmdiskcleaner.com), EasyCleaner (http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm), & HD Cleaner (http://home.tiscali.de/zdata/hdcleanere.htm) for freebie file/reg cleaners. For freebie reg prgs, Eusing Free Registry Cleaner (www.eusing.com/freeregistrycleaner/registrycleaner.htm), RegCleaner (?), RegScrubXP (?), & RegSeeker (www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm) come to mind. Registry TuneUp (www.acelogix.com) is a good prg if you want to lay out a few bucks.Have 'fun'! :wink:

[GeorgeA]

Harmionic 7,Thanks for info. Obviously, you too have faced this dilemma. A knowledgable acquaintenence recommended Registry Mechanic. Do you have any knowledge or experience with this one?GeorgeA

[sidgib]

[quote name='GeorgeA']Harmionic 7,> > A knowledgable acquaintenence recommended Registry Mechanic. Do you have any knowledge or experience with this one?> > GeorgeAI have been using Registry Mechanic since it was first introduced--I have never had a problem. Especially useful when cleaning up the crumbs left behind by uninstalled programs. XP does a lousy job in this area.

[Harmonic7]

Hey GeorgeA:I"ve tried Registry Mechanic, but it was so long ago I forget what it's like (sorry). I noticed that it comes w/a reg compactor - a good freebie compactor is ntRegOpt (www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/).One program I forgot to mention is 'MRU Blaster' (www.javacoolsoftware.com/mrublaster.html) - probably the fastest/easiest/safest reg cleaner around. It's not really classed as a reg cleaner, but that's what it is (mine lives in Quick Launch - I've used it so often for so long as a regular cleanup prg that I tend to forget that it really belongs with the reg prgs) - MRU Blaster takes down a large number of temporary/useless/junk entries. I always use it (& CCleaner) immediately before doing anything else with/in the registry - makes it much easier to see what's happening with much of the 'garbage' cleared away.Good luck (& be careful) :D

[GeorgeA]

Thanks to one and all for the info and recommendations!. I have gone with Registry Mechanic and boy what difference it has made. Got the beast back up to snuff. So far, so good. Thanks again,persevero futurus fortisGeorgeA

[sandlxb]

GeorgeA-- I have just read your post about needing a registry cleaner. I too have Registry Mechanic. and it is a decent reg. cleaner, I can tell a diff. in my pc when it finds 'stuff' and then fixes them. But lately I have not been too thrilled with it. I was looking for a 'fix' for my pc and ran across a free scan from 'registry fix' at www.freeregistryfix.com and it found over 70 errors that Reg Mech. did not find!!! AND IT FIXES 50 ON THE FREE SCAN! Even now, I can run my PAID version of Reg. Mech, it fies a couple of things. Then I run the free scan from Registry Fix and it will find 10 more!!! :shock:But it won't fix anymore after the first 50 from the first scan. Now I am considering paying for Another registry cleaner cause reg mech is not as good as I thought it was!!DOES ANYONE ELSE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT REGISTRY FIX???Thanks

[Harmonic7]

If Registry Mechanic regularly finds new entries to fix or delete & you can rely on it not to screw things up w/out having to carefully investigate the repairs beforehand, it's a fine reg prg. And just because one prg finds things 'missed' by another doesn't necessarily mean that it's a better prg - some prgs want to take down keys which will be immediately replaced on boot up or application starts, etc, & others don't bother with them. Also, more entries are often unveiled immediately after making a repair (best to always rescan before moving on to a different reg prg. But be warned that using multiple prgs can result in problems if you have to restore 'fixes' which are spread over several prgs). Regarding 'Free Registry Fix', haven't tried it (I get a little scared off when an obviously trial version is touted as being a freebie, but maybe I'll try it now anyway). If you haven't used up all your 50 free fixes yet, you could use RegEdit to hunt down & make suggested repairs or deletions manually to keep it alive. In any case, it's a good idea to get used to using RegEdit along w/your reg prgs, Google, & whatever else helps you get a greater understanding of the reg. Not only are you a lot safer that way, you'll eventually end up at the point where a prg will suggest a deletion (either because it can't find or doesn't bother looking for corrections), but you'll look it up in the reg & figure out how to repair it instead (better to repair an entry if possible than delete it, just like it's better to delete a key than make an invalid correction).Hope this helps.

[sandlxb]

You see the reason why I TRyed another program is cause something is going on somewhere. That is what I wrote the first time, and its still going on. I have dial up. and when all is well -as good as it can be with a dell pc - my speed will run between 120 kps and 175 kps. For the last few days -even in the middle of night or early morn when it should be at it quickest- it runs AT BEST, 62 kps - 88 kps! and yep I know to reboot, and to defrag and run scans and clear cache and cookies. When you have a dell for 4 years you gotta learn how to do all this 'stuff'!!! :(Like completely reinstalling the op. system only 3 weeks ago and replacing mother board 2 months ago. So sometimes a person just has to experiment, ya know?? and reg fix is finding stuff in file ext, dlls. is regedit that you mentioned, a downloadable prg? registryedit.com?? I can pretty much recognize how to 'fix' errors IF I can figure out what they are. have learned to do my own troubleshooting! oh yea, the 50 are gone. Im gonna uninstall that and see what happensThanks

[Phenom]

CleanMyPC Registry Cleanerhttp://www.registry-cleaner.net/-CCleanerhttp://www.ccleaner.com/download/-Registry Mechanichttp://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/download/-Those will do good:).

[sidgib]

My understanding of these forums is that posts are not intended to promote commercial sites. It appears that this poster's signature is his/her customization. I would think this signature by snadlxp is reportable and I will do so. This is the signature in question::unsure[quote:e4807d64e7]Come, look around in my stores,great items w/great prices! Adding more items daily. www.SadiesTreasureTrunk.ecrate r.com www.myfountaindesigns.com[/quote:e4807d64e7]

[sandlxb]

[quote name='Phenom']CleanMyPC Registry Cleaner> > http://www.registry-cleaner.net/> > -> > CCleaner> > http://www.ccleaner.com/download/> > -> > Registry Mechanic> > http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/download/> > -> > Those will do good:).Thanks Phenom! I will give the first one a try. I already have Registry Mechanic. I also have paid version of adaware se and paid AVG 7.5 and p.c.doc.pro! But still something is wrong somewhere!and someone was WRONG about the forum 'rules' They should have read them first

[Cosmo]

You can have whatever you want in your signature, as long as it is not offensive or illegal. After all, it is your signature.

[Harmonic7]

Hey sandlxb:The RegEdit I was referring to is just the Microsoft Registry Editor, regedit.exe. But if the problem is w/your iNet connection speed, chances are that the registry is not your problem. And don't be too surprised if speed is worst at times it should theoretically be the best, happens to me way too often. If you haven't been affected by malware, my guess is you're getting screwed by your ISP - read your service agreement - if it's anything like mine, you're lucky to get a connection at all (I have a 6 meg download speed when things are good, but often the connection can't even maintain a 56k audio stream & it's totally unusable for ~3 full days every month - do you think they're overloaded or what? But hey, if you don't like it, feel free to change providers!). My guess is your ISP has loaded up on subscibers w/out equipment changes to the point where you're starting to pay for their greed (but I'm a cynical old bastard & could easily be wrong).Good luck anyway.

[sandlxb]

[quote name='Cosmo']You can have whatever you want in your signature, as long as it is not offensive or illegal. After all, it is your signature.Thanks cosmo, that is what I thought, and the way I understood the forum policies when I took the time to read them I advertise my webstores at different places and forums. Most allow it. Small,-and very small especially-need all the free advertising they can get!!Harmonic7, I don't think it is my ISP. and as far as "But hey, if you don't like it, feel free to change providers!). if I had a choice, I would change providers! But from my location I have no other choice. My local independent phone co. has all others blocked out, and I live 2000 ft. too far away to receive dependable DSL service!!! can you believe that 2000 FEET!!! Oh I CAN get their DSL, but if it is TOO hot in summer or TOO cold -or bad weather-in winter, then it will interfere with my service! I will eventually get hi-speed by sat.

[KellieCM]

Hi Everyone --To clarify the rules -- we do not allow posts that simply advertise a product or service. I don't mind promotional links in signatures as long as the body of the post is contributing to the discussion at hand. If the post is about registry cleaners but the signature has a link to a webstore, that's fine. If the discussion is about registry cleaners and suddenly someone posted in the thread to advertise their webstore, that is not fine.Hopefully that clarifies things. The rules, however, do say that flaming and personal attacks are not ok. I have edited some posts in this thread, and removed some others completely. Please remember to maintain a civil attitude toward each other. If there is a question on the forum rules, please feel free to send me a PM (click the PM button below any of my posts). If you see something that you feel is inappropriate, please PM myself, AuroraManson or TheNameless, who are also moderators on this forum.Thanks,Kellie

[matts6887]

btw; thanks all for the some of the ideas Ive been reading as far as registry cleaners go; as I too have been looking for a hopefully more than halfway decent reg cleaner that is either free or close to free and i like some of the ideas here. As far as registry mechanic goes; I too have uses that one and personally, imo; I like it; it seems to to a more than adequate job of removing the "junk" and "crap" entries as well as other reg entries that are no longer needed. Just my .02 here is all. 8)

[BenW]

Has anyone tried "1 click pcfix"? It supposedly has a built-in registry cleaner that's the best yet. I'd be interested in anyone's experience.Regards,Ben