I have this program to help keep my PC operating at best performance but am hesitant to use the full capacity of the program for fear of removing or creating damage to the registry when I do not know what I am removing. Basic question is: when any registry cleaner runs a scan and makes recommendations on files to remove, how can you tell which are needed and not needed for safe operation of your computer? I have made the critical mistake of taking a program's blind advice and removed items from my registry before. That was a critical mistake which took weeks to recover from and made me perform a complete OS reload. Don't want to do that again. Any suggestions on safe practices in using a resgistry cleaner? Many thanks.
Hey Soldat - Good question about a subject more people should be made aware of. Most reputable registry cleaners (including CCleaner) include a feature to save any changes/deleted items to a backup location, so if/when any problems arise the deletions can be restored. They do this because not many people have the knowledge/ability to decipher what registry entries are important and which are not (myself included). CCleaner's backup option is a good one because, to be on the safe side, it asks if you wish to backup[i:3v29sruw] every [/i:3v29sruw]time you use it. Each time I use CCleaner I save all changes to 'Documents', I keep them for about 3 -4 weeks and then, when it is obvious no problems have ensued, I delete the oldest ones.
Registry cleaners can be very aggressive, very safe or sit somewhere in between. The aggressive ones will obviously identify and clean a lot more entries but also involve a much higher level of risk. The safer ones will not clean the registry as thoroughly but, at the same time, involve a very minimal level of risk.
CCleaner is definitely biased toward the safe side...in all the years I have been using it, not once have I experienced any subsequent problems and I've never had to restore any changes from the backup archive.
I am also using Advanced System Care, which includes a registry cleaner....it automatically backs up any changes to its own inbuilt 'Restore Center'. ASC is slightly more aggressive than CCleaner but I have found it also to be very safe to use....i.e. I have been using it (formerly Advanced Windows Care) for over 12 months with no problems.
When it comes to the registry, my recommendation is always to lean toward the safe side.....orphaned/left over registry entries are not going to cause any significant problems....on the other hand, we all know what can happen if essential entries are inadvertently deleted.
In precis, CCleaner is very safe to use, especially when always employing the option to backup any changes.
cheers now....JIM
and as a fallback, there is always Google.
I once used a program to find all unnecessary files on my computer. It scanned everything, and presented a list of 8,703 things that it thought I didn't need. I scanned the first 20 or so, the last 20 or so, and once I was sure my backup was up to date (it was) I hit the "OK" button.
Seconds later all the shortcuts on my desktop and start menu disappeared. My quick launch was empty.
While this may not seem like a big deal at first, do you realize how hard it is to find some executables? One of my programs (called Promotion Manager) was in a directory with 22 executeables, and not one of them was named PromoMan or anything useful.
I ended up reformatting.
Ummm...I know this didn't make you feel better, but a good backup will make any mistakes recoverable.
Thank you for the input. I will definitely use the back up function and keep it for emergency use just in case. Keeping each backup in a folder sounds like a good practice to me, which I will do as well. Many thanks to all and the best for 2009.
I am a happy user of CCleaner...
I really like the way it clean up my system!
as in clean up...
CC is quite possibly one of the most benign cleaners you'll run across. Besides selecting the Backup option when asked, look over the check boxes and decide what you want or don't want cleaned. It's simple to untick those boxes you're not sure about. For instance, I don't clean the History out of Firefox through CC. I do it manually through the browser because occasionally there's a page from a few days ago I can't remember. (There's a lot of things I can't remember, but I've forgotten what they are!)
Before running any cleaner, I create a Restore Point (XP) and backup the registry with Erunt http://www.larshederer.homepag......de/erunt/
That way I can always boot into Safe Mode, select Last Known Good..., or whatever.
Leftover registry entries are not much of a problem in most cases, istm. They're frequently left over from removing software, moving data around, creating documents, etc. For software, use an uninstaller like Revo Uninstaller http://www.revouninstaller.com/ to minimize junk.
Lastly, don't fret too much about keeping a machine squeaky clean. Every time you use a computer, junk gets left behind. Just do it every once in a while, and you shouldn't run into too many problems.
hth
2 penny Ron
Hey Ron - Terrific post, great advice....as usual.
thanks mate......JIM
I've used CCleaner for years and never had issue with it. If you want to you can also use it for Secure File Deletion. Just go to Options then Settings and you'll see the choices available. One word of caution if you decide to do a multiple wipe please rest assured it will be very difficult to recover anything you had in your Trash Bin as oppossed to just doing the default single pass. The more passes you select the longer it takes CCleaner to run as well.
Here is a new one and I am not completely sure it has anything to do with CC Cleaner but possible. I have been running (faithfully) a backup every week using the Vista system back up and restore program. Not bad but it burps on reusing a DVD and I have had to use a new one every so often. Yesterday I could not complete the backup and error message said it was stopped in progress with no reason given. That happened 3 times --- even when I used new disks or reformatted an old one. Error code finally came up of 0x800704D3. I ran this through the internet and found it was somewhat of a generic error code -- but no real information given on whether this is the source of my problem or not. Any ideas?????????????????
Some online suggestions was to go buy an external drive and not use disks. Not sure that is the best or most efficient answer either.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Soldat
Hey Soldat - So, I assume you are using CD-RW/CR+RW discs?? This is definitely [b:kp6b19r6]not[/b:kp6b19r6] the best method, re-writable CD's are notoriously fickle and it is most likely that which is causing the occasional hiccup....definitely not CCleaner. The suggestions to use an external drive are spot on...this is by far the best, most reliable method. Depending on what you backing up and how much data is involved, a USB flash drive may suffice. I back up all of my important personal data (photos, docs, music, etc.) to 2 x 4gig flash drives. I also have a 250gig (2.5") external drive for saving entire system backups.
cheers....JIM
A hard drive will also me MUCH faster!
My main disks I was using was DVD-RW. For the most part they performed well, but not without the occassional burp. I guess the best solution is the exterior drive. That will be the next river to cross. Glad to know that CC Cleaner was not the problem or my use of that in running the registry cleaner and wiping out what was not needed. Not much fear in doing that since I save a copy of what I have before running the cleaner on the registry.
Hey Soldat - All RW discs are finnicky...even the DVD ones. I didn't mention them, but I should have. They are all capable of...as you say, 'the occasional burp'.
cheers....JIM
Believe it or not -- I fixed it ---- I think. I did a complete shut down then restarted. I made another complete back up set and did so without a problem. This might be just a temporary fix until the next episode of computer indigestion happens but in the meantime -- it works. Proof will come this Sunday when it is time to make a scheduled weekly backup. Will keep you posted. Many thanks and getting an external drive is the next mission.
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