A Better Registry Cleaner Than CCleaner?

[accesscpu]

For longer than I can remember, I've been using CCleaner as part of my system maintenance routine when it's time to keep things cleared out and running smooth. However, one thing I notice when uninstalling an old program is that I ALWAYS have to go into the registry and clear out stray remains (even after running CCleaner).

I was wondering if there is a better registry cleaner out there that is more thorough in keeping the registry cleared out and detecting these obsolete bits of uninstalled programs that I'm having to remove by hand. I don't mind deleting stray folders in the hidden areas of the OS by hand, but the registry can be kind of a pain.

Thanks!

 

[weberdarren97]

Have you tried Revo Uninstaller? It removes all parts of a program (including registry keys), not just what the built-in uninstaller deletes.

 

[RCPG]

Revo Uninstaller is good. I've uesd it before. You should try it.

 

[Hlsgsz]

Do not, under any circumstance, ever use so called registry cleaning software. MS explicitly recommends against it, and for good reason. Not that CCleaner is bad, just that you shouldn't use that part of it. Who told you that you should be messing with the registry?

 

[weberdarren97]

Do not, under any circumstance, ever use so called registry cleaning software. MS explicitly recommends against it, and for good reason. Not that CCleaner is bad, just that you shouldn't use that part of it. Who told you that yop should be messing with teh registry?

I agree that having unused keys in the registry is not usually harmful to the computer in any way... But there are times that it will affect the installation of a newer version of an older program that's been uninstalled and the registry keys not removed after uninstallation.

I recommend Revo Uninstaller because it doesn't function as a "Registry Cleaner" in the sense that it would scan the entire registry and be like "Oh hey this is useless, let's delete it." Instead, it's like "Oh hey, this may be a problem to future installations, let's remove it."

 

[Hlsgsz]

Do not, under any circumstance, ever use so called registry cleaning software. MS explicitly recommends against it, and for good reason. Not that CCleaner is bad, just that you shouldn't use that part of it. Who told you that yop should be messing with teh registry?

I agree that having unused keys in the registry is not usually harmful to the computer in any way... But there are times that it will affect the installation of a newer version of an older program that's been uninstalled and the registry keys not removed after uninstallation.

I recommend Revo Uninstaller because it doesn't function as a "Registry Cleaner" in the sense that it would scan the entire registry and be like "Oh hey this is useless, let's delete it." Instead, it's like "Oh hey, this may be a problem to future installations, let's remove it."

Revo in somewhre in between. Not as bad as a "registry cleaner", but not that good either.
Have you encounetred many such problems with installing newer versions of previously uninstalled software? I sure haven't. However, were i to encounter such issues, i would take teh correct path, which is to deal with such things on a one to one basis.

 

[weberdarren97]

"i would take teh correct path, which is to deal with such things on a one to one basis."

I believe the term Correct Path, in this circumstance, is subjective. I still stand on my agreement earlier that unused registry keys are not usually harmful. But when one gets in the way of something, it can become a true nightmare to just figure out that the problem is in the registry. This is why I recommend keeping it clear of leftover keys after an uninstall.

Getting rid of keys related to a program during the uninstall process (even if the built in uninstaller doesn't remove them), is what I would consider to be the correct path.

Have I encountered this sort of issue? Not personally, but I have seen it in client machines. People who download a ton of programs, then decide they don't like them and uninstall them, then later re-download it after an update are the kinds of people who are more prone to these kinds of issues.

 

[Hlsgsz]

"i would take teh correct path, which is to deal with such things on a one to one basis."

I believe the term Correct Path, in this circumstance, is subjective. I still stand on my agreement earlier that unused registry keys are not usually harmful. But when one gets in the way of something, it can become a true nightmare to just figure out that the problem is in the registry. This is why I recommend keeping it clear of leftover keys after an uninstall.

Getting rid of keys related to a program during the uninstall process (even if the built in uninstaller doesn't remove them), is what I would consider to be the correct path.

Have I encountered this sort of issue? Not personally, but I have seen it in client machines. People who download a ton of programs, then decide they don't like them and uninstall them, then later re-download it after an update are the kinds of people who are more prone to these kinds of issues.

A registry and central unuinstalling of software is a paradign that's been around since W95. Whatever steps can be taken to optimize said registry that are 100% reliable are already beeing taken by MS. How one can imagine that you can trust some obscure software studio to do a better job than MS of optimizing the registry and uninstalling software is beyond me.
Stay away from all software that advertises registry optimization. Period.

 

[Paul NZ]

Dont use reg cleaner they do nothing

 

[halszkaraptor]

Like the OP, I've been a regular user of CCleaner Pro for many years. To the best of my knowledge I've only had two problems that were a direct result of using CCleaner.

Is there "A Better Registry Cleaner Than CCleaner?" - Depends what exactly is meant by better. Some cleaners can drill down and remove registry entries that CCleaner ignores due to the inherent risks involved.

I'd would say CCleaner is probably the safest and most reliable BUT, since Avast! purchased it I've had a reoccurring issue with updates. Kept getting "0x2efd: A connection to the server could not be establish." I think I've finally solved this issue by completely uninstalling CCleaner (with Revo Uninstaller), re-booting and reinstalling the latest version of CCleaner Trial, then "activating" it. So far so good.

As to whether or not a cleaner is required, that appears to be an ongoing debate. As stated by "weberdarren97", a cleaner can assist in solving problems related to updating programs.

For an interesting read I'd recommend taking a look at an article on PCWorld "How to clean your Windows registry and speed up your PC". Quote: "Registry cleaners: Boon or boondoggle?

The big question we’re asking in this piece is whether a registry cleaner will indeed speed up your PC, making it boot more quickly and run faster. The answer is, emphatically and unequivocally, maybe."

For now, I'll keep using CCleaner out of habit. Mostly I use it to clean browsing and application traces. A useful companion program is "CCEnhancer, a small tool which adds support for over 1,000 new programs into the popular program CCleaner."

Best of luck.