Are Registry Cleaners Still Needed on Windows 10?

fred1922 · 30 Dec 2015

CMD regedit

BunnyJ · 30 Dec 2015

fred1922 said:

CMD regedit

And?? That's the command to edit the registry not clean it automatically.

fdegrove · 30 Dec 2015

Hi,

The Filenet site is generally quite accurate when you need to find things out about any file. regclean.exe Windows process - What is it?

Not on this occasion it seems. Whilst I do recall this virus maskerading under the same name, I'm pretty sure there was a tool by a similar or even the same name. It does date back to Windows NT or thereabouts though.

I may be able to find among my archives but don't hold your breath.

Cheers,

CountMike · 30 Dec 2015

fdegrove said:

Hi,

Not on this occasion it seems. Whilst I do recall this virus maskerading under the same name, I'm pretty sure there was a tool by a similar or even the same name. It does date back to Windows NT or thereabouts though.

I may be able to find among my archives but don't hold your breath.

Cheers,

Wasn't that included in "Toys" ?

Geneo · 30 Dec 2015

Night Hawk said:

The regcleaner.exe was never actually any MS utility but an executable placed on the drive by a 3rd party app if not some trojan dropper.

If you read the link you posted you'd see "belongs to software ...or Microsoft Windows (version 95)"

It was a registry cleaner written by Microsoft for Windows 95. Windows 95 was such a mess that it really needed it, partly because the OS and user space were not well separated - and many programs didn't have an uninstaller. After that they dropped support for it because it was no longer needed. Modern Windows versions do not need registry cleaners, they are artifacts of industry from way back.

fdegrove · 30 Dec 2015

Hi,

Wasn't that included in "Toys" ?

Could be one of the Powertoys. I honestly don't remember for certain.
Either that one, Resource kit or even one of the Sysinternals applets. Either way, it's ages ago, likely around 96 or so.

Cheers,

lx07 · 30 Dec 2015

fdegrove said:

I'm pretty sure there was a tool by a similar or even the same name. It does date back to Windows NT or thereabouts though

Seems you are right but you shouldn't use it if you have Office 2003 (or later) https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/299958

fdegrove · 30 Dec 2015

Hi,

Seems you are right but you shouldn't use it if you have Office 2003 (

Absolutely. It wasn't all that great anyway and you should most certainly not use it on any system say past XP or so and then some.

Registry Cleaners have come a long way since then.

Cheers,

Night Hawk · 30 Dec 2015

Geneo said:

If you read the link you posted you'd see "belongs to software ...or Microsoft Windows (version 95)"

It was a registry cleaner written by Microsoft for Windows 95. Windows 95 was such a mess that it really needed it, partly because the OS and user space were not well separated - and many programs didn't have an uninstaller. After that they dropped support for it because it was no longer needed. Modern Windows versions do not need registry cleaners, they are artifacts of industry from way back.

Actually I ran 95 trouble free back and then was at first hesitant to upgrade to 98SE! Despite some pc game freeze ups commonly seen with the old Legacy to XP(Especially Buggy bugged up XP without a doubt) versions the only time I actually found any want or need for any registry cleaning app was with XP! I tried a few on Vista and 7 but simply kept those few in a storage folder full of other downloads never to see much use!

One old app you didn't have to worry about as far as the automatic clean action with that one mainly saw a manual view window when opened up for hand picking through each entry when you knew which ones had to go! Some simply rushed to dump everything in sight when that program was pointed out without thinking first however! You had to dig through the menu options to find the automatic option. But the one question that keeps coming up is.....

Are registry cleaners necessary

The Windows* registry is a database that lists all of the configuration settings that determine how Windows looks and behaves. Sometimes, settings that are no longer needed will remain in the registry in case they're ever needed again. There's nothing unusual about this, and this data is small in size.
Some products available for free on the Internet suggest the registry needs regular maintenance or cleaning. Although a registry setting can become corrupt on occasion, in general, the registry is self-sufficient. If you decide to install a registry cleaner, be sure to research the product and only download and install programs from software publishers that you trust.

Warnings

Some programs available for free on the Internet might contain spyware, adware, or viruses. Only download and install programs from software publishers that you trust. Even if you trust the website you download the program from, you need to also trust the publisher of the program. For more information, see When to trust a software publisher.
We strongly recommend that you only change values in the registry that you understand or have been instructed to change by a source you trust. Be sure to back up the registry before making any changes.

Courtesy of window.microsoft.com's How-to section! Are registry cleaners necessary? - Windows Help

fdegrove · 30 Dec 2015

Hi,

Are registry cleaners necessary

What happens to a database filled with records no one ever calls anymore ?

If you know the answer to that one I guess you also know the answer to the other.

But necessary? Nowadays, not really. Useful, yes.

That said, if you're not an experienced, seasoned Windows user (as in having worked in the field for years) don't touch it or use something pretty benign such as CCleaner (which I find rather useless but to each his own).

Cheers,