Are Registry Cleaners Still Needed on Windows 10?

The registry is a far better solution to organised software install than the total "Dogs Dinner" that proceeded it.

We do still see some developers still ignoring Microsoft's specifications, (mostly games designers but others also), insisting in placing User data in protected areas and also using standard separate text files scattered around the system areas and ignoring the registry completely.

In my experience if you leave the registry alone, let it do it's defined tasks, and don't "poke at it with a stick" because you're bored, it will work fine

Barman58 said:

The registry is a far better solution to organised software install than the total "Dogs Dinner" that proceeded it.

We do still see some developers still ignoring Microsoft's specifications, (mostly games designers but others also), insisting in placing User data in protected areas and also using standard separate text files scattered around the system areas and ignoring the registry completely.

In my experience if you leave the registry alone, let it do it's defined tasks, and don't "poke at it with a stick" because you're bored, it will work fine

I love the registry. It's one of the ways to kill a 3rd party installed service, if you can't in task scheduler.

I had to do it, for Intel XTU(Extreme Tuning Utility)

Barman58 said:

The registry is a far better solution to organised software install than the total "Dogs Dinner" that proceeded it.

We do still see some developers still ignoring Microsoft's specifications, (mostly games designers but others also), insisting in placing User data in protected areas and also using standard separate text files scattered around the system areas and ignoring the registry completely.

In my experience if you leave the registry alone, let it do it's defined tasks, and don't "poke at it with a stick" because you're bored, it will work fine

Program developers are using registry in abandon and what's even worse, upon program uninstall leave most of it in the registry. Have seen precious little number of SW that Revo for instance do not report any entries left.

Due to the modular design of windows, (All the .DLL and other files), the automatic uninstallers for windows applications have always been very conservative in their actions, sometimes extremely so, which leaves a lot of files and their related Registry entries intact. Developers and programmers simply do not want to risk removing a program module file that could be in use by some other application (even one from another developer )

It would be nice if this trend was corrected but it real terms it should not cause any issues for other software. Of course if you are re-installing the same software, and the developer/ programmer does not bother to check and "zero" the software entries then there can be issues. Dead branches in the registry and even dead keys will of course cause a slight delay when the registry is read but I do not think that these delays will be significant - or at least as significant as the potentially removed required information removed by registry cleaning and even defragging

CountMike said:

Here, I just run it here after many months and many windows updates/upgrades in mean time:
Attachment 128906
What's here to make my system better ? Not even worth spending a mouse button click on it.

Maybe nothing.
I personally don't like invalid firewall rules.

A couple of clicks and you've got a list of locations that might be dubious.
If the list looks irrelevant, then you can just ignore it.

CountMike said:

Only "defense" is to use portable programs.

Agreed.

Barman58 said:

The registry is a far better solution to organised software install than the total "Dogs Dinner" that proceeded it.

The overall concept seems like a good idea, but I'm not sure that it is any better or worse, than "/etc" config files in Linux.

Barman58 said:

In my experience if you leave the registry alone, let it do it's defined tasks, and don't "poke at it with a stick" because you're bored, it will work fine.

IMO, the Registry seems to be getting better, in terms of requiring less attention.

I remember regularly conducting malware "search & destroy" missions in the XP Registry (this was before I stopped using IE 6).

With W7, I've only really made a handful of cosmetic changes (and a network configuration change).

With W10IP, I've made a couple of changes related to Insider glitches.

MikeMecanic said:

I have used in Win Ten, Revo and Ccleaner twice a day since 2 years now. The first thing that gets installed and run.

Take a tour, it's not just about registry cleanup. Is your house clean, do you clean Windows?

In the other classroom, we do!

If only my house windows had registry, they would be cleaner.

Edwin said:

Most of us here clean install Windows so often that Reg cleaners are unnecessary!

Not me, maybe every few years only when changing platform to something much different.