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Solved: Using Eusing Free Registry Cleaner

2K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  Rich-M 
#1 ·
In a previous posting about Photo Deluxe, http://forums.techguy.org/digital-photography-imaging/672107-photodeluxe-install-problem.html, it was suggested that Eusng Free Registry Cleaner was a good application for clearing out the registry. I'm having some of the same problems in the previous post, reinstalling PhotoDeluxe, so I downloaded this registry cleaner. According to the description, this cleaner is free but asks for a "donation" of $15. I found that the program will scan my Windows Vista computer, but erases all the problem areas, says "none checked" when I click on repair registry and does not do any repairs. I don't mind paying a $15 registration fee, but I would like to be sure that the program will actually work then. (I'm finding that my programs I've used before, do not work on Windows Vista). If anyone running Windows Vista has downloaded this program can actually use it after paying the $15 registration, please let me know.

Thank, you,
Valerie Detling
 
#2 ·
Valerie Detling, welcome to TSG
It is highly recommended that you DO NOT use any such program.
they usually cause more problems than they fix.
Why do want to use one of these are you having problems with your PC?

Improves your Windows PC's overall performance and stability.

There is absolutely no proof of this none what so ever.
I have tried several and I am as serious about speed as you can get, hence my user name,
And there is not one yet that did anything to the performance of my PC's I actually put a timer on them just to be sure.
I am an old software hardware test engineer and so I have lots of experience on how to run and test it, our job was to break it, it was fun
LOL.
I reinstall my Operating system every 6 months just so I can obtain maximum performance...
And there is nothing better than a fresh install.
I am very picky about what programs I install. the more you use the worse it gets...

I have recently been doing some house-cleaning (removing old programs, cleaning registry, etc.), and now the screen indicators (sound level and mute indicator) are not showing up on my computer anymore.
One of many thousands or errors caused by these programs, see it here every day:(
 
#3 ·
Actually I think I just solved my problem. I had previously installed PhotoDeluxe on my new Vista computer. It wasn't working well so I tried using the Program Compatibility Wizard to change the compatibility settings for the program. After that the program would just stall and then freeze. I tried to uninstall the program, not very successfully - did an incomplete uninstall. I deleted the folder and tried reinstalling the program - it would not reinstall. After doing some research on the intenet I decided there were probably some registry items that were left over keeping me from installing the program. Thus the Registry program. This evening I had the computer turned to a different user and PhotoDeluxe installed using the Compatability feature (an action initiated by the computer). It appears to work; i.e. as long as I log on that user, I can open picture files and print them with my network printer, which is all I really need to do with PhotoDeluxe on that computer. (I have Photo Deluxe installed on my Windows XP computer and it works fine; unfortunately the computer is too old and lacking in ram to print to my new network printer)
Is there any Registry Cleaner that you would recommend for Vista computers? I use
I appreciate your help.
Valerie Detling
 
#4 ·
Sorry Valerie but I would not recommend any as they cause to many problems.
Especially with vista they have not had nearly enough time to do sufficient testing with vista.

*You can test one on your own after a full backup and the knowledge of how to reinstall and the time needed to do it if you want but there are not any that I would recommend.

>> And there is not one yet that did anything to the performance of my PC's I actually put a timer on them just to be sure.
 
#5 ·
My favorite registry cleaner is a sledge hammer and you will enjoy the feeling so much more when applied carefully to the center of the case!
That is what you are suggesting doing to your pc. There is nothing to clean in a registry, nothing to gain from cleaning it and most techs will tell you you can't improve performance but you positively can degrade it.
So that said if you want a program to make sure that all programs uninstalled have all entries taken out I can recommend jv16 Power Tools, but only the very first screen ( Registry) that will show you all registry entries by program. www.jv16.org. And we will let you use it to uninstall programs from here on, but no other functions!
 
#7 ·
If it actually worked which is not very often :(
I have so little faith in it I turn it off every single time I do an install in the first 30 seconds Grrrrr
I build my system then I do a ghost image of it and build off of that and then my system is always fresh :) and I can restore in 10 minutes if something happens,
10000 times better than windows repuck if you ask me.
Sorry I am venting and I should shut up know...
 
#8 ·
Well I agree with you Speedy. I never leave it on except in client pc's unless they are foolish enough to have nothing else. When I install I do an image file of Windows, then add updates and update the image file, then mobo drivers and then another incremental and finally programs and tweaks and another Acronis image file. Then I make another one weekly and monthly so I have no need of it anyway. So as not to collect them forever, after 1 month I delete 3 weeks in the middle so I wind up keeping one a month except for the current month. I also run file and data backups hourly.
 
#11 ·
I appreciate everyone's input about Registry cleaners. I've used Norton Systemworks for several years with my Windows XP computer. I always back up the registry before using it but never have had to go back to the backed up registry. It really seems to have helped when the computer started loading programs slowly or freezing after they had loaded. However, I won't use some a cleaner with my Vista computer any more (except to show all registry entries by program).
In the case of my Windows Vista computer, I did use system restore but restored it to the current configuation when it didn't seem to help. Since the program finally did load on my alternate user, the registry probably was not the problem. (By the way, it's a mystery to me why a program would install when logged in on one user and not another. If anyone has the answer to that, I'd love to hear it.)
I've never had a problem with the Windows XP machine not completing an uninstall. Either I've been very lucky or this is more of a Vista concern. I did mark as a Favorite the Total Uninstall program mentioned in Ed Bott's article and JV16 PowerTools (to show all registry entries by program) mentioned by Rich. Since the Vista machine is very new, I'm been installing some of my programs that work on Windows XP on it without really knowing whether they would work. Is there some rather complete list of programs that will work on both XP and Vista so that I don't have to just experiment?
My Vista laptop does an incremental backup of the system several times a month (when it indicates that is needed) and will restore these files when needed. So far I haven't found any feature like that in the new desktop Vista machine (possibly it will pop up when I get enough system updates). Does anyone know if this regular feature of Vista and, if so, where I would find it?
Thank you all for your help. I'm not going to mark this case closed yet, in case anyone has the answers to any of the questions I've posed.
Valerie Detling
 
#12 ·
Valerie, below is a link to the info of compatibilities you requested:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=3pL&q=vista+software+compatible+list&btnG=Search

*As far as needing a registry backup after a failure of the registry it is very difficult to fix after it is dead...
http://www.downloadatoz.com/windows-registry/faq,how-to-fix-a-registry-on-a-dead-system.html

*quote: "I've never had a problem with the Windows XP machine not completing an uninstall."
XP is a very good Operating System if you ask me :)
99.9% of all problems are user error!

*I use "Your Uninstaller 2008" and let it remove the registry entries left behind by the program but I look at the entries carefully first, And I have not had it cause a single problem on any one of my systems.
And it does an automatic backup of the registry first and I have a Ghost Clone of my systems that I can restore back to in 10 minutes so I don't care about system restore, it's turned off, as it's a huge resource hog, takes up huge amounts of space...

*and I have all my important files on a slave hard drive and hard copies on CD_DVD :)
 
#13 ·
I really appreciate all the help you've given me. I've learned much more about Windows Vista then I knew before. Hopefully it wil help me keep this Vista machine going. I'm particularly concerned about the fact that System Restore works so badly.
For those of you that use "Ghost " to back up your files, where do you store these files? I have a 200 gb external hard drive but it looks like it would be puny for backing up files (I mean system files only).
By the way I found out why the PhotoDeluxe program finally installed corrrectly. After repeated tries at installing the program, the program compatibility assistant finally popped up and asked if I needed help installing the program. (It now works correctly for both users). It would have been nice if it had popped up when I first installed the program or during the repeated attempts I made that failed.
Valerie Detling
 
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