# Registry Cleaning Software Questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544 "2015-07-18T20:16:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/1 "2015-07-18T20:16:14Z")
1. W/regard to restoring computer speed, do they work? 2. CNET rates IONIX Reg Serve the highest. Anyone have any experience with it? ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/2 "2015-07-18T20:19:53Z")
Do not use any registry cleaner, other than the one in ccleaner. You do not have to clean up your registry. If you must, ccleaner is adequate, and it is free. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/3 "2015-07-18T21:07:53Z")
Your registry typically has over 50,000 entries. Cleaning out 200 or so dead entries is not going to significantly improve your performance. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/4 "2015-07-18T21:10:38Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Your registry typically has over 50,000 entries. Cleaning out 200 or so dead entries is not going to significantly improve your performance. That’s what I’ve always figured. But what, then, will improve performance? I’ve been using CCleaner to prevent unnecessary programs from starting on boot, but I’m wondering what else I can do. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/5 "2015-07-18T21:13:57Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > That’s what I’ve always figured. But what, then, will improve performance? I’ve been using CCleaner to prevent unnecessary programs from starting on boot, but I’m wondering what else I can do. Ccleaner contains a registry cleaner. It also cleans up temporary files and other files that should be removed. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/6 "2015-07-18T21:15:17Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > That’s what I’ve always figured. But what, then, will improve performance? I’ve been using CCleaner to prevent unnecessary programs from starting on boot, but I’m wondering what else I can do. Assuming you have no malware, how much RAM do you have, and what version of Windows are you using? Adding RAM is the cheapest and easiest way to improve performance in PCs that are deficient in available RAM. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/7 "2015-07-18T23:07:51Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Assuming you have no malware, how much RAM do you have, and what version of Windows are you using? Adding RAM is the cheapest and easiest way to improve performance in PCs that are deficient in available RAM. It’s got the maximum the machine will take (8G). I’m asking more in theory than about my actual machine, which runs pretty well. In particular, I’m interested in the specific wording of **SanDiegoTim** ’s first question: “W/regard to _ **restoring** _ computer speed . . .” You seem to be implying that–short of hardware expansion (i.e., more RAM)–it’s _impossible_ to restore a computer to its “original” speed. That simply through use (or by installing applications), it inevitably must run more slowly than its does when it’s new. Because once you start installing and running programs on top of the OS, that will be using RAM. If you have the maximum RAM the machine can take, the only other thing you can do is uninstall software, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/8 "2015-07-19T02:30:39Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > If you have the maximum RAM the machine can take, the only other thing you can do is uninstall software, apparently. I wouldn’t say that, there are dozens of things that can impact performance. Some them are easy, some of them are harder. I always start with the easier ones, and work my way up. 8GB? Great, cross that off. What, specifically, seems to be slow? Online access, applications, opening files, playing media? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/9 "2015-07-19T04:39:56Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I wouldn’t say that, there are dozens of things that can impact performance. Some them are easy, some of them are harder. I always start with the easier ones, and work my way up. 8GB? Great, cross that off. > > What, specifically, seems to be slow? Online access, applications, opening files, playing media? Well, as I said before, nothing really yet. I’m more interested theoretically. I think I know about some of the “easy” things: malware, viruses, and programs which automatically start on boot. But what are the “harder” things I should look out for on a routine basis for maintenance? And–to get back to the OP–is CCleaner (or another single program) enough to handle them? I think we all know how a computer can get with time – even one without malware or viruses: impossibly slow–much slower that it was when it was bought. Besides insufficient RAM, what are the biggest, most common causes of that? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/10 "2015-07-19T05:29:19Z")
How timely. Well-known computer author Fred Langa, in Thursday’s issue of [Windows Secrets](http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/are-systemregistry-cleaners-worthwhile/), has an article “Are Registry Cleaners Worthwhile?”. It’s available for free at that link. My quick summary is that he agrees with the posters here: Free CCleaner is the one to use. (Only if you need anything more than the ones built into Windows in the newer (7 & 8.1) versions, which are fairly good.) He also notes that several of them made the situation _worse_ – the files & background stuff they added slowed the system down more than their cleanup sped it up! Personally, I’ve found that using [Revo Uninstaller](http://www.revouninstaller.com/) to uninstall programs I no longer use keeps some of this gunk out the Registry. Many programs don’t do a very good job of uninstalling themselves. (Not surprising – what incentive is there for a programmer to put much effort into cleaning up the system of a person who has decided they don’t like your software and are removing it?) ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/11 "2015-07-19T06:33:57Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Personally, I’ve found that using [Revo Uninstaller](http://www.revouninstaller.com/) to uninstall programs I no longer use keeps some of this gunk out the Registry. Okay, thanks, that’s good to know – but is this “gunk” in the registry actually what makes a PC operate significantly more slowly? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/12 "2015-07-19T09:44:28Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Okay, thanks, that’s good to know – but is this “gunk” in the registry actually what makes a PC operate significantly more slowly? No. As I said, there is no one thing responsible for performance loss. I do a tune-up that takes about two hours to find what is causing it, and it is different every time. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/13 "2015-07-19T19:53:22Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > . . . I do a tune-up that takes about two hours to find what is causing it, and it is different every time. Ah, okay, those are the kind of nuts and bolts that I’m interested in. I’d really like to know where I could find guidelines for doing that kind of tune-up myself. I’ve always been curious about the details behind this. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/14 "2015-07-19T21:51:10Z")
Unless I am totally wrong ( which I could totally be ) I keep my computers faster than my pipe ( no fiber available ) and faster than that accomplishes mostly nothing. Fastest usb ports, good video card, SSD’s, ect… Opinions? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/15 "2015-07-19T23:17:10Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > That’s what I’ve always figured. But what, then, will improve performance? I’ve been using CCleaner to prevent unnecessary programs from starting on boot, but I’m wondering what else I can do. I’ve used a nice little freeware program to disable unwanted startups. You can get it [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20131106030702/http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml). I use the standalone EXE version. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/16 "2015-07-20T00:04:26Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > How timely. > Well-known computer author Fred Langa, in Thursday’s issue of [Windows Secrets](http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/are-systemregistry-cleaners-worthwhile/), has an article “Are Registry Cleaners Worthwhile?”. It’s available for free at that link. > > My quick summary is that he agrees with the posters here: Free CCleaner is the one to use. (Only if you need anything more than the ones built into Windows in the newer (7 & 8.1) versions, which are fairly good.) He also notes that several of them made the situation _worse_ – the files & background stuff they added slowed the system down more than their cleanup sped it up! The bottom line of his article was they were all basically useless and accomplished almost nothing. “Registry cleaning” has been snake oil since about Windows ME. The two things which hurt modern Windows performance are fragmented disks and lots of background programs running that the owner is usually unaware of. Fix those two things using the built-in msconfig and disk health tools. Anything else is mostly masturbation. And don’t agree to install every bundled piece of junk- or ad-ware that comes along. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/17 "2015-07-20T18:37:00Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I’ve used a nice little freeware program to disable unwanted startups. You can get it [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20131106030702/http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml). > > I use the standalone EXE version. I use WinPatrol. [Apps for security software - CNET Download](http://download.cnet.com/WinPatrol/3000-8022_4-10129149.html) ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/18 "2015-07-20T19:57:43Z")
With WinPatrol, you do not have to uninstall a program. You can just disable it. Then if you change your mind, you can enable it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registry-cleaning-software-questions/725544/19 "2015-07-20T21:55:07Z")
You want to speed up your computer? IMHO, the best way to do that, aside from adding RAM, is to replace the main disk drive by a solid state drive. I have written about this in different threads, but my son and I went together to a Microsoft upgrade (to Wn-10) fare two days ago. I had a Surface Pro with a solid state drive and he had some laptop with an ordinary hard drive. My upgrade took about an hour and his took two hours. Everyone there agreed that the drives were the only significant difference.