My registry is a mess.
Comp runs slow
no spyware, ad-ware, viruses blah blah.
I downloaded Max registry Cleaner and RegCure which claim to be free, but no ..... they just tell me that I have a bazillion problems and then offer to fix them if I register for $39.95.
Is there a truly free one that even just does half the job?
Also ... are the above two just BS .... Max said I had 11,000 thingos and Reg cure found 1700 so how much is just plain scare tactics?
Please no debate about the value of Registry cleaners, I have read all that and am fed up to the back teeth with a 8 y/o PC that is clogged up with superfluous sh!t so just want a free fix!!!!
I was in the same boat as you Mark.
My computer is about 6/7 years old.
All I did was save all the important stuff then just format the b1tch
I use AVG. Hope this helps
Spy-bot is free, with an update system to stay ahead of new bugs, also has a registry guard that asks your permission before any registry changes are made.
There's also addaware, (or something like that) I tried both a while ago and liked spybot better, can't remember why now.
Seems to work well on this computer, not that I use windows much, I'm in Linux most of the time and that doesn't have a registry to worry about.
i used regeisty easy must off been free cause im a tight bastard,or try this mininova, whatever progams you want then utorrent works a treat
so Registry Easy, Mininova or UTorrent? Googling the former seems to give a LOT or warnings about it....
got given a lappy that didnt work ie no sound or video as well as other probs ,not very computer clever but used driver detective to get every thing running then esry reg,if i didnt heve the serial or rego codes i used mininove thenn utorrent to get that file ,got adobe audition 3 and dragon naturrally speaking on mine then u to open run both work no viruses ,got trend security running so seems to all work fine got sound vid and everything else working using these ,hope it helps
Reformat the pig and reload. No matter what I run/do we end up with slow systems / crap running in the background over time. I find it is best to reformat and reload completely, probably on average every 6-12 months per machine - even though we do run virus/spyware software etc. I get a new work laptop every year and rotate the old through home/kids etc so with 3 computers I find I'm wasting a day (back & forth to the computer) every 6 months or so reformating/reloading. Its amazing how much quicker they are after. The 100+Gb USB external hard drives save heaps of time/hassles with backup/re-instals - a great investment.
Google on C Cleaner off CNET or ZDNET - reputable sites and good free product if you want a registry cleaner
Start with CCleaner download it here
www.ccleaner.com/
It will tidy those hard to find areas to tidy.
Its freeware, no spyware, nasties or uglies.
Run it to begin then fortnightly thereafter.
Geez I hate computers and their designer/ programmer peeps
If I have no viruses, spyware, malware of any kind why does it get slower and full of rubbish (rhetorical question)
What sh!ts me is for example I am using a product to uninstall unused programs and it also deletes the registry values afterwards. My phone software after removal: about 100 reg values. Various Windows programs: couple of hundred. HP printer software (just the photo imaging stuff nobody would use anyway; over 4000 registry values
The f%*^head who designed that should be shot.
I'll try C cleaner and if no good I may have to bite the bullet and wipe everything and start again 
Try CCleaner.
Its a beaut app.
Let it run its course tho. If your puter is clogged as much as you say it will take some time for it to work out what needs to be done.
Have patience.
CCleaner is so fkn good.
)
i just installed ccleaner to see what it was like.
watch out for the install step that wants you to install yahoo toolbar. a cleaning program that installs junks on your computer... well i never.
still they need to make money somehow, other then that looks like a decent piece of software.
p.s. i hate study, procrastination however is awesome 
me too, working on a friday night. sick
but an ok price to pay for an afternoon on the water.
unfortunately windows suffers from OS Decay. even microsoft themselves recommend 6 monthly re-installs to keep pc's running at their best.
the trick is to have 2 partitions on your pc.
C- has all of the OS stuff
D- has everything else
then when you need to re-install, you copy the important stuff to your d drive before a reinstall on C drive.
note - to copy everything you need to be logged on as a different user. then copy your entire windows profile.
after re-install you will also need to re-install all of your other software.
in my opinion, registry tools, OS repair install etc etc are only good for getting a system back and running when something very bad happens. enough to let you copy everything.
fresh re-instal is the only way to go. your pc will run much much faster after.
i run avg also, it's free..... macafee and nortons will slow your pc down.
the only thing i do is defrag every few months and use the OS disk tools.
my computer also runs like the proverbial...
Way overdue for a scrub and rebuild. I have been delaying this because in my ignorance, I have no idea how to copy the programs I have installed so I can reinstall on the fresh clean pc. How do you do that? (I am still on XP)
Thanks OceanBlue64, I figured that much. I am just hoping there is a way to save the install files before I wipe the computer, therefore allowing me to install on the reformatted system. Any tips?
burn the as image file to a dvd
youy should have all your files neetly download ...
this dosent mean go straight to run when downloading
Allways download and save in to a place where they a locatable for easy backup.
these should be backed up on disk or external along with drivers.
the other thing u can try is to put the windows cd in and do like a service this should reset your registry keys.
The Windows Registry is a database which stores settings and options for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains information and settings for hardware, operating system software, most non-operating system software, and per-user settings. The registry also provides a window into the operation of the kernel, exposing runtime information such as performance counters and currently active hardware.
hhaha u may want to just go back to xp and uninstally vista that will get rid of your problems lol.
If you are serious about keeping your PC clean you have a few options. One way is to get your computer setup just the way you want it to be and then use an imaging application to create a snapshot of it, save it on external hard drive or DVD depending on the size. Then when it gets full of crap you can wipe it an reimage it. The most common imaging application is Ghost. There are some free ones around too.
Other solution is to get a Mac, but they stuff up too. Mine stuffed up when the hard drive got too full and the OS crapped itself.
Registry cleaners are a vehicle for adware and worse. Lean how to save what you need (favourites, documents and settings, etc - google is your friend) make a 10gb partition on a drive somewhere. Reload windows. Load up all your ****e. Get it how you like it. Ghost it. restore whenever you feel like it @ half an hour out of pocket. (beware ghost with SATA - use boot cd)
No external Hard Drive? If you have anything you'd like to not lose, like pictures, you are asking for trouble.
I've got two external drives, just in case. I simply can't lose 10 years of pictures.
Case in point: One of my external drives crapped itself a bit (didn't realise was FAT32/still exists) so I formatted and re-copied all my pics and stuff across. At work I was browsing pics on it (compiling) when I noticed that about 90% of them were missing!
My home PC was the same. They were just not there! Lucky I had the 2nd external drive and everything safely on it.
I've seen this happen on my mum's PC and just wrote it off as something that happens on old people's PCs, ie she did it somehow. But no, this **** happens. I swear to god I copied them all across, watched them go across, safely disconnected, next day at work 90% just gone and same at home. They were not anywhere on the PC. Gone. Kaput.
Bit of a rant but I imagine there will be a generation of pictures missing when "mum and dad" PCs eventually crash, or behave as above. Two backups people, one off-site. MBs are dirt cheap these days.
OK then I will get an external drive, save the stuff I want (which is stuff all)..... my whole HDD is 50Gb anyway. And it is only 2/3 full
Anyway, can somebody post a really basic how to on reinstalling Winders (I have XP)
Like: (1) Save sh!t
(2) go to control panel > admin ? > format drive ?
(3) restart computer and then bung in Windows CD. Then it will prompt me for each step I need
Is it that easy?
How can it read the windows CD if I just deleted everything - which would include the CD driver, right? (yes i'm that dumb) 
