Write to inquire if there is some application within XP SP3 to clean the
registry and identify problems. A third party trial version indicates that
there are over 200 issues. Guidance sought

Maurice wrote:

> Write to inquire if there is some application within XP SP3 to clean the
> registry and identify problems. A third party trial version indicates
> that
> there are over 200 issues. Guidance sought

The registry doesn't need to be cleaned. Leave it alone. See this link for
why:

http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099

However, I'm concerned about your last statement, "A third party trial
version indicates that there are over 200 issues". Is this coming from
something called Antivirus 2007/08/09, XP Antivirus, WinAntivirus, XP
Security Center or the like? If yes, your computer is infected with a rogue
antispyware program. It is called "rogue" because it pretends to be A Good
Guy but is really Evil. Do not pay them!

If my guess is correct, look for removal steps here:

Bleeping Computer removal how-to's -
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum55.html

These may work for you and all may be well. However, in many cases the
computer will also be infected with Zlob and/or Vundo trojans and protected
by a rootkit. These machines are extremely difficult to clean.

If your machine is one of these cases, either get guided help at one of the
specialty forums below OR back up your data and do a clean install of
Windows. It is your choice. If you are unsure how to back up your data or
how to do a clean install, you can take your machine to a local computer
professional. I don't recommend using BigComputerStore/GeekSquad types of
places.

PLEASE DO NOT POST LOGS IN THE MS NEWSGROUPS.

http://aumha.net/ - Click on the HijackThis forum. Read the announcement and
the stickies *first*.
http://www.atribune.org/forums/index.php?showforum=9
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum22.html
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/cleanup
http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/...y.php?f=25Look
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/Malwa..._Here-f37.html
http://gladiator-antivirus.com/forum...?showforum=170
http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5
http://forums.techguy.org/54-security/
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

On Sat, 9 Aug 2008 06:22:01 -0700, Maurice wrote:

> Write to inquire if there is some application within XP SP3 to clean the
> registry...

No, there isn't.

> ...and identify problems.

What seems to be the problem?

> A third party trial version indicates...

These are usually snake-oil!

> ...that there are over 200 issues.

These are usually non-issues, better ignore them.

> Guidance sought

Registry cleaners are not required for NT systems!

AUMHA Discussion: Should I Use a Registry Cleaner?
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099
Note the comments from Mark Russinovich and the reference concerning ERUNT.

Why I don¢t use registry cleaners!
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.html

Be guided accordingly :-)

If you are not competent to edit the registry manually, then leave well
alone. Third party registry cleaners, sadly, create more problems than they
actually solve and are best not even considered. Strangely, you could
probably run your 'third party trial version' on a machine that you have
just installed Windows XP (or any other version of Windows) on and it would
still come up with over 200 issues.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..


"Maurice" <Maurice@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:D509256F-BD18-47EF-AB78-D58163A896A4@microsoft.com...
> Write to inquire if there is some application within XP SP3 to clean the
> registry and identify problems. A third party trial version indicates
> that
> there are over 200 issues. Guidance sought

here is a second party
free version:

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/a...leaner_why.htm

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

"Maurice" <Maurice@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:D509256F-BD18-47EF-AB78-D58163A896A4@microsoft.com...
> Write to inquire if there is some application within XP SP3 to clean the
> registry and identify problems. A third party trial version indicates that
> there are over 200 issues. Guidance sought

On Sat, 9 Aug 2008 06:22:01 -0700, Maurice
<Maurice@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> Write to inquire if there is some application within XP SP3 to clean the
> registry and identify problems.


No, there isn't, and that's good, not bad.

Registry cleaning programs are *all* snake oil. Cleaning of the
registry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave the registry alone and
don't use any registry cleaner. Despite what many people think, and
what vendors of registry cleaning software try to convince you of,
having unused registry entries doesn't really hurt you.

The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneously
removing an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefit
it may have.



> A third party trial version indicates that
> there are over 200 issues. Guidance sought



"Issues" that are meaningless, and don't hurt you at all. Ignore them,
and stay far away from all such programs.


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Not a good idea.
Freeware registry cleaners can trash your PC at no cost $$$ to you.
Those registry cleaner utilities that cost money are best known
for cleaning your wallet and then trashing your PC.

Example #1
Ran a scan to count the number of entries in my PC's registry
Total was over 260,000
So if a registry cleaner (if it worked properly) removed say 1,000 entries
that would be less than one half of one percent space savings.

Example #2
I very recently ran a registry cleaner knowing in advance what some of the
fixes the cleaner should find and the suggested changes.
This was based on the fact I had uninstalled an application (knowing it
would leave some orphaned registry entries) and then reinstalled the same
application to a different directory location.

The cleaner's default suggested fix for the application's old directory
location (the orphaned entries) was to change these entries to the new
location, which was not necessary, so I manually deleted these entries.

Now here is where a registry cleaner could cause a real problem!
A few months ago I removed a large number but not all of the
$NtUninstallKBxxxxxx$ folders
(these are the folders and associated files left behind each time you
install the latest Windows Updates each month)
The cleaner reported the broken registry entries but the suggested fix was
to point the broken registry entries to the remaining $NtUninstall files (on
a random basis) thus royally screwing up the pointers. By that I mean you go
to uninstall (in rare cases) a patch that may be giving you problems and due
to the screwed up registry entry it instead removes the wrong patch.

JS
www.pagestart.com


"Maurice" <Maurice@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:D509256F-BD18-47EF-AB78-D58163A896A4@microsoft.com...
> Write to inquire if there is some application within XP SP3 to clean the
> registry and identify problems. A third party trial version indicates
> that
> there are over 200 issues. Guidance sought

Maurice wrote:
> Write to inquire if there is some application within XP SP3 to clean the
> registry and identify problems. A third party trial version indicates that
> there are over 200 issues. Guidance sought


A registry cleaner - even a safe one, should such ever be developed
- is an exercise in, at best, futility. There is no real need for
registry cleaners, other than to provide a profit to their manufacturers.

Why do you even think you'd ever need to clean your registry? What
specific *problems* are you actually experiencing (not some program's
bogus listing of imaginary problems) that you think can be fixed by
using a registry cleaner?

If you do have a real problem that is rooted in the registry, it
would be far better to simply edit (after backing up, of course) only
the specific key(s) and/or value(s) that are causing the problem. After
all, why use a chainsaw when a scalpel will do the job? Additionally,
the manually changing of one or two registry entries is far less likely
to have the dire consequences of allowing an automated product to make
multiple changes simultaneously. The only thing needed to safely clean
your registry is knowledge and Regedit.exe.

The registry contains all of the operating system's "knowledge" of
the computer's hardware devices, installed software, the location of the
device drivers, and the computer's configuration. A misstep in the
registry can have severe consequences. One should not even turning
loose a poorly understood automated "cleaner," unless he is fully
confident that he knows *exactly* what is going to happen as a result of
each and every change.

Having repeatedly seen the results of inexperienced people using
automated registry "cleaners," I can only advise all but the most
experienced computer technicians (and/or hobbyists) to avoid them all.
Experience has shown me that such tools simply are not safe in the hands
of the inexperienced user. If you lack the knowledge and experience to
maintain your registry by yourself, then you also lack the knowledge and
experience to safely configure and use any automated registry cleaner,
no matter how safe they claim to be.

More importantly, no one has ever demonstrated that the use of an
automated registry cleaner, particularly by an untrained, inexperienced
computer user, does any real good, whatsoever. There's certainly been
no empirical evidence offered to demonstrate that the use of such
products to "clean" WinXP's registry improves a computer's performance
or stability. Given the potential for harm, it's just not worth the risk.

Granted, most registry "cleaners" won't cause problems each and
every time they're used, but the potential for harm is always there.
And, since no registry "cleaner" has ever been demonstrated to do any
good, whatsoever (think of them like treating the flu with chicken soup
- there's no real medicinal value, but it sometimes provides a warming
placebo effect), I always tell people that the risks far out-weigh the
non-existent benefits.

I will concede that a good registry *scanning* tool, in the hands
of an experienced and knowledgeable technician or hobbyist can be a
useful time-saving diagnostic tool, as long as it's not allowed to make
any changes automatically. But I really don't think that there are any
registry cleaners that are truly safe for the general public to use.
Experience has proven just the opposite: such tools simply are not safe
in the hands of the inexperienced user.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

db.·.. ><))) ·>` .. . wrote:
> here is a second party
> free version:
>

But it's still just as worthless, and potentially as dangerous, as all
3rd party ones.

Please stop deliberately trying to sabotage people's computers.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

Bruce Chambers wrote:
> db.·.. ><))) ·>` .. . wrote:
>> here is a second party
>> free version:
>>
>
> But it's still just as worthless, and potentially as dangerous, as
> all 3rd party ones.
>
> Please stop deliberately trying to sabotage people's computers.
>

So you're saying that Microsoft's One Care program will sabotage
people's computers? Have you notified Microsoft yet?

Alias

Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
> On Sat, 9 Aug 2008 06:22:01 -0700, Maurice
> <Maurice@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
>> Write to inquire if there is some application within XP SP3 to clean the
>> registry and identify problems.
>
>
> No, there isn't, and that's good, not bad.
>
> Registry cleaning programs are *all* snake oil.

Not according to Microsoft:

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/a...leaner_why.htm

Alias
Cleaning of the
> registry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave the registry alone and
> don't use any registry cleaner. Despite what many people think, and
> what vendors of registry cleaning software try to convince you of,
> having unused registry entries doesn't really hurt you.
>
> The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneously
> removing an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefit
> it may have.
>
>
>
>> A third party trial version indicates that
>> there are over 200 issues. Guidance sought
>
>
>
> "Issues" that are meaningless, and don't hurt you at all. Ignore them,
> and stay far away from all such programs.
>
>

Why do want to sabotage
peoples computers and
say not to use Microsoft's
registry cleaner and other
system maintenance utilities
they engineered for
Windows?

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/a...leaner_why.htm


--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

"Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote in message news:e3j0iWj%23IHA.872@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> db.·.. ><))) ·>` .. . wrote:
>> here is a second party
>> free version:
>>
>
> But it's still just as worthless, and potentially as dangerous, as all 3rd party ones.
>
> Please stop deliberately trying to sabotage people's computers.
>
> --
>
> Bruce Chambers
>
> Help us help you:
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375
>
> They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin
>
> Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell
>
> The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.
> ~ Denis Diderot

why are you putting all
the newsgroup readers
to sleep with this mindless
rant?

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>


"Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote in message news:u$6EiVj%23IHA.872@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Maurice wrote:
>> Write to inquire if there is some application within XP SP3 to clean the registry and identify problems. A third party trial
>> version indicates that there are over 200 issues. Guidance sought
>
>
> A registry cleaner - even a safe one, should such ever be developed - is an exercise in, at best, futility. There is no real
> need for registry cleaners, other than to provide a profit to their manufacturers.
>
> Why do you even think you'd ever need to clean your registry? What specific *problems* are you actually experiencing (not some
> program's bogus listing of imaginary problems) that you think can be fixed by using a registry cleaner?
>
> If you do have a real problem that is rooted in the registry, it would be far better to simply edit (after backing up, of
> course) only the specific key(s) and/or value(s) that are causing the problem. After all, why use a chainsaw when a scalpel will
> do the job? Additionally, the manually changing of one or two registry entries is far less likely to have the dire consequences
> of allowing an automated product to make multiple changes simultaneously. The only thing needed to safely clean your registry is
> knowledge and Regedit.exe.
>
> The registry contains all of the operating system's "knowledge" of the computer's hardware devices, installed software, the
> location of the device drivers, and the computer's configuration. A misstep in the registry can have severe consequences. One
> should not even turning loose a poorly understood automated "cleaner," unless he is fully confident that he knows *exactly* what
> is going to happen as a result of each and every change.
>
> Having repeatedly seen the results of inexperienced people using automated registry "cleaners," I can only advise all but the
> most experienced computer technicians (and/or hobbyists) to avoid them all. Experience has shown me that such tools simply are not
> safe in the hands of the inexperienced user. If you lack the knowledge and experience to maintain your registry by yourself, then
> you also lack the knowledge and experience to safely configure and use any automated registry cleaner, no matter how safe they
> claim to be.
>
> More importantly, no one has ever demonstrated that the use of an automated registry cleaner, particularly by an untrained,
> inexperienced computer user, does any real good, whatsoever. There's certainly been no empirical evidence offered to demonstrate
> that the use of such products to "clean" WinXP's registry improves a computer's performance or stability. Given the potential for
> harm, it's just not worth the risk.
>
> Granted, most registry "cleaners" won't cause problems each and every time they're used, but the potential for harm is always
> there. And, since no registry "cleaner" has ever been demonstrated to do any good, whatsoever (think of them like treating the flu
> with chicken soup - there's no real medicinal value, but it sometimes provides a warming placebo effect), I always tell people
> that the risks far out-weigh the non-existent benefits.
>
> I will concede that a good registry *scanning* tool, in the hands of an experienced and knowledgeable technician or hobbyist
> can be a useful time-saving diagnostic tool, as long as it's not allowed to make any changes automatically. But I really don't
> think that there are any registry cleaners that are truly safe for the general public to use. Experience has proven just the
> opposite: such tools simply are not safe in the hands of the inexperienced user.
>
>
> --
>
> Bruce Chambers
>
> Help us help you:
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375
>
> They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin
>
> Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell
>
> The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.
> ~ Denis Diderot

Alias

From your link: "Not to worry. Just like Microsoft Word, your PC has an
"undo" option. In this case, it's called System Restore. Once it's
finished scanning, the Windows Live Safety scanner creates a System
Restore point on your PC. This allows you to revert your system to its
original state, before you performed the scan, in case you inadvertently
remove any valid registry items."

Microsoft have a lot more confidence in System Restore than many who
post to these newsgroups. Which side of the fence do you reside Alias? A
number of well known security programmes prevent System Restore from
working!

~~~~


Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Alias wrote:
> Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
>> On Sat, 9 Aug 2008 06:22:01 -0700, Maurice
>> <Maurice@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Write to inquire if there is some application within XP SP3 to
>>> clean the registry and identify problems.
>>
>>
>> No, there isn't, and that's good, not bad.
>>
>> Registry cleaning programs are *all* snake oil.
>
> Not according to Microsoft:
>
> http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/a...leaner_why.htm
>
> Alias
> Cleaning of the
>> registry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave the registry alone and
>> don't use any registry cleaner. Despite what many people think, and
>> what vendors of registry cleaning software try to convince you of,
>> having unused registry entries doesn't really hurt you.
>>
>> The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner
>> erroneously removing an entry you need is far greater than any
>> potential benefit it may have.
>>
>>
>>
>>> A third party trial version indicates that
>>> there are over 200 issues. Guidance sought
>>
>>
>>
>> "Issues" that are meaningless, and don't hurt you at all. Ignore
>> them, and stay far away from all such programs.

I beta tested Microsoft One Care and found it next to useless. I certainly
wouldn't use it, nor would I recommend people to use it.

As for registry cleaners in general I stick with what I have already posted.
'If you are not competent enough to manually edit the registry, then leave
it well alone.'

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..


"Alias" <iamalias******REMOVE.com> wrote in message
news:g7ke6i$eet$2@aioe.org...
> Bruce Chambers wrote:
>> db.·.. ><))) ·>` .. . wrote:
>>> here is a second party
>>> free version:
>>>
>>
>> But it's still just as worthless, and potentially as dangerous, as
>> all 3rd party ones.
>>
>> Please stop deliberately trying to sabotage people's computers.
>>
>
> So you're saying that Microsoft's One Care program will sabotage people's
> computers? Have you notified Microsoft yet?
>
> Alias