registry cleaner, reccommendations please

rmg1

Just to add my 2p-worth, I'd run StartUpLite from here:-
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/startuplite/

It will go through whatever runs at startup and present with a list of what you can turn off. The final decision is up to you.

closed

Sadly, it hasn't been updated for a long time.

rmg1

That's a shame, it's a useful piece of kit for clearing out stuff like Adobe and Nero after doing updates, etc.
Is there anything similar around?

closed

msconfig

rmg1

But that's a dangerous place to wander around (a bit like doing a hack-and-slash thorugh the registry).

closed

startup tab is fairly safe, I use autoruns, but it requires some knowledge.

I did think about writing one, but it's too time consuming to keep upto date, and less relevant on modern machines

http://www.freefixer.com/
Avast has a browser bho cleanup function now.

fenlander_uk

closed wrote: »

because it works, in minutes, whereas defragging (any type) and ccleaner or any other cleaner wont do a thing. It also costs a far lot less than a visit to a pc shop.

Doing updates (a background task), installing a few programs, and copying data is hardly time consuming, copy, paste, and run a few installers, go make a cup of tea while it applies updates

Compare that to hunting for a cause that even the most experience tech around may not pinpoint.

It's 6 months old, unlikely to have much on it and will have plenty of ram/cpu grunt so that can be ruled out - which leaves hunting for a software cause can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

I think you seriously underestimate the disruption caused by a reinstall. Take a simple example: how many people know how to get their email data back after a factory reset? When I get a new machine it typically takes me 3 days to have it working the way I want - and yes, I do know what I'm doing. I acknowledge that some hobbyists use their PCs as test beds and regularly reset them, but for most users considerable time is invested in setting up. It's not to be thrown away lightly - a factory reset should be the last worst option.

When I did have to reinstall following a HD failure there were over 200 updates pending, including two service packs. That alone took 2 days. These days I take a full disk image immediately after completing the setup on any new machine. If ever I have to go back to square one, it will be that image I will restore, not a factory reset.

Last week I had an issue with the sidebar. A few seconds after startup, I'd get a message that 'Gadgets have stopped working'. A system restore did not help. Eventually it was Ccleaner that helped me discover that sidebar.exe was being run as a startup program and again as a scheduled task. Once the scheduled task was removed, again using Ccleaner, all was well.

closed

if someone spends a full 3 days tinkering (rare I would say), then they should image backup afterwards.

A fair proportion of users use webmail nowadays. If they don't know how to backup downloaded emails, then they can ask.

I think you underestimate how absolutely pointless defragging and wiping temp files is on a 6 month old (or any) machine, when trying to cure slowness, They'll more than likely post back saying it made no difference whatsoever, and if not careful may have compounded the problem with toolbars or extra browsers and bloat.

The link on how to diagnose speed issues is in the second post if the op wishes to investigate further and spend hour upon hour of tweaking, it also mentions how to backup properly, how to scan for viruses, and how to factory restore. There is nothing to go on at the moment, we don't even know what's slow, what OS it is, what's installed, if it's infected, what machine it is.

I've said it before, but I don't really see what the fuss is about windows updates with regards to reinstallation, apart from a few slow restarts, what's the issue, leave it on overnight, leave it updating while having a bath, it doesn't need to be watched

The op has already said they aren't computer savvy, so they aren't going to be able to diagnose without help.

if this was xp, I'd be asking for a hijackthis log and commit charge, but vista onwards, straight to backup and factory restore if nothing obvious is causing it is usually far faster, and always more effective.

pineapple

CCleaner - I've tried others which have stuffed up my system but I've used the free version of CCleaner for years and never had a problem - even a tech numpty like me
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner

fishybusiness

I think you underestimate how absolutely pointless defragging and wiping temp files is on a 6 month old (or any) machine, when trying to cure slowness, They'll more than likely post back saying it made no difference whatsoever, and if not careful may have compounded the problem with toolbars or extra browsers and bloat.

I used to run a PC repair company, cleaning temp files/ folders, dealing with the often many additional startup items and a defrag ALWAYS made a difference.

The defrag is an integral part of the process. OP didn't specify machine spec, OS or anything particularly important when diagnosing a slow PC.

Agreed, registry cleaner is very rarely the answer, caveat being a partially uninstalled program such as AV software.

The biggest thing I find is when all the work has been done, and PC is speeded up again, it only takes weeks to start to see a speed degradation again.

I have found SSD's all but remove the speed degradation issues on both PC's and MAC's, all other things being equal.