Is there a Microsoft licensed registry cleaner? I have heard horror stories about the unlicensed products available out there.

On Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:18:07 +0000, sublimus wrote:

ok, but what about a registry cleaner?

Stay away from them all!

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.

Read http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.html

And also

http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2005/10/02/registry-junk-a-windows-fact-of-life.aspx

Let me point out that neither I nor anyone else who warns against the

use of registry cleaners has ever said that they always cause

problems. If they always caused problems, they would disappear from

the market almost immediately. Many people have used a registry

cleaner and never had a problem with it.

Rather, the problem with a registry cleaner is that it carries with it

the substantial risk of having a problem. And since there is no

benefit to using a registry cleaner, running that risk is a very bad

bargain.

Ken Blake

The following link is Microsoft recommendations regarding registry cleaners which holds true for all versions of Windows:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Are-registry-cleaners-necessary

Due to the threads age, this thread will be locked. If you are having problems with your computer, please create a new post here on the Answers forums for assistance.

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Look to running a check for malware and avoid the use of registry cleaners.. 

Microsoft Security Essentials

SuperAntispyware -  http://download.cnet.com/SuperAntiSpyware-Free-Edition/3000-8022_4-10523889.html

Windows Defender - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=435BFCE7-DA2B-4A6A-AFA4-F7F14E605A0D&displaylang=en

Malwarebytes - www.malwarebytes.org

WinPatrol.. This utility will warn if something is trying to sneak into start-up without you knowing. It will also allow you to manage start-up items much better than you can with MSCONFIG..

www.winpatrol.com

Mike Hall MVP - Windows Desktop Experience http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/