Does microsoft have a software that cleans, repairs and fix errors on registry for free?

Anonymous

Clean and fix registry errors for free

Does microsoft have a software that cleans, repairs and fix errors on registry for free

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

quietman7 MVP Alumni 19,830 Volunteer Moderator

This topic keeps getting resurrected because many folks are uninformed, younger users who have entered the world of computing and others are looking for some magic cure for various system problems. If you have been using such a program routinely or followed the advice of some so-called technician...there is no telling what damage it has already done to your registry and other areas it purports to clean. I suspect that is the reason for your registry error messages unless it it is the program you are currently using which is giving the errors.

There are numerous programs which purport to improve system performance, make repairs and tune up a computer. Many of them include such features as a registry cleaner, registry optimizer, disk optimizer, etc. These registry cleaners and optimizers claim to speed up your computer by finding and removing orphaned and corrupt registry entries that are responsible for slowing down system performance. There is no statistical evidence to back such claims. Advertisements to do so are a marketing ploy intended to goad users into using an unnecessary and potential dangerous product. I would not trust any results such programs detect as problematic or needing repair nor recommend using the options to fix them.

Further, these types of junk optimization programs are often bundled with other software you download and most are considered Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) so they may be detected or even removed by some security scanners which specifically look for PUPs and adware.

Official Microsoft support policy for the use of registry cleaning utilities (KB2563254)

Quote

"This article describes the Microsoft support policy for customers who use registry cleaning utilities that rely on unsupported methods to extract or modify the contents of a Windows Registry...Windows continually references the registry in the background and it is not designed to be accessed or edited. Some products such as registry cleaning utilities suggest that the registry needs regular maintenance or cleaning. However, serious issues can occur when you modify the registry incorrectly using these types of utilities. These issues might require users to reinstall the operating system due to instability. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved without a reinstallation of the Operating System as the extent of the changes made by registry cleaning utilities varies from application to application...Microsoft does not support the use of registry cleaners..."

Why you should not use Registry Cleaners and Optimization Tools

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

On Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:38:14 +0000, Tinaya wrote:

Does microsoft have a software that cleans, repairs and fix errors on registry for free

No. And stay far away from all such programs.

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

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 (MS MVP)

0 comments

121 additional answers

Anonymous

2016-08-05T15:47:15+00:00

Yes, yes I did read the summary carefully:

QUOTE

"When you start your computer successfully, the Windows Registry Checker tool (Scanreg.exe) creates a backup of system files and registry configuration information (including user account information, protocol bindings, software program settings, and user preferences) once daily. Files that Windows Registry Checker backs up include System.dat, User.dat, System.ini, and Win.ini. This article describes the Windows Registry Checker tool."

But I also read the rest of the article, and nowhere does it state that it was only a backup and repair tool. Also, reading the rest of the article as I quoted above, it performs / could perform registry repairs without actual backups:

QUOTE

"If no backups are available, Windows Registry Checker tries to make repairs to the registry. This is equivalent to running thescanreg /fixcommand from a command prompt. If the registry contains more than 500 KB of empty data blocks, Windows Registry Checker automatically optimizes it."Furthermore, nowhere on the article does it say that the tool is or has been deprecated or is only valid for a certain version for windows.

All of this is moot for me in any case, as I can quickly google and find a lot of additional information regarding scanreg.exe and scanregw.exe. The issue I have is that on this thread a lot of conflicting information is thrown around by both third parties and MS MVPs, yet MS has / had at some stage had a registry backup / cleanup / repair tool, with no indication that it has been deprecated or any other additional comments to say "do not use registry cleaners" or "avoid third party registry cleaners". Therefore, I fully understand why donbarajas is very confused after reading this thread and why throughout this thread a lot of other users feel as though they don't really have a "final" answer.

Especially for less computer literate users, I believe the information available is conflicting and not necessarily clear and concise. So something like a Sticky right at the top stating the above might be more usefull than two answers marked as correct, but completely out of context without reading the entire post.

Does that make sense?
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
quietman7 MVP Alumni 19,830 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2016-08-05T13:24:35+00:00

Did you read the article Summary carefully?

Windows Registry Checker Tool was a backup and repair tool for system files and registry configuration information in older operating systems for which Microsoft no longer offers support....it was not a registry cleaning tool.

QUOTE

"When you start your computer successfully, the Windows Registry Checker tool (Scanreg.exe) creates a backup of system files and registry configuration information (including user account information, protocol bindings, software program settings, and user preferences) once daily. Files that Windows Registry Checker backs up include System.dat, User.dat, System.ini, and Win.ini. "
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2016-08-05T12:40:48+00:00

So...

My question to everyone saying no is this - if I shouldn't use a registry cleaner or that all registry cleaners are potentially dangerous, then why do MS themselves have one freely available?

https://support.microsoft.com/en-za/kb/183887

Windows Registry Checker automatically scans the system registry for invalid entries and empty data blocks when it is started. If invalid registry entries are detected, Windows Registry Checker automatically restores a previous day's backup. This is equivalent to running the scanreg /autorun command from a command prompt. If no backups are available, Windows Registry Checker tries to make repairs to the registry. This is equivalent to running thescanreg /fixcommand from a command prompt. If the registry contains more than 500 KB of empty data blocks, Windows Registry Checker automatically optimizes it.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments