What is the BEST Registry Cleaner for Win 7 Ultimate or Pro 64 Bit version OS ?

Read about Microsoft's support policy for use of registry cleaners.

Then have a look at this current thread for a good example of what can happen when "optimizers" and registry cleaners are used.

My guess on Symantec's removal of the registry cleaner from Norton 360 is that it was causing too many problems, on top of all the problems that Norton products cause to begin with.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts.  The fact is that the cleaning the registry under controlled conditions has never been shown to result in any performance improvements.  Anyone who thinks otherwise just doesn't understand how the registry works.  The most likely result of using a registry cleaner, other than no effect at all, is something bad happening.

Thank you for the link.  Goodness it is a bit of a minefield for ordinary users.  I read the Microsoft support policy and the two links it led to.  Yes it does say Microsoft doesn't support the use of registry cleaners but it does go on to say if you use one get one from a reputable company and be careful what you download.  Then in one of the links it says

"We recommend that you use the Windows user interface to change your system settings instead of manually editing the registry. However, editing the registry may sometimes be the best method to resolve a product issue. If the issue is documented in the Microsoft Knowledge Base, an article with step-by-step instructions to edit the registry for that issue will be available. We recommend that you follow those instructions exactly."

referring to the bit that says it is best to use regedit to edit the registry.

I think the problem for general users like me is, we're not experienced enough to use regedit.  Some people say take your laptop to an IT expert.  The once I did that they spent hours and hours looking into everything and couldn't solve the issue.  I started using Norton 360 ran the tune up and everything was fine again!

Also it seems IT experts use tools like Norton Utilities, System Mechanics and so on to sort out issues with laptops, so general users like myself I think would like something reliable to use, if it includes backing up the registry first.

The problem is when there is no major issue, just lots of annoying minor ones that stop you computing smoothly and waste your time and you need a solution.

This has become quite a headache for me as I have had no problems at all for 6 years with Norton 360 installed and it was a very popular product with vast numbers of ordinary users.

Since my previous post I downloaded a trial version of Norton Utilities and I am not happy!  Yes I can see that registry cleaners can do more harm than good.  It hasn't caused any problems with the running of my machine and some of the other tools within NU have cleared all sorts of redundant stuff from Microsoft Word etc and things have been zippier.  However I don't think it is a good tool for an ordinary user myself and definitely needs a handbook of instructions before using.  I am not happy with it because I (foolishly!) clicked the Optimise now button without realising I would have no choices in what happened next unless I first went into 'Settings' and selected what should and shouldn't be done.

Everything is still working fine but the reason I am not happy is it has removed all my System restore points and turned system restore off.  I had backed everything up before installing NU so that isn't an issue, just more time spent.  So no I don't want a product that removes my System restore points, thank you.  After reading up about this it seems it is part of how the product works and there is a reason for it, but whatever the reason is, I don't like it.  I like having System restore working,

I have actually found that my laptop (Sony Vaio) has a built in registry cleaner in Vaio Care, which I had forgotten about, because I had Norton 360, although have used this in the past with no issue.  So I won't be keeping NU.

So there is the other confusion for general users.  Windows experts say get rid of all the Sony junk, Sony vaio say they don't support you if you do a clean install. Sony actually install a product that cleans the registry, on a Windows 7 laptop, and Windows say they don't support the use of Registry cleaners!  Yet Sony have (or had) a licence to sell products with Windows installed.

It's all very confusing for the general user to know who is right and why these tools are provided or sold if they're not necessary.

I am assuming my system restore will become functional again when I remove Norton Utilities, but I wouldn't recommend that product to anyone due to the lack of user information prior to use.  When it's downloaded it doesn't come with an instruction manual.  Having said that, it has made everything run a bit slicker and doesn't seem to have done any harm, but I felt didn't give me enough choices with regard to changes in my system set up, so it is more than just a clean-up tool.

I still have two other laptops in our household that aren't Sony products and don't have a built-in registry cleaner and defragmenter.  And being the household amateur techie I have been the one who has to keep everyone's laptops running smoothly for the last 6 years.  Norton 360 seemed to do that.

I can't quite believe Norton have removed the registry scanner due to problems as the product has been available for many years and people have kept using it year after year.  It's probably something to do with Windows 10 becoming availalble and compatibility.

So as a Windows 7 user on all of our 3 laptops (none of which are apparently suitable for Upgrade to Windows 10) that leaves us a bit high and dry when we get 'glitches' which are probably caused by programs installed rather than Windows itself.

I think people who do computer repair for a living probably love registry cleaners because they create so much revenue for them.  As I suggested earlier, there are no performance improvements to be had from registry cleaners.  None.  If you feel the need to use them on a regular basis, sooner or later you will come to grief.  It's inevitable.  Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it will never happen. 

You say "It's all very confusing for the general user to know who is right and why these tools are provided or sold if they're not necessary."   Surely as a general consumer of myriad products you understand that that are tens of thousands sold every day that aren't necessary or particularly helpful in any regard.  They are very helpful to their sellers, however.  There are many products the sole purpose of which is to separate credulous consumers from their money and registry cleaners are in that category.

There are many products the sole purpose of which is to separate credulous consumers from their money and registry cleaners are in that category.

-> I think you are wasting your time. For people such as moth7000, registry "cleaners" are a matter of faith. They get impressed by the sheer number of "error" messages a registry cleaner generates during the inspection phase, and the warm feeling they get after running the cleaner will totally compensate for the absence of any measurable and repeatable benefit - until they get caught.

I'm happy to accept they are not necessary and don't do any good, but I got used to having one that was built into Norton 360 and had 6 years of problem-free computing.  I think that one must have been a lot more conservative than most.  If it's just for profit though, why does Piriform make CCleaner free?