PC Registry Software Blog -
July 2007
19th July 2007
Registry First Aid is a solid registry cleaner that many PC users swear by. And I received news today that version 6 has been released, with some important new features. Here's the major changes in this version:
• Vista compatibility:
support running in a least privileged environment;
support of Vista registry;
• display snapshot descriptions in registry snapshot lists;
• new and improved algorithms giving more thorough searches,
faster working, and greater reliability;
• filtering and sorting found registry entries;
• option to scan for errors all user registry hives is available under
full administrator only;
New users can download a free trial to get started here: Registry First Aid Trial
Existing users can download an upgrade for the software here: Registry First Aid Upgrades
18th July 2007
When most people run a registry cleaner for the first time, they're usually shocked by the sheer number of errors that the cleaner has uncovered. The first thing to remember is that your PC isn't on it's last legs, or isn't in especially bad shape just because a registry cleaner has found several hundred 'errors'.
Registry cleaners tend to be very thorough in finding errors. And it's not accurate to class them all as the same level of importance. Many errors will be small references that have been left after something was uninstalled.
Of course there are other more serious errors that registry cleaners find and repair.
Just about every registry tool I've tested so far works in a very similar way. First, it runs a scan. Then is lists all the errors. And finally you get to manually uncheck anything you're not sure of.
With 700+ errors? Yeah, right! Not only would you have to be some kind of registry expert - to know what each error meant. But you'd also need a lot of time on your hands. Can you imagine sifting through hundreds of errors, deciding whether to clean that each one or not? No thanks.
So what should you do?
The registry cleaners I've tested on this site appear to all be well constructed and do not damage your computer. I ran them recklessly, in full, on all of my computers here. And I just told it to fix all of the errors. Not the brightest thing to do, I know. But the results have been 100% positive.
Am I recommending you do that? Yes and no. I do recommend you use a reputable registry cleaner. I find that registry cleaners are safe to use. But I also recommend you back up your registry before running a scan. AND set a system restore point on your PC.
Don't spend hours un-checking different registry errors. Let the software do the hard work for you. That's what you paid your money for.
4th July 2007
When Windows Vista was released, there was a lot of speculation about the registry. Some folks seemed to think it would be drastically different from the one used in XP. But this isn't the case. While there are some changes between the XP and Vista registry, they're basically very similar.
Some (very brave) computer users have even tried running XP registry cleaners on their new Vista operating system. The results were that the majority tools still did a perfectly good job of cleaning the registry. Although some only had limited functionality. Certain tools, such as compressing the registry, didn't work.
If you are going to run your XP tool on Vista, make sure you backup first. I know it's not the most exciting task but don't just jump in head first. You'll likely regret it!
So while XP and Vista's registry are very similar, I highly recommend you buy a registry cleaner that's 'Vista Compatible'. Perhaps you've already got one that's been updated for Vista. Most of the major registry tools have already been revamped to incorporate Vista. Companies that produce the tools don't want to lose customers as Vista becomes more widely used.
