Do registry cleaners work?

[JD Mather]

I once had a (5 yr old) computer that I was about to trash because it was getting too slow.
I add and remove lots of programs.
I decided to do a defrag (which took all night).
I was astounded how much faster this old computer was.

On our main computers we do a complete format and OS reinstall every year.

If you are trying to avoid this then at least do the defrag and
search Google for Autodesk Clean uninstall instructions to remove/reinstall your software if it is still slow (run the registry cleaner after clean uninstall (includes some registry edits)).
Be aware that you can only activate your license twice - so make plans in advance on how you are going to handle the license.

[ReMark]

PC World actually stated it wasn't a bad idea to reformat/reload if one is not going to swapping out their OS any time soon.

[jammie]

In addition to the posts above, perhaps their are some services running at startup that are slowing down your PC/Laptop. Not all startup programs are necessarily essential or critical to your computer. These services/applications can include automatic updates for media services, search engines, startup accelerators etc...

There is a microsoft admin tool that allows you to control what services & applications run at startup called MSCONFIG. This can be launched by typing MSCONFIG into the command prompt. It can also be launched by pressing the windows key + r.

If unfamiliar with msconfig refer to the Microsoft Support pages before making any changes. Also, do not turn off any programs or services for Microsoft. If you not 100% sure what a service or Application does don't turn it off either

MSCONFIG can be very useful but be careful how you use it

[oddbob]

You need to defrag at least once a month not every couple of months as you say in the last post.
Install Microsoft Securities essentials, free download from MS, and Malwarebytes also free down load.

Microsoft Securities essentials is about as useful as a chocolate fire guard. Get F-Secure, it will look after you PC for viruses / spyware etc without bugging the life out of you every 5 minutes like Norton and others.

[oddbob]

PC World actually stated it wasn't a bad idea to reformat/reload if one is not going to swapping out their OS any time soon.

Windows 95 / 98 / XP are all ticking time bombs as far as I'm concerned and will all require a format / reinstall from time to time to avoid issues and slowness. If you have never formatted your PC and think it's running perfectly then you're either kidding yourself or not noticing how laggy your system has become or you never install 3rd part programs and so your registry never ends up in a mess. It's much better to format / reinstall at your own will rather than being forced to once the OS has died.

Microsoft Windows success for all these years is also it's downfall. Mac OS users will always tell you how great it is but in reality it's because there isn't anywhere near the same amount of 3rd part programs for a Mac as there is for a PC... and those who use Mac OS and claim "it just works" and "it can't get a virus" are idiots.... (I expect some Mac users pop up on here and tell me I'm wrong... which proves the point).

Windows XP: If you want it running sweetly then format and reinstall once a year because one single day lost doing a controlled backup, format and reinstall is worth the lost day compared to several days spent trying to retrieve your data or trying every fix under the sun to get a dead system to work again.

[ReMark]

MS Essentials does not bug the life out of you every 5 minutes as far as I know. I've run it on my laptop for the past 2 years with no problems. But then I don't make a habit of visiting less than questionable sites. One program that does, in my opinion, bug the heck out of the user is Norton AV. I used for for three years on my desktop system before switching to Avast. I've also used McAfee and Trend Micro but did not really care for either.

Most people would have no idea what processes are also running and no idea how to shut them down or even if they were safe to shut down. That's where you start to separate the geeks from the non-geeks.

[nestly]

Windows 95 / 98 / XP are all ticking time bombs as far as I'm concerned and will all require a format / reinstall from time to time to avoid issues and slowness. If you have never formatted your PC and think it's running perfectly then you're either kidding yourself or not noticing how laggy your system has become or you never install 3rd part programs and so your registry never ends up in a mess. It's much better to format / reinstall at your own will rather than being forced to once the OS has died.

Windows XP: If you want it running sweetly then format and reinstall once a year because one single day lost doing a controlled backup, format and reinstall is worth the lost day compared to several days spent trying to retrieve your data or trying every fix under the sun to get a dead system to work again.

Non-sense.... Operating Systems don't "wear-out" after a year. If you're not constantly installing/uninstalling "stuff" (including "stuff" you don't know is being installed due to lax internet security settings) a computer will continue to run reliably until the hardware fails.

I'm not saying that slow computers can't be rejuvenated with defrag / re-install, but it's not true that a computer will necessarily run any better after format/reinstall if you're re-loading the same software that was installed before the format.

[SLW210]

Use CCLEANER, never had a problem and it will ask you to back up before it cleans the registry and run SpyBot S&D to remove any Adware first (it takes awhile), defrag when needed, remove any programs not needed. My laptop is probably older than yours. You can also Google Speed up Windows XP, you will find some good tips.