Guest Sanford Aranoff Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Are these programs worth the money? Do they actually make the computer run faster? Are they dangerous? Win XP, SP2. My machine has slowed down a lot. I defrag, chkdsk, Webroot Spy Sweeper, BitDefender AV. 3GHz, 1 GB ram
Guest ::- Alias- :: Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster Sanford Aranoff wrote: > Are these programs worth the money? Do they actually make > the computer run faster? Are they dangerous? > > Win XP, SP2. > > My machine has slowed down a lot. I defrag, chkdsk, Webroot > Spy Sweeper, BitDefender AV. 3GHz, 1 GB ram And to clean up temp files, what do you do? I suggest using Crap Cleaner, available for free at http://www.ccleaner.com Don't use the Issues feature, just the clean up feature. Registry cleaners usually don't help and can render your computer useless. Stay away from them. Alias
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster "Sanford Aranoff" <aranoff@analysis-knowledge.com> wrote in message news:483BFE0B.F486BA7C@analysis-knowledge.com... > Are these programs worth the money? Do they actually make > the computer run faster? Are they dangerous? > > Win XP, SP2. > > My machine has slowed down a lot. I defrag, chkdsk, Webroot > Spy Sweeper, BitDefender AV. 3GHz, 1 GB ram Yes, they are, if you happen to own the company that sells them. If you're thinking of buying them then they either have no effect (if you're lucky) or they damage your installation. Much better to run msconfig.exe and disable the things you do not recognise under the startup tab. This process is fully reversible.
Guest Unknown Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster You didn't say you run disk cleanup. I suggest you do. "Sanford Aranoff" <aranoff@analysis-knowledge.com> wrote in message news:483BFE0B.F486BA7C@analysis-knowledge.com... > Are these programs worth the money? Do they actually make > the computer run faster? Are they dangerous? > > Win XP, SP2. > > My machine has slowed down a lot. I defrag, chkdsk, Webroot > Spy Sweeper, BitDefender AV. 3GHz, 1 GB ram
Guest Twayne Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster > "Sanford Aranoff" <aranoff@analysis-knowledge.com> wrote in message > news:483BFE0B.F486BA7C@analysis-knowledge.com... >> Are these programs worth the money? Do they actually make >> the computer run faster? Are they dangerous? >> >> Win XP, SP2. >> >> My machine has slowed down a lot. I defrag, chkdsk, Webroot >> Spy Sweeper, BitDefender AV. 3GHz, 1 GB ram > > Yes, they are, if you happen to own the company that sells > them. If you're thinking of buying them then they either have > no effect (if you're lucky) or they damage your installation. > Much better to run msconfig.exe and disable the things you > do not recognise under the startup tab. This process is fully > reversible. MSConfig.exe is a troubleshooting TOOL, not a means to any end. It is not meant to make permanent fixes; only to prove they will work. It will give you headaches down the road if you try to use it as a permanent fix for things: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560 : (Msconfig.exe). The System Configuration utility helps you find problems with your Windows XP configuration. It does not manage the programs that run when Windows starts. For more information about disabling or permanently removing the programs that run when Windows starts, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 270035 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/270035/) How to disable programs that run when you start Windows XP Home Edition or Windows Vista
Guest Twayne Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster > Are these programs worth the money? Do they actually make > the computer run faster? Are they dangerous? > > Win XP, SP2. > > My machine has slowed down a lot. I defrag, chkdsk, Webroot > Spy Sweeper, BitDefender AV. 3GHz, 1 GB ram In general, NO. There are some good ones, free and pay-for, but chances of the inexperienced user coming across them are low. System speed decreases can be caused by many, many things, of which t hese are only small parts. The registry is seldom if ever the root cause of a slow performing computer system. If other things are causing the slow down, straightening out the REgistry will almost NEVER be a fix because the more important things overshadow it. No, RB in particular is not worth the money IMO. You -can- try them, as long as you're certain you have a complete system and data backup of your drive, but otherwise avoid them. You should do such a backup ANY time you mess around with the internals of the OS. There ARE some pretty decent ones out there though, and if you ask I'm sure folks would give you a list of some of the better ones. ccleaner is one that comes to mind; use it all the time on another machine. However, IMO, your problem is more disk clutter, likely either spyware or file corruption, spyware being most likely. Get, update and run, to see if they don't help a fair bit: = Adaware from lavasoft = Spybot Search and Destroy = MS Defender Read and follow all onscreen dialog boxes or they'll do you no good. If you don't have a firewall installed, you should. ZoneAlarm still has an excellent freebie if you look hard enough on their site. First, do a Disk Cleanup. Click start; programs; accessories; system tools; disk cleanup. After which, do a disk defrag (same location to start it). Then run the above scanning tools. This may sound silly but then do a REstart 3 times in a row. That optimizes, in a way, the registry structure implementations. In many cases like this, it's going to be faster but less of a learning experience to simpy do a backup and clean install and rebuild of your system. At a minimum, ALWAYS create a Restore Point before starting ANY of these suggestions so you can go back to where you started from, system-wise. Better yet, back up the System State; it's slightly more inclusive.
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster "Twayne" <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote in message news:%23NCExjAwIHA.576@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >> "Sanford Aranoff" <aranoff@analysis-knowledge.com> wrote in message >> news:483BFE0B.F486BA7C@analysis-knowledge.com... >>> Are these programs worth the money? Do they actually make >>> the computer run faster? Are they dangerous? >>> >>> Win XP, SP2. >>> >>> My machine has slowed down a lot. I defrag, chkdsk, Webroot >>> Spy Sweeper, BitDefender AV. 3GHz, 1 GB ram >> >> Yes, they are, if you happen to own the company that sells >> them. If you're thinking of buying them then they either have >> no effect (if you're lucky) or they damage your installation. >> Much better to run msconfig.exe and disable the things you >> do not recognise under the startup tab. This process is fully >> reversible. > > > > MSConfig.exe is a troubleshooting TOOL, not a means to any end. It is not > meant to make permanent fixes; only to prove they will work. It will give > you headaches down the road if you try to use it as a permanent fix for > things: > > http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560 : > > (Msconfig.exe). The System Configuration utility helps you find problems > with your Windows XP configuration. It does not manage the programs that > run when Windows starts. The OP reports that his PC runs sluggishly. MSConfig is a good tool to help him identify the software that causes the slow operation. He can then uninstall it permanently.
Guest Daave Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster Twayne wrote: > MSConfig.exe is a troubleshooting TOOL, not a means to any end. How about AutoRuns? I always saw that program as MSConfig on steroids. Much more useful, but is it any better than MSConfig if a person unchecks certain items?
Guest VanguardLH Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster "Daave" wrote in <news:OaL01GCwIHA.4564@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl>: > Twayne wrote: > >> MSConfig.exe is a troubleshooting TOOL, not a means to any end. > > How about AutoRuns? I always saw that program as MSConfig on steroids. > Much more useful, but is it any better than MSConfig if a person > unchecks certain items? Despite what Twayne claims, msconfig.exe CAN be use to *permanently* disable (not delete) some startup items. msconfig move the Run keys selected to another registry key that it knows about (i.e., msconfig's storage key). Disabling in msconfig means move the Run key to somewhere else to hold it elsewhere. The startup item won't startup because it is no longer under the Run key. If the user decides they want that startup item back, they simply remove the disable and reboot. I have use msconfig (although other tools or manual editing is also possible) the following items: qttask Apple QuickTime startup utility. Automatically opens QuickTime when a ..mov file is played or downloaded. The browser plug-in doesn't need it. The filetype association is sufficient to double-click on a .mov, .qt, or other QT filetype to start it playing. Nobody needs this garbage startup utility. I also have the HIPS (host intrusion protection system) in my firewall (Comodo) block this program from loading. Alternatively you can renamed or delete this file to prevent it from loading. It is not required to play Quicktime files. The Alternative QuickTime Player is incapable of playing correctly all the QT files that I have so it is not a choice, for me. Reader_sl Adobe Reader Speed Launch Adobe Acrobat. Adobe runs this to add themself to the prefetch cache for faster startup. I could care less about a half second less load time whenever I happen to open a PDF file which is maybe every few days. No idea why Adobe thinks they need 2 of these processes to prefill the prefetch cache. CTDetect Creative's MediaSource. Works better with my thumb drive than, say, Windows Media Player. J2DllCmd eFax Messenger. I'm not interested in having it waiting for an incoming fax to be received via e-mail and will open their Mgr when I want to read the fax that they forwarded via e-mail. NeroCheck Nero's utility to check for incompatibility with other CD burning software that may be installed. NvMixerTray nVidia's sound mixer utility. Can be used as a replacement for the Sound tray icon. You can disable the NVMixer icon from showing up but that still leaves the program to load on startup (it loads, sees it is disabled, and unloads). There is no option to reenable this tray utility, so having it available to reenable in msconfig lets me bring it back should I decide to switch or include it in the system tray. OpWare32 Part of ScanSoft's Omnipage scanner program. Don't need it running. No, I want the software so I'm not going to uninstall all of Omnipage just to get rid of a useless background process for which the program provides no option to disable. PDVDserv Cyberlink PowerDVD process. I need a CD/DVD player. This one came with the CD/DVD drive. I haven't noticed a problem using the program with this process disabled. Microsoft Office OSA (Office Startup Assistant) utility. Nope, I'll be keeping Microsoft Office so uninstalling it to get rid of this background process is not an option. One function of it is to add Office prefetch cache items. I don't need it. I do need MS Office. There is no configuration option in MS Office to disable this background process. Yes, you could uninstall the application but that is probably not what the user wants to do. They want to use the app when THEY run it without the overhead of a worthless background process for functionality they don't want or don't care about. I *do* want each of the above applications. I do NOT want their fluff functionality, if any, by providing their background process. Disabling services in msconfig is no different than disabling them in the services applet (services.msc). Msconfig.exe will NOT let you delete these items whereas SysInternals' AutoRuns does let you delete them (remove by moving to another key) or disable them (uncheck). So it is up to you whether you want to delete them (and then later not have a clue as to how to add them back if you find they are needed along with their correct command-line parameters) or merely disable them so you can easily bring them back. I'm not worried about consuming maybe 80 bytes in the registry file(s) to move the Run key to a holding location to disable it (which isn't correct) but I am concerned (and from experience) about having to restore them but then I don't know what program to add back or what command-line parameters to specify. Disabling them, well, disables them and is just as effective as deleting them but adds convenience if you need to bring them back. Msconfig is NOT just a troubleshooting too. It is, as per its name, a CONFIGURATION tool. AutoRuns is far more effective at listing ALL startup locations whereas msconfig has a very narrow focus. Autoruns lets me delete or disable all startup items so it is a better tool but then msconfig comes with Windows so it is available to all users. It all depends under which CONFIG program you want to manage your startup items. Not everyone has AutoRuns, knows about it, or can understand it. Like the defrag included in Windows, there are better 3rd party defrag tools available but that doesn't eliminate the ease of availability and use of the included tool. In msconfig, disabling an item moves it to another key (which is not read during Windows or session startup). AutoRuns does the same thing when you uncheck an item to disable it. Windows won't see the key anymore so it won't be running that command when it starts up. AutoRuns adds the option of permanently deleting the startup item. Be sure you really want to delete it. If later you find you want or need it, you'll probably find that you won't know what program got ran and also won't know what, if any, command-line parameters should be specified to that program. There is no reason to delete since disabling works just as effectively as deletion. If you move an 80-byte sized key from one place to another in the registry to disable a startup item, you haven't lost any more bytes than you lost before. Worrying about gaining that 80 bytes by deleting the key to reduce the size of your registry will do nothing to speed up the registry lookups (which are performed on the memory copy of the registry and not from the files on the hard disk) and would be extremely insignificant to the load time to get the registry files into memory when you start Windows.
Guest Bill in Co. Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster This is good to know. I think you're the first to come out and state it's not such a horrible thing to use msconfig to permanently disable something! (it seems most like to say if you're doing it in msconfig, you should be disabling it elsewhere, and not relying on msconfig to do it for you, since "it's only for troubleshooting") VanguardLH wrote: > "Daave" wrote in <news:OaL01GCwIHA.4564@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl>: > >> Twayne wrote: >> >>> MSConfig.exe is a troubleshooting TOOL, not a means to any end. >> >> How about AutoRuns? I always saw that program as MSConfig on steroids. >> Much more useful, but is it any better than MSConfig if a person >> unchecks certain items? > > Despite what Twayne claims, msconfig.exe CAN be use to *permanently* > disable (not delete) some startup items. msconfig move the Run keys > selected to another registry key that it knows about (i.e., msconfig's > storage key). Disabling in msconfig means move the Run key to somewhere > else to hold it elsewhere. The startup item won't startup because it is > no longer under the Run key. If the user decides they want that startup > item back, they simply remove the disable and reboot. I have use > msconfig (although other tools or manual editing is also possible) the > following items: > > qttask > Apple QuickTime startup utility. Automatically opens QuickTime when a > .mov file is played or downloaded. The browser plug-in doesn't need it. > The filetype association is sufficient to double-click on a .mov, .qt, > or other QT filetype to start it playing. Nobody needs this garbage > startup utility. I also have the HIPS (host intrusion protection > system) in my firewall (Comodo) block this program from loading. > Alternatively you can renamed or delete this file to prevent it from > loading. It is not required to play Quicktime files. The Alternative > QuickTime Player is incapable of playing correctly all the QT files that > I have so it is not a choice, for me. > > Reader_sl > Adobe Reader Speed Launch > Adobe Acrobat. Adobe runs this to add themself to the prefetch cache > for faster startup. I could care less about a half second less load > time whenever I happen to open a PDF file which is maybe every few days. > No idea why Adobe thinks they need 2 of these processes to prefill the > prefetch cache. > > CTDetect > Creative's MediaSource. Works better with my thumb drive than, say, > Windows Media Player. > > J2DllCmd > eFax Messenger. I'm not interested in having it waiting for an incoming > fax to be received via e-mail and will open their Mgr when I want to > read the fax that they forwarded via e-mail. > > NeroCheck > Nero's utility to check for incompatibility with other CD burning > software that may be installed. > > NvMixerTray > nVidia's sound mixer utility. Can be used as a replacement for the > Sound tray icon. You can disable the NVMixer icon from showing up but > that still leaves the program to load on startup (it loads, sees it is > disabled, and unloads). There is no option to reenable this tray > utility, so having it available to reenable in msconfig lets me bring it > back should I decide to switch or include it in the system tray. > > OpWare32 > Part of ScanSoft's Omnipage scanner program. Don't need it running. > No, I want the software so I'm not going to uninstall all of Omnipage > just to get rid of a useless background process for which the program > provides no option to disable. > > PDVDserv > Cyberlink PowerDVD process. I need a CD/DVD player. This one came with > the CD/DVD drive. I haven't noticed a problem using the program with > this process disabled. > > Microsoft Office > OSA (Office Startup Assistant) utility. Nope, I'll be keeping Microsoft > Office so uninstalling it to get rid of this background process is not > an option. One function of it is to add Office prefetch cache items. I > don't need it. I do need MS Office. There is no configuration option > in MS Office to disable this background process. > > Yes, you could uninstall the application but that is probably not what > the user wants to do. They want to use the app when THEY run it without > the overhead of a worthless background process for functionality they > don't want or don't care about. I *do* want each of the above > applications. I do NOT want their fluff functionality, if any, by > providing their background process. > > Disabling services in msconfig is no different than disabling them in > the services applet (services.msc). > > Msconfig.exe will NOT let you delete these items whereas SysInternals' > AutoRuns does let you delete them (remove by moving to another key) or > disable them (uncheck). So it is up to you whether you want to delete > them (and then later not have a clue as to how to add them back if you > find they are needed along with their correct command-line parameters) > or merely disable them so you can easily bring them back. I'm not > worried about consuming maybe 80 bytes in the registry file(s) to move > the Run key to a holding location to disable it (which isn't correct) > but I am concerned (and from experience) about having to restore them > but then I don't know what program to add back or what command-line > parameters to specify. Disabling them, well, disables them and is just > as effective as deleting them but adds convenience if you need to bring > them back. > > Msconfig is NOT just a troubleshooting too. It is, as per its name, a > CONFIGURATION tool. AutoRuns is far more effective at listing ALL > startup locations whereas msconfig has a very narrow focus. Autoruns > lets me delete or disable all startup items so it is a better tool but > then msconfig comes with Windows so it is available to all users. It > all depends under which CONFIG program you want to manage your startup > items. Not everyone has AutoRuns, knows about it, or can understand it. > Like the defrag included in Windows, there are better 3rd party defrag > tools available but that doesn't eliminate the ease of availability and > use of the included tool. > > In msconfig, disabling an item moves it to another key (which is not > read during Windows or session startup). AutoRuns does the same thing > when you uncheck an item to disable it. Windows won't see the key > anymore so it won't be running that command when it starts up. AutoRuns > adds the option of permanently deleting the startup item. Be sure you > really want to delete it. If later you find you want or need it, you'll > probably find that you won't know what program got ran and also won't > know what, if any, command-line parameters should be specified to that > program. There is no reason to delete since disabling works just as > effectively as deletion. If you move an 80-byte sized key from one > place to another in the registry to disable a startup item, you haven't > lost any more bytes than you lost before. Worrying about gaining that > 80 bytes by deleting the key to reduce the size of your registry will do > nothing to speed up the registry lookups (which are performed on the > memory copy of the registry and not from the files on the hard disk) and > would be extremely insignificant to the load time to get the registry > files into memory when you start Windows.
Guest Bill in Co. Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster Sanford Aranoff wrote: > Are these programs worth the money? Do they actually make > the computer run faster? Are they dangerous? For so-called "registry booster programs"? No, no, and yes (potentially).
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster On Tue, 27 May 2008 08:26:51 -0400, Sanford Aranoff <aranoff@analysis-knowledge.com> wrote: > Are these programs worth the money? No. > Do they actually make > the computer run faster? No. > Are they dangerous? Yes, very much so. 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. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted May 27, 2008 Posted May 27, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster On Tue, 27 May 2008 13:47:18 -0400, "Daave" <dcwashNOSPAM@myrealboxXYZ.invalid> wrote: > Twayne wrote: > > > MSConfig.exe is a troubleshooting TOOL, not a means to any end. > > How about AutoRuns? I always saw that program as MSConfig on steroids. > Much more useful, but is it any better than MSConfig if a person > unchecks certain items? No, not really. Although MSConfig was *meant* to be a troubleshooting tool, it also works fine for permanent changes. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Guest Daave Posted May 28, 2008 Posted May 28, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster VanguardLH wrote: > Despite what Twayne claims, msconfig.exe CAN be use to *permanently* > disable (not delete) some startup items. msconfig move the Run keys > selected to another registry key that it knows about (i.e., msconfig's > storage key). I believe there may be exceptions. In the past (then again, this may have been a 98SE issue!), I've disabled items, but some would come back! So there would be duplicate entries: one disabled and one enabled. This is why I got into the habit of going into the preferences of the programs I would rather not run automatically at startup.
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted May 28, 2008 Posted May 28, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster "Daave" <dcwashNOSPAM@myrealboxXYZ.invalid> wrote in message news:elptMuQwIHA.3780@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... > VanguardLH wrote: > >> Despite what Twayne claims, msconfig.exe CAN be use to *permanently* >> disable (not delete) some startup items. msconfig move the Run keys >> selected to another registry key that it knows about (i.e., msconfig's >> storage key). > > I believe there may be exceptions. In the past (then again, this may have > been a 98SE issue!), I've disabled items, but some would come back! So > there would be duplicate entries: one disabled and one enabled. This is > why I got into the habit of going into the preferences of the programs I > would rather not run automatically at startup. Deleted registry entries wouldn't "come back", as you put it - they were restored by the respective program that was not completely disabled. For example: If a program such as a virus scanner has a "Service" component and a "Program" component then it's not to hard for the service component to restore the Program component in case it gets removed from the registry. ZoneAlarm is a fine example - it used to be very difficult to completely disable it.
Guest Daave Posted May 28, 2008 Posted May 28, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster Pegasus (MVP) wrote: > "Daave" <dcwashNOSPAM@myrealboxXYZ.invalid> wrote in message > news:elptMuQwIHA.3780@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... >> VanguardLH wrote: >> >>> Despite what Twayne claims, msconfig.exe CAN be use to *permanently* >>> disable (not delete) some startup items. msconfig move the Run keys >>> selected to another registry key that it knows about (i.e., >>> msconfig's storage key). >> >> I believe there may be exceptions. In the past (then again, this may >> have been a 98SE issue!), I've disabled items, but some would come >> back! So there would be duplicate entries: one disabled and one >> enabled. This is why I got into the habit of going into the >> preferences of the programs I would rather not run automatically at >> startup. > > Deleted registry entries wouldn't "come back", as you put it - > they were restored by the respective program that was not > completely disabled. For example: If a program such as a > virus scanner has a "Service" component and a "Program" > component then it's not to hard for the service component to > restore the Program component in case it gets removed from > the registry. ZoneAlarm is a fine example - it used to be very > difficult to completely disable it. Yes, that is what I was referring to; you did a fine job explaining the phenomenon!
Guest VanguardLH Posted May 28, 2008 Posted May 28, 2008 Re: RegistryBooster "Daave" wrote in <news:elptMuQwIHA.3780@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl>: > VanguardLH wrote: > >> Despite what Twayne claims, msconfig.exe CAN be use to *permanently* >> disable (not delete) some startup items. msconfig move the Run keys >> selected to another registry key that it knows about (i.e., msconfig's >> storage key). > > I believe there may be exceptions. In the past (then again, this may > have been a 98SE issue!), I've disabled items, but some would come back! > So there would be duplicate entries: one disabled and one enabled. This > is why I got into the habit of going into the preferences of the > programs I would rather not run automatically at startup. They come back because you ran the application that wants that background process. It checks if its Run key exists; if not, it adds it. So the program is rude in shoving in startup entries that you don't want, have removed, and with no option to NOT install/load their startup program. I think QuickTime might be one of those. That's why I also use HIPS (host intrusion protection system) programs to dictate what is allowed to change the registry. Even Windows Defender can help with that in blocking the change of startup items. Not all programs give you the luxury of a configurable option to not install and load their startup program. They figure if you installed their program then you want all of their program (and, unfortunately, that is why many uninstalls are dirty because they're so enamored with their product that they figure you only uninstall it to fix a problem and will be reinstalling it). For these rude and non-configurable programs, disabling or deleting their startup item won't work because they'll shove it back when you next run their program. That's why you need security software that can alert and restrict what startup changes are made and by what program.
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