Forums | MacLife
You are not logged in.
#1 2009-04-24 10:29 am
- TheMouthOfSauron
- Member
- From: The Pas, MB, Canada
- Registered: 2002-02-25
- Posts: 659
Registry Cleaners
Are these necessary? And, if yes, can you recommend one. I assume the ones I see advertised on the web are malware.
Win XP SP3 in Boot Camp on a Mac Pro.
"Infinity is not a number! Infinity simply describes the way in which this [function] does not exist."
-Alex Chigogidze
Offline
#2 2009-04-24 1:35 pm
- sturner
- Royal High Poobah
- Moderator

- From: Carrollton, TX USA
- Registered: 2000-01-31
- Posts: 13768
Re: Registry Cleaners
Teh best that I know of is a disk image of your first, clean install. Run your HD down to bedrock and reinstall.
In other words, I've never used one. Considering how delicate the Registry seems to be, I don't know if I'd pay money to test it.
I'm not dead yet.
There are 3 types of people, those who can count and those who can't.
"There are few things graven in stone, excepting your date of death."
Offline
#3 2009-04-24 2:58 pm
- dv
- Negusa Negest
- Moderator

- From: Minneapolis, MN
- Registered: 1999-08-30
- Posts: 18085
Re: Registry Cleaners
I think Symantec's system utility suite has a registry cleaner - and I'd imagine it's not malware.
I've never had a problem that traced back to a registry issue. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but it seems to take pretty good care of itself.
"Now commences the process of cutting off the head, which generally takes from an hour to an hour and a half by an expert workman with a sharp blade." -Reuben Delano, Wanderings and Adventures
Offline
#4 2009-04-24 3:17 pm
- TheMouthOfSauron
- Member
- From: The Pas, MB, Canada
- Registered: 2002-02-25
- Posts: 659
Re: Registry Cleaners
So "if it ain't broke don't fix it"? Sounds good to me.
As for malware, I was thinking of those banner ads that masquerade as Windows dialog boxes saying "Your registry contains errors!"
"Infinity is not a number! Infinity simply describes the way in which this [function] does not exist."
-Alex Chigogidze
Offline
#5 2009-04-24 3:49 pm
- sturner
- Royal High Poobah
- Moderator

- From: Carrollton, TX USA
- Registered: 2000-01-31
- Posts: 13768
Re: Registry Cleaners
That ain't malware. Those are popup ads.
I'm not dead yet.
There are 3 types of people, those who can count and those who can't.
"There are few things graven in stone, excepting your date of death."
Offline
#6 2009-04-24 4:26 pm
- TheMouthOfSauron
- Member
- From: The Pas, MB, Canada
- Registered: 2002-02-25
- Posts: 659
Re: Registry Cleaners
I know, but I assume that if I clicked on the "OK Button" in the "Dialog Box" it would download and attempt to install something awful. Anyway, the point I was trying to make (badly, it seems) was that I see all kinds of software for Windows and often don't know what to trust.
Anyway, thanks for the advice.
Last edited by TheMouthOfSauron (2009-04-24 4:26 pm)
"Infinity is not a number! Infinity simply describes the way in which this [function] does not exist."
-Alex Chigogidze
Offline
#7 2009-04-24 5:44 pm
- sturner
- Royal High Poobah
- Moderator

- From: Carrollton, TX USA
- Registered: 2000-01-31
- Posts: 13768
Re: Registry Cleaners
Don't accept most of it. If you see it on the web as a pop up don't trust. Even a web site isn't necessarily trustworthy.
I'm not dead yet.
There are 3 types of people, those who can count and those who can't.
"There are few things graven in stone, excepting your date of death."
Offline
