Giveaway of the day should be more watchful.

All registry cleaners look for broken references [links], & some will attempt to find the missing reference target. Registry keys & values can include another key or a file — if the cleaner doesn’t see that other key or file, it marks it down as a registry problem. Many also delete known history storage, calling it a benefit for privacy. Additionally some apps provide registry backup/restore, &/or defragging, which AFAIK usually just means re-writing the registry files to your hdd without including any *white space*. Finally, registry utilities might offer to perform some tweaks — Windows comes set for the vast majority of users & circumstances, meaning there are bound to be some compromises, which tweakers *adjust* for specific scenarios… a home user for example can benefit from settings that would give corp IT problems.

RegTidy is a minimalist sort of app without most all of those extra features, which some might like as simpler equals easier to use & less confusion. It comes set to start with Windows & has options for auto scanning, checking for updates, & scheduled scans.

The leading debates surrounding registry utilities are whether they help & are they safe. The answer to both is maybe. Windows has to read the registry, & anything that improves that helps Windows — the proper question is does it help enough?… That depends on how screwed up your registry is, how long it takes Windows to read your registry (how fast your PC/laptop is has an effect), and what you consider a worthwhile improvement. As for safety, that depends on how prepared you are to put things back the way they were. In XP using ERUNT it takes just a few minutes + a reboot, even if Windows won’t start — providing you read & understand the docs, & are able to boot into some other, compatible OS. In Vista/7 Windows info is stored in more places than just the registry, so restoration can cause minor problems — better to use System Restore if Windows starts. [also see http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/faq.htm At any rate, as long as you can put the registry back to its prior state, using a registry utility is safer than installing unknown software, as that can alter the actual files Windows needs/uses.

I believe a good number of registry problems occur when an uninstalled program leaves registry entries behind. You should check around on the internet before installing any program. Seek reviews from reputable sites. Make a backup of your system before installing a program and if you choose to uninstall later always use the built in uninstalled of the program (if available). From a common sense point of view most legit programs should have a built in uninstaller. Another thing is to check the program’s site to see if a special uninstall tool is available.

All that being said, I would like to make another suggestion for a registry cleaner. It is free and from Macecraft, the same company that makes JV16 PowerTools. In fact the scanning engine is based on the same engine used in JV16PT. The freeware program is called PowerTools Lite and can be found at the link below-

http://www.macecraft.com/ptlite/

Just like to mention the inflated voting on this day. Not only the reviews up top but the “Did you find this comment useful.”
At this time of the morning 10:30 am Eastern US time. There have not been nearly a 10th of the voting there is today. And that would be during a weekday. Today is Saturday and there is the most ever since the new voting took place. And for a piece of crapware. Just seems strange to me. Look at assraf/Happy Person. The same person by the way. See yesterday’s postings. Well over 200 votes already. even though he is given first comment everyday by GOTD. Still way too many votes. Just food for thought. Where are they coming from?

John