Are Registry Cleaners Still Needed on Windows 10? Microsoft Says They're Not

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 11:02 pm

In general I only like to run the registry cleaner in CCLeaner only after uninstalling programs since they often leave unassociated crap behind. I don't really think this is something you should do regularly. I also always backup the registry before just in case.

I have not yet run the CCLeaner registry cleaner on a Win10 PC. I always assume it will take time for the CCLeaner programmers to figure out the tricks for a new OS.

I did the same for Win8. I waited almost a year before I used it on a Win8 system.

One can argue that you really don't need a registry cleaner if Microsoft does it's job properly. Windows SHOULD clean up after itself, but I don't know if Win10 is really any better at it than before.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/are-regi ... 8103.shtml

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 12:49 am

Generally, I only use one if I've done some major overhauling on a computer.

Err · Post by **Err** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 8:57 am

I've ran ccleaner on windows 10 and if you're uninstalling an older program, the uninstaller still tends to leave behind keys that point to nowhere. To be fair, I ran it immediately after uninstallation so Windows 10 didn't have time to clean up after itself.

revo1059 · Post by **revo1059** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 11:34 am

Isn't cleanup more of an installer responsibility than the OS itself?

GuardianAsher · Post by **GuardianAsher** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 11:35 am

I usually do a full reinstall of Windows anywhere from 6 months to a year just out of habit. I pretty much use it for gaming and web browsing, and all of my important files are on Google Drive using Boxcryptor for encryption, and I back up files every month or so. Not to difficult to just wipe, reinstall, copy and done. So I've never actually used CCleaner or the like. Heck, my computer's lucky if I remember to defrag the secondary HD anymore, since SSDs make that an unneeded step on the boot drive.

After a year of installing, uninstalling, and experimenting, I'm sure my registry looks like crud. Oh well.

Executioner · Post by **Executioner** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 11:50 am

GuardianAsher wrote:I usually do a full reinstall of Windows anywhere from 6 months to a year just out of habit. I pretty much use it for gaming and web browsing, and all of my important files are on Google Drive using Boxcryptor for encryption, and I back up files every month or so. Not to difficult to just wipe, reinstall, copy and done. So I've never actually used CCleaner or the like. Heck, my computer's lucky if I remember to defrag the secondary HD anymore, since SSDs make that an unneeded step on the boot drive.

After a year of installing, uninstalling, and experimenting, I'm sure my registry looks like crud. Oh well.

LOL - I'm the opposite. I re-install the OS probably once every 5 years, usually moving to a new OS if one is available. I also use and run CCleaner, but I rarely use the registry cleaner piece unless I have an issue.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 2:30 pm

While a clean install of my game system would be simple, it took me two weeks to setup my last workstation 5 years ago. I literally have a ten page checklist I used last time. I have a lot of programs with very specific settings and configs. I am not looking forward to my next upgrade. Milking this old system as long as I can.

b-man1 · Post by **b-man1** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 3:20 pm

my reinstall nightmare is my work laptop. the last reinstall/upgrade took over two weeks due to so much stuff on it. office, visio, project, virtualized workstations for different VPN requirements, powershell customizations...it's a huge pain.

GuardianAsher · Post by **GuardianAsher** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:04 pm

FlyingPenguin wrote:While a clean install of my game system would be simple, it took me two weeks to setup my last workstation 5 years ago. I literally have a ten page checklist I used last time. I have a lot of programs with very specific settings and configs. I am not looking forward to my next upgrade. Milking this old system as long as I can.

Thankfully, my system is not that complex. And I've done it so many times that I have my checklist in my head. I install the major programs I use frequently, and the rest get installed as they're needed. It may take me a few weeks to get my system to fully functional again, but as long as the basics work and I can play games, I'm happy.

b-man1 wrote:my reinstall nightmare is my work laptop. the last reinstall/upgrade took over two weeks due to so much stuff on it. office, visio, project, virtualized workstations for different VPN requirements, powershell customizations...it's a huge pain.

I am very happy to say that the company I work for has a pre-built corporate image with all of the major programs we use and settings already taken care of. Basically all I have to do is load the image, install the drivers for the specific system I'm loading it onto, update any out of date programs, join the domain, Windows Updates, any special programs for the specific user (Enginnering software, accounting software, etc), and HD encryption. Copy any files from the user's old PC if applicable, and away we go. I can have a fresh PC out of the box and to the user in about a day and a half, and most of that time is from slow internet connection for Windows Updates and the HDD encryption time.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 10:50 pm

I do a full re-install about once a year. But yeah, it's a pain. I used to have a check-list, but what I use changes so frequently, it was always out of date.