Why does registry cleaner XXXXXXX finds keys to remove after running XPlite and 2000lite?

by LitePC

Each item in XPlite removes the associated keys that it should as determined by a number of registry cleaning utilities that include in-house utilities we developed, MS regclean, and some commercially available cleaners... though we won't say its perfect, our software *is* cleaning up after each options is removed. If we were not you would have many thousands of orphaned keys.

Different registry cleaning utilities will find different things to remove... At LitePC Technologies have found that most, if not all, of the various shareware and commercial registry cleaners remove or suggest for removal some keys they should NOT, and because of this we proceed with caution and we wont use those utilities on our machines. The risk of corruptions later on down the track are real, and the big problem is that you never know the real reason why you are seeing the aberrant behaviour.

Now... it is a good thing that most registry cleaners have a backup ability. They save the keys they delete for potential recovery later. The problem is there may be some delay until you encounter the problem. At this time you may not make the association back to your prior regisrty cleaning effort, and even if you did will not know which backup session to restore.

The risks are real and for us that risk is not acceptable.

The problem is that MS and other software vendors, whether it is by accident, or intentionally, make use of registry entries that appear as invalid or redundant to an automated cleaner. This is a fact we are stuck with. The classic sittuation is where one Windows API references the registry settings associated with a system DLL but does not actually use the actual code in that DLL. If you delete the system DLL and leave the registry keys, the API functions as it should. If you run a registry cleaner that wipes the registry keys away because it detects that system DLL was removed - you now have a problem. The Windows API may not function, or worse it will function unpredictably.

Registry cleaners have there place, but we do not believe they should be used as regular system maintenance utilities. We use them during developement to find orphaned keys that are *candidates* for deletion but only after thorough investigation. In some cases with our XPlite and 98lite software we have found problem keys during the course of our technical support of other peoples problems and we have modified our software to *ensure* that the end users system functions as best as we can. A registry cleaner can undo this good work.

Now that said...... we are often revisiting our removal routines all the time - especially when updated patches, windows updates, and service packs change file versions and associated registry information on us. Most removal routines are written for the versions of files that came on your windows CDROM and then enhanced to deal with updates as they are released. If you find an option you think we are removing poorly please let us know and we'll revisit it.

PLEASE use your registry cleaners with CAUTION!

Why does registry cleaner XXXXXXX finds keys to remove after running XPlite and 2000lite?

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