As you know, the registry is basically a database of all the configuration settings in the operating system and if the registry becomes clogged up with bogus or outdated entries, it can bog down your system. To keep the registry in tiptop shape, you need to investigate TweakNow RegCleaner Standard Edition. It’s a very easy to use tool and does a nice job of cleaning the deadwood out of your registry.
TweakNow RegCleaner Standard Edition is FREE to download and use.
You can download TweakNow RegCleaner from TechRepublic’s Software Library.
To find it, just type TweakNow in the text box and click Search. When you click the Download link, you’ll see the File Download dialog box and should just click Save.
While the scan is running, RegCleaner displays a very detailed progress window that shows you what registry keys and values are currently being scanned as well as a summary of the problems found. Each problem category is identified in the legend.
As I mentioned, the Beginner User Mode excludes several complex registry keys during the scan process and only lists results that are rated as safe to delete. As you can see, the Scan Complete window only indicates that 2 problems were found when RegCleaner is run in Beginner User Mode.
Running the scan again in Expert Mode, which scans the entire registry using all available scan methods, the Scan Complete window indicates that a total of 77 problems were found—76 safe to delete and 1 unknown.
After using the Expert Mode User and clicking the View Result button, you’ll see the Result window. The tree pane on the left indicates each one of the main registry sections and indicates how many problems were found in each section. The path pane on the right indicates the exact path to the registry key with a problem. As you can see, by default all the problems marked as Safe To Delete are selected.
Note that the Problem Details pane contains more information about the selected problem. As such, you should take time to scroll through the list and examine every problem.
When you’re ready to clean up all the problems marked as Safe to Delete, you can just click the Delete button on the toolbar. When you do so, RegCleaner will make a backup copy of each marked registry value and then delete it. In this example, when the delete operation was complete you’ll see that the only thing remaining in the Result window is the item marked as Unknown.
If you feel that it is safe to delete any unknown items, just select the check box and click the Delete button.
If you discover any valid registry entry that RegCleaner marked as either Safe to Delete or Unknown, you can add it to the Exclusion list by selecting the entry’s check box and clicking the Add Into Exclusion List button on the Result window’s toolbar. When you do, RegCleaner will prompt you to confirm the operation.
If you click the New button in the Options window, you’ll see the New dialog box and can manually add a registry entry to the Exclusion list.
If after you run RegCleaner and clean up your registry, you discover that something is not functioning as it should, you can use the Restore Now feature to essentially undo all the changes that you just made.
TweakNow RegCleaner will alert you when the Restore operation is complete.
If you feel that TweakNow RegCleaner Standard Edition is a great tool, you may want to investigate the Professional Edition, which costs $26.95 and includes such extra features as the Track Cleaner, the Registry Defragmenter, and the 1-Click Windows Optimization feature.
TweakNow RegCleaner Standard Edition is compatible with Windows 2000 Professional Windows XP Professional/x64/Home, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista
You can download TweakNow RegCleaner from TechRepublic’s Software Library and learn more about TweakNow RegCleaner Standard Edition and the Professional Edition on the TweakNow site.
My first computer was a Kaypro 16 \"luggable\" running MS-DOS 2.11 which I obtained while studying computer science in 1986. After two years, I discovered that I had a knack for writing documentation and shifted my focus over to technical writing.
