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Author Topic: Registry Cleaner or not?  (Read 5152 times)

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mle

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    Registry Cleaner or not?
    « on: April 27, 2010, 10:14:55 AM »
    For the last month my computer has been getting slower and slower. Now it has crashed at least 8 times in the last 3 days. The only thing I can do is force it to restart and it can take up to 40 minutes to get it working again. This is a 3 month old computer so it shouldn't have problems. I've looked at a few different sites and one thing I found on a lot of them was that it can be a problem with the registry. So I ran a scan on the Registry Tools program pre-installed on my computer. It found 317 things wrong with it. And then of course I'd have to pay to get it to repair these things. I've heard that a lot of these programs are useless or just do more damage.
    So my question is: should I use a registry cleanup program or not? And, if not, then what can I do instead?

    And I apologise if this is in the wrong section but I wasn't sure where to put it. I appreciate any help anyone can give.

    Quantos



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    Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
    « Reply #1 on: April 27, 2010, 10:20:14 AM »
    I suggest avoiding registry cleaners, as they generally cause more problems than they fix.  The registry is more than likely not the issue.
    I suggest going here.  Follow the directions exactly and post the required logs.
    Evil is an exact science.

    Allan

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    Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
    « Reply #2 on: April 27, 2010, 10:29:43 AM »
    Agreed - DO NOT use registry cleaners. Period.

    1) Run a full scan of your system with BOTH your anti virus software and MalwareBytes
    2) Define "crash". Do you get a blue screen error? If so, what is it?

    mle

      Topic Starter


      Greenhorn

      Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
      « Reply #3 on: April 27, 2010, 10:34:47 AM »
      I ran a full scan with McAfee Internet Security 2010 around a week ago and found no problems. I'm running another one now. Is this other software definitely alright to use? Only I don't like to install programs without knowing what they are.

      By crash I mean it completely freezes. First every program will not respond and then the screen freezes and and I can do nothing, not even move the mouse. Ctrl+alt+delete does nothing. The only way to get it working again is to hold the off button until it turns off and restart the computer.

      Allan

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      Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
      « Reply #4 on: April 27, 2010, 10:37:47 AM »
      Yes, MalwareBytes is 100% safe to download and run. It is a top tier anti-malware utility.

      What led up to this - in other words, what is different between the last time the system worked well and the first time it did not (new hw, sw, virus, error, etc)?

      Quantos



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      Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
      « Reply #5 on: April 27, 2010, 10:42:43 AM »
      The software in the link that I gave you is definitely safe to use, we have some of the best virus specialists available.  McAfee is not really the best solution for antivirals, but that is just my opinion.  I prefer to use Avast! myself.  For malware scanners SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes are excellent and top notch.
      Evil is an exact science.

      mle

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        Greenhorn

        Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
        « Reply #6 on: April 27, 2010, 10:48:34 AM »
        I got the computer 3 months ago. It ran quickly and started up quickly. But over the last month or so I've started having problems. I don't know if you've heard of it but on Miniclip Games there is an online animation program called Sketch Star. It was with this that there was the main problem. At first it worked fine but then every time I used it it would make my internet (wireless) cut out. I emailed their support team to see what they had to say about it and they said it was probably a problem on my end rather than theirs.
        Since that problem started the computer has been slowing down. It takes longer to restart than it used to and takes a lot longer to load programs and webpages. I run regular virus scans and so far there has been nothing, just a couple of minor tracking cookies that were deleted.  


        And I'll take a look at those malware programs.

        Allan

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        Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
        « Reply #7 on: April 27, 2010, 10:56:06 AM »
        Okay. After you run the scans, if the problem persists try a clean boot (start - run - msconfig - do a selective startup - uncheck everything and reboot) and report back regarding how quickly things load and if there are any problems. Also, what OS are you using?

        mle

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          Greenhorn

          Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
          « Reply #8 on: April 27, 2010, 12:24:15 PM »
          I'm now having to borrow my mum's painfully slow computer for this. Mine crashed again. I had other things to do so I left it for 15-20 minutes in the hope that it would sort itself out. When I came back I had a black screen which I assumed meant it had gone into standby. It wouldn't come back on. I've tried restarting it several times but each time I just get a black screen, no matter how long I leave it for. The num lock and caps lock lights keep flashing on and off repeatedly (without me pressing either) and that's the only response I'm getting from it.

          And I have Windows 7.

          Is there anything I can do to get it to start again? Perhaps I should try sweet talking it instead of calling it names  :-\

          2x3i5x



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          Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
          « Reply #9 on: April 27, 2010, 01:17:10 PM »
          so at this point, computer's not gonna let you in? Not even to able get to safe mode?

          patio

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          Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
          « Reply #10 on: April 27, 2010, 03:56:46 PM »
          Post the machine specs...or as much of them you have access to...

          How old is this machine and were there any issues prior to Win7 ? ?
          Also how old approx. are the hard drives >? ?
          " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "

          Quantos



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          Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
          « Reply #11 on: April 28, 2010, 01:25:12 AM »
          Can you access safe mode?

          And post what info Patio asked for as well.
          Evil is an exact science.

          mle

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            Greenhorn

            Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
            « Reply #12 on: April 28, 2010, 11:21:07 AM »
            No, I couldn't access safe mode. It was just a black screen. But I finally managed to get it to start up after a few hours. I had to take the battery out and replace it twice first. Then when it did start it crashed again and it took 40 minutes and 4 restarts to get it going and get an internet connection again. I think I'm going to have to call Tesco (people I brought it from) electrical helpline tomorrow. As it's under warranty they'd repair it for free if it needs it.

            Here's the specs of it: http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/HP_Compaq_Presario_CQ61-310SA_Laptop_VN048EA/version.asp
            I only got it at the end of December and it's only me who uses it so it's not that there's too much on there. It came with Windows 7 already on there so no, there were no problems before it.

            patio

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            Re: Registry Cleaner or not?
            « Reply #13 on: April 29, 2010, 06:25:09 AM »
            Take advantage of the Warranty...that's what it's there for.

            NOTE: Attempting to fix it yourself may void the Warranty in some cases.
            " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "