I ran a RegCure registry cleaner on the XP computer and it came back with over 4000 errors. When I went in to fix them, they wanted $30. My question is: Is this a good and reliable way to clean the registry? Does anyone recommend something else? What about PC Health Advisor.

Can anyone help?

Bets

Bets,I use revo uninstaller it deletes any game and cleans the registry and it,s free.
Richard

I agree with Richard, Bets. You can get into all sorts of trouble cleaning the registry if you're not careful. CCleaner is the one I use. That and Revo are probably the safest ones to use on default mode. Not to mention that, as he says, Revo is free. (So is CCleaner.)

4,000 errors, huh? Really? I wonder.

Gil.

Get rid of RegCure - fast. If you want to try a registry cleaner, use CCleaner for free.

I agree with traveler - 4,000 errors is very suspicious. Usually they aren't errors anyway, but leftover bits from software and other things you have uninstalled.

4,000 errors.something is strange. Never had that many. I wonder if they are putting you on just to sell..
Richard

I wonder if everybody is told they have 4,000 errors.

Bets, the nice thing about CCleaner is that you can go down a clearly worded list of things to be removed one by one and see what they are. Nearly always, if there is anything in the registry cleaner, what I see is "this was left over after an uninstall and points nowhere", or words to that effect. So I get rid of it. But if I'm uncertain about something, I just uncheck it and it stays put.

Gil.

I did not buy it, but I did download it. Will get rid of it.

I ran CCleaner. I'm still trying to figure out why that computer is freezing. I really think it is software related.

I'm curious how many registry "errors" CCleaner found...

5 or 6 I think.

That was just using the registry cleaner on CCleaner. I am using the free one.

Quite a difference there.

I use the free one, too. One of these days I'll have to buy it and support Piriform. It's that useful.

Gil.

There are a few of these free programs that I have purchased even though I could get them free. One is CCleaner and the other is WinPatrol.

Is it really worth purchasing CCleaner Drac? What is WinPatrol.

You can read about Win Patrol here, flutist. It is mostly geared toward Internet Explorer, which I seldom use, but it's a great program for any computer with any browser, IMO, because of all the information about what's running on your computer. And it will alert you if anything is trying to install and let you stop it if you want to. This is one I did buy because the Plus version is really worth it. And you only buy it once, all upgrades are free.

Gil.

It's not geared towards IE at all - which I never use. The only thing it has for IE, is for the IE Helpers and only if you use them. Rather - in addition to other things - it monitors your startup programs and alerts you when something want to add itself to your startup programs and asks your permission.

This explains it more... WinPatrol Features

Then perhaps I should say that it has a specific tab for Internet Explorer helpers, which I see you've noted, Draclvr.

Gil.

Yup, and from what I understand, that's only because IE uses BHOs or browser help objects. But, it's a startup manager program. When I go into the Cookie Manager, I do see that only IE, Firefox and Chrome are listed as browsers where you can manage cookies. I've been using WinPatrol Plus for about 4 years and I really like it.

CCleaner adds Opera, too, so I have no problem with clearing cookies. With that and WinPatrol, I'm covered. <g>

Gil.

Being covered is a good thing!

I use Firefox. Should I buy CCleaner and WinPatrol? Do I need both?

Just try both, flutist. They both have a free version with no time limit. I bought Winpatrol Plus because you get so much more info from it but a try out should let you know if you want more from either one.

Gil.

They do two different things, Bets. CCleaner clears the detritus left from all your web usage. It also has a light registry cleaner and if you delve deeper, a lot of other things. You can even use it for maintaining a solid state drive.

WinPatrol is a startup program manager plus some other features. Read more about WinPatrol and see if it is something you think you need.

Like traveler says, they are both free programs, so feel free to use both of them. I like to support freeware that I use a lot and like, so that's why I purchased them. And like traveler says, you get access to more information about startup programs with WinPatrol Plus.

Ah, detritus. I so admire a woman with a vocabulary. <g> You definitely use it to much better effect than I ever could.

Another thing about time-tested freeware programs like these, they usually take up so much less of your computer's resources than the big fer money ones. When I was on dialup, I was always looking for good freeware with a small footprint and it's carried over even though I've got lots of space for things to rattle around in and a fairly fast connection now. Resource hogs give me the pip.

Gil.

I've been teased about using "detritus" in reference to the junk than accumulate on our computers before! I can't imagine why I ever used it to begin with except that - knowing my memory, or lack thereof - I probably couldn't think of the word I really wanted to use at the time!

And an excellent point about these programs having a small footprint and not being so darned intrusive as many of the ones you pay for.