Windows Vista x64 registry cleaner!

Hi!

I've just recieved my Windows Vista Ultimate DVD, and I have installed it (along with the drivers and softwares as well!) without a SINGLE hiccup!

Things are going fine, but there is one thing I need. I used Uniblue RegistryBooster2 earlier but it say it does not support the x64 platform.

So which software do you recommend to clean out the crap from the registry on the x64 bit version?

Thanks!

 

CCleaner ( http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/)

 

I have it (the latest version). It worked great with Windows Vista Home Premium. However, will it work fine with the x64 platform, with the change in the registry structure and all?

I'm sorry, I'm asking because I can't take any chances, on my near perfect Vista x64 install (on my first time as well! )

 

I haven't tried but it should...
http://ccleaner.com/download/version-history

"Several 64-bit compatibility improvements."
"Improved 64-bit OS support"
"Fixed a few issues with 64bit OSs."

 

Here are the problems!

 

You can also look at Tuneup Utilities 2008.
www.tune-up.com/

 

I've downloaded the demo of Tweak Now RegCleaner Professional.

It says it'll work. I've taken the back-up of my registry though, for Mr. Just-in Case. We all know he likes to visit the Windows users.

All should go well, unless they are a bunch of scam artists.

I'm ready to take one for the team though , I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

Don't bother with Tweak Now RegCleaner Professional. It's useless. It'll show thousands of corrupt entries, and then won't do anything about it!

CCleaner shows some entries, and it won't do anything either!

 

i had the same issue before, and was able to go around it with these steps:
. download Advanced Personal Care V2 (free)
. scan ur comp
. UNCHECK System Optimization and StartUP Manage (i had no confidence in these 2 flags) options
. repair
. close
. run cCleaner again

cheers ...

 

Since you have a clean install, there's really no reason to clean the registry. Even a "dirty" registry really doesn't cause that much of a problem. Personally I've never used any of the registry cleaning tools.

 

Silas,

Follow my Vista tweaks thread word for word. It was created and every tweak is fully compatible in the X64 mode... It will also walk you through cleaners like Ccleaner and Easy Cleaner...

 

any new reliable registry app for x64?

 

The latest CCleaner does it.

 

CCleaner for fine for me, I am running on a 64 bit. And it has always Cleaned my registry. There are like 3 left everytime I do it, and its never the same so I no it work. I had 128 files when i first did it.

Check it out this is what I use to clean my computer.
*AusLogics Disk Defrag
*Defraggler
*CCleaner
*AVG Free 8.0



I am always Looking for more stuff, but that is all I can find right now for the 64 bit Platform

 

yeah... a lot of compatibility issues for the x64. ok, will try CCleaner.



question, CCleaner lists .NET Framework and wants it to be deleted. is it normal?

 

CCleaner should work fine on 64 bit, I use it

 

I use cc and Auslogics boot speed. Very good program with several tools and tweeks.

 

I've got one rule of thumb I follow religiously concerning important tools for my system (Windows XP Pro x64). I download the installer, run the installer, and if the location default comes up as "C:\Program Files (x86)\...", I abort the installation, delete the installer, and move on.

There are a lot of registry tools out there, many of them claiming to be x64 compatible, but the tool is x86 (???). If it's truly compatible, then all it should need is to be built on and x64 system, right? Keep in mind, too, that most of the really good tools out there will tell you up front, the x64 registry is very different from the x86. Some, like ChemTable's RegOrganizer and Rose City Software's Registry First Aid, have been around awhile, do an excellent job, and are well supported. They have their product's reputation to think about (so refreshing in this dotcom era when the bucks are the driving force! . Their installers begin by determining if the operating system is x86 or x64, if it's x64, their install aborts immediately with a message stating that the software is only for installation on x86 machines. BTW, if it weren't for these two and my other two backup registry tools not yet being x64, I wouldn't be out looking now (and you wouldn't be reading this!

I mean, I believe in backward compatibility, but I've never heard of forward compatibility. At least, not until now. Now that I have an x64 machine, I've seen a plethora of products claiming to be compatible, but they are x86. Now, that's all right for, say, a browser or an editor or even an email client. But when it's something I'm going to use to keep my system maintained like, say, a hard disk tool or a registry tool, I become quite the skeptic. I want it to be a bona fide x64 executable. Then it's only problem is backward compatibility, which is doable!

jmtcw:

 

I've had TuneUp Utilities since 2004. A very good all around package. I asked about an x64 version and was told it wasn't in the works for the near future, but the current "runs fine" on Windows XP Pro x64. It does run fine on x64, as will any 32 bit Windows application. It's not a question of whether it runs or not, it's a question of does it recognize the differences in x64 from x86?

For the very first time on my x64 system, I ran TuneUp Memory Optimizer. It reported that I had 4 Gb of physical memory, 100% free It also displayed 4 Gb of virtual memory (pagefile), also 100% free

How does one get a Windows system up and running with no physical or virtual memory in use?:confused2:

Plus the system actually has 8 Gb physical memory and virtual memory of 8/12 Gb min/max.

On the Manual Optimization tab the selection slider went from 0-999 three times, then from 0-686 on the fourth.:cry:

Well, it seems to me that mucking about with memory is a far less complicated task than manipulating the registry. My 4 years of faith and trust in TuneUp Utilities was in jeopardy!

Immediately, I fired off an email to support_en(at)tune-up(dot)com. This only happened today, so I don't have a reply yet. Frankly, I'm not sure I want one. Because, if it's a forthright, honest reply I may well be without one of my system tool mainstays, if it blows smoke, I'll just dump the whole thing and go out and find something else for system utilities!

I imagine and trust that it will be an honest answer, which will mean that for right now I'll have to get along somehow without TuneUp Utilities until they can come up with fixes.:yes:

I do know one thing in general, though. Just because it's chopping doesn't mean you'll see chips flying! The ability to run x86 32 bit on x64 64 bit is not a reliable indicator of how well the application is doing the job it was designed to do!

jmtcw:

 

whats the point in aborting it? For some reason all the apps i install go into this folder has been since day one i guess they wanted to make it seperate for sum reason im running vista 64 bit and havent had any problems for getting apps except for adobe flash since it isnt supported yet

 

^^The 64-bit softwares go in Program Files, and the 32-bit files go in the Program Files (x86) folder. He probably means that he only trusts the 64-bit softwares to tweak his 64-bit OS.

 

Same here.

 

Hi!

Let me try to re-clarify. I was referring to aborting from installs for critical system maintenance tools, like registry cleaners. I abort from installs for these applications (maintenance tools, like registry cleaners) if they go into C:\Program Files (x86). And my reason was/is because these are critical tools for dealing with the system's internals. They may well state that they are "x64 compatible", and often do just because their 32 bit application will "run" on the x64 machine. It's a non sequitur to say that just because they will run (in WoW) that they will perform their task correctly for the x64 system.

So, I'm not going to jump through hoops, accept their test challenges, etc. for 2 reasons:

1) If it's compatible, then the product should build on an x64 system and one should be able to get an x64 executable for the x64 system.

2) I just don't have the time (or inclination) to rigorously check out the product to see that it does it's job correctly.

No, I will not accept a 32 bit application to use for maintaining my 64 bit system. That's too critical an area for me to be a trusting soul!

On my system I, too, have a great many applications that are 32 bit. For an example abbreviated list:

XMLSpy2008
EditPadPro6
DivX
Media Center 12
PocoMail4
FileZilla
PKZIPW
ExamDiff Pro

But these applications don't go mucking about with system internals ( like a registry cleaner does). So, it's perfectly okay to use these sorts of applications.

There are a great many applications out there that are x64. That is, they were built on the same type of system they were meant to run on. And these appllications end up in C:\Program Files\ not C:\Program Files (x86). Such as:

TortoiseSVN
XTM (Warecase's eXtended Task Manager)
Araxis Merge
PerfectDisk2008

The only one on this brief list that truly needs to be x64 is PerfectDisk.

Bottom line, my opinion was/is 32 bit (x86) is fine, as long as it's not a system tool. For system tools, i.e., used to help maintain the system, I always opt for x64.

HTH:

 

I applaud your diligence, but in this case your logic is flawed. There is no reason at all that a 32-bit app cannot "handle" the 64-bit registry, because there is no such thing. The registry is a data-store, like a database, and it does not matter if it's being accessed by a 32-bit or 64-bit application.

The issue with compatibility comes up when you use a 32-bit app to access the registry on a 64-bit machine, and that issue is this: Vista shows the 32-bit app a "virtual" view of the registry. This is done because many apps in the past tried to write to places in the registry that they shouldn't have, so the virtual view pushes those changes into a separate branch.

If you're writing a registry scanner, however, you don't want to get pushed into that separate branch, so the compatibility comes in where, when the application opens the registry, it sets an option that says "don't push me into the virtual branch". That's it. That's the only difference, and it doesn't affect any ability of a registry scanner to do its job.

 

Hi!:smile:

Here's some propaganda about the issue, right from the horse's mouth:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305097

How to view the system registry by using 64-bit versions of Windows
...
The registry in 64-bit versions of Windows is divided into 32-bit and 64-bit keys. Many of the 32-bit keys have the same names as their 64-bit counterparts, and vice versa.
...
32-bit programs see a 32-bit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software tree (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WOW6432Node) that is completely separate from the true 64-bit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software tree
...
To enable 64-bit/32-bit program interoperability through COM and other mechanisms, WOW64 uses a "Registry Reflector" that mirrors certain registry keys and values between the 64-bit and 32-bit registry views. The reflector is "intelligent", in that is only reflects COM activation data
...
The following keys are reflected:
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\COM3
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Ole
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\EventSystem
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\RPC


http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms724072.aspx

32-bit and 64-bit Application Data in the Registry
...
On 64-bit Windows, portions of the registry entries are stored separately for 32-bit application and 64-bit applications
...
Behavior of Wow6432Node in a 32-bit application

Note: When using the registry API (e.g., RegOpenKeyEx and RegEnumKeyEx) in a 32-bit application, Wow6432Node acts like a symbolic link that loops back to the same 32-bit hive. It does not map into the 64-bit hive as you might think.

For example, walking the registry tree down to HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node in a 32-bit application loops back to HKLM\Software. The result is infinite recursion: HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Wow6432Node\Wow6432Node\..., etc.

If you want to view the 64-bit registry hive in 32-bit code you must open HKLM\Software using KEY_WOW64_64KEY. Do not try to open Wow6432Node; it will not work.

As a general rule you should ignore any result from RegEnumKeyEx that returns "Wow6432Node". It is a magic name that triggers special behavior by the registry API.

Windows Server 2008: In the 32-bit hive the registry key HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node is hidden from RegEnumKeyEx. This fixes the infinite recursion bug described above. The hidden key still exists and the infinite recursion can still happen, but only if you explicitly open the key
...


http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa965884(VS.85).aspx

Registry virtualization is an application compatibility technology that enables registry write operations that have global impact to be redirected to per-user locations. This redirection is transparent to applications reading from or writing to the registry. It is supported starting with Windows Vista.

This form of virtualization is an interim application compatibility technology; Microsoft intends to remove it from future versions of the Windows operating system as more applications are made compatible with Windows Vista. Therefore, it is important that your application does not become dependent on the behavior of registry virtualization in the system.
...


To me, this all adds up to you cannot go wrong with a 64 bit registry tool. On the other hand, a 32 bit registry tool bears care and a lot of defensive programming.

So, I don't know what your take on the above is, but, in my book, it adds up to there definitely is a different enough registry to be a 64 bit registry!:wink: And, that registry has enough caveats and "gotcha's" when dealing with it for maintenance purposes with a 32 bit registry tool to make one very wary. No doubt, that's why many of the best registry tool developers/distributors are not calling their product compatible and are going so far as to not allow you to install their product on an x64 machine. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this whole area of Windows, the registry, is the bread and butter of these software houses. They practically live, eat, and breath it!:yes: I know I'm not going to dispute them because I'm sure they have beaucoup more smarts about it than I. Phrases like, "it is important that your application does not become dependent on the behavior of registry virtualization" no doubt have these designers/developers putting on their thinking caps!

Let's just agree to disagree and leave it at that. I think, in all probability, that you'll not change what you're doing because you sound to be quite comfortable with your slant on it. By the same token, I'm quite satisfied with my view, and probably won't change what I'm doing either.

In the end, every issue on earth boils down to opinion and propaganda. One does what one does because the propaganda one has chosen to believe has formed their opinion (I'm talking about me here!:wink: )

jmtcw:

 

Doing any sort of registry manipulation is risky, and honestly my opinion (expressed earlier in the thread) is that these registry tools are useless at best. But the quoted portion below shows that a 32-bit app can indeed access the "64-bit" registry:

 

Hi!

Yup! It sure can be done, that line is in a couple of the links in my last reply! One last shot at it:

1) Many 32 bit registry tools that are out there claiming compatibility.

2) Accessing a 64 bit registry with a 32 bit tool has a lot of ins and outs to it.

3) If a 32 bit registry tool is truly compatible, then it will build on a 64 bit system.

In case one, I just flat don't believe a lot of those distributors have really done much of anything to make their tool compatible. They're mostly counting on it's working through WoW, but that is just not the case. An existing 32 bit tool would have to be greatly modified to really work properly in all cases (case two). Case three speaks for itself. If their tool is really compatible, right down the line in all cases, then it can be built as a 64 bit tool.

If you really get in there and dig at MSDN, you'll see it's no cake walk to shoe horn 32 bit code for a registry tool (as in built for a 32 bit system before the 64 bit dual registry existed) into a full blown 100% compatible tool to run on 64 bit systems. It makes no sense to write from scratch or even modify a 32 bit registry tool so that it works properly on 64 bit systems. Remember the quote from MSDN, "it is important that your application does not become dependent on the behavior of registry virtualization", because Microsoft is going to make that go bye-bye in the very near future. As in, as soon as Microsoft has all it's registry related stuff in true 64 bit.

No one, especially me, is trying to say it cannot be done. It's just that given the gross modifications that would have to be made to an existing 32 bit tool, why not just build a 64 bit tool?:yes: And, as luck would have it, the producers of really good quality registry tools are opting for just that!

 

Registry Mechanic, i've found it to be the best cleaner. I worked on my friends computer, made it go from snail speeds to rabbit speeds!!

 

Hi!:smile:

Really not meaning to burst anyone's bubble, but there are just oodles of other 32 bit registry tools out there that absolutely leave Registry Mechanic in the dust! Most of them do more than just clean the registry...

No, I'm not talking out of my hat, I used Registry Mechanic for a couple of years, along with a whole slough of other PCtools packages. Then one day I woke up and discovered a few facts. PCtools distributes about a dozen (give or take) system tools. It's been that way since day one and still is so today. The majority of them are $29.95, which can be used for up to 3 machines! Wow, makes you want to go out and buy 2 more systems just so you can enjoy your savings!:yes: I found myself spending well over $150 a year! They still send me emails about every 2-3 months with like $10 off if I renew all my PCtools products...

In the 32 bit world, RegCure, RegOrganizer, and Registry First Aid run rings around Registry Mechanic for reliability, speed, and safety as well as for features and information on just exactly why/what/where something is not good and needs to be removed/changed. And, they are priced competitively (more or less competitive with each other, I don't think they find tools like Registry Mechanic much of a threat! )

RegCure ParetoLogic $39.95 (but usually there's a $10 discount, so $29.95)
Registry First Aid Rose City Software

Std $27.95​

Platinum $47.95​

RegOrganizer ChemTable Software $39.95

All 3 are far and away better tools than Registry Mechanic. Most especially RegOrganizer, which has a bigger, better suite of features and functions so that, if you want to do more than just automated cleaning, it has virtually every tool you might dream of.

At their websites, all three say they are for 32 bit versions of Windows only. But all three go even one step better. Operating on the assumption that most people just see "Windows" and some also see "XP" or "Vista", few really read to see that it's not meant for 64 bit systems. So, all three check out the system at the beginning of the installation process, if it's not 32 bit, their installations error out, pop up the message that the software is only for 32 bit, roll back anything they've done up to that point, and exit.

I'm keeping in mind that the topic here is registry cleaners for x64 Windows systems.

PCtools comes right out and says:

Registry Mechanic Information
Current Version: 8.0.0.900
File Size: 7,331 KB
Operating System: Designed for Windows® Vista™ 32-bit, 2000 and XP. Windows® 98 users click here.
Release Date: July 22, 2008

They're not going to commit, yea or nay, on x64 system's use. And, if you're naïve enough to install their software, well, caveat emptor! They're in the clear because they stated at their website that it was 32 bit only!

The big deal about PCtools is not that they really are all that good, it's that their marketing is!:wub: While other developer/distributor houses are putting cash back in to improving the product, PCtools puts it into advertising, canvassing reviewers to review their product (over ****tails?), and other avenues that do nothing to improve the product, only PCtools image. In all the time (several years now) that I've been around PCtools, their product hasn't really changed, just the eye candy in the interface has.

Please, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Registry Mechanic doesn't do a fairly good job, I'm saying that there are plenty of others out there that do as good or better without your having to outlay $150+ a year. And, yes, I know, Registry Mechanic is only $29.95 a year, but it never seems to rest at that with PCtools. They come at you at all angles to get you commited to as many of their packages as they can. It sounds good at the time (doesn't it always), but upon later reflection one finds one's self wondering where all their money went and what they got for it.:cry:

From my experience, there are a lot of companies putting out as good or better product, and without the marketing hype.

As the saying goes, "Build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door"!:wink:

jmtcw:

 

Jesus, you're like a proud mother!

 

:laugh: Might seem so, huh?:yes:

The situation is/was that 4 years ago I was involved in reviewing/appraising the benefits of registry cleaners and testing 15 tools each with the same 5 "dirty" registries. It took about 4 months. I learned 2 major things from the experience.

1) Despite what a lot of folks might tell you, registry cleaners really do work and are of benefit.

2) Like most other things in life, there were the serious developers trying to do a good job and there were developers who were serious, not about doing a good job, but about making a lot of money quickly.

Since then, I've more or less looked in on registry tools periodically until now. Now I'm the one who is serious. I'm serious about getting 2 or 3 good registry tools for my x64 system. It gets frustrating because there are so many tools out there that are, well there's no other way to say it, "scamming" the community and counting on the majority of them being ignorant. It's sad because there is so much 2nd and 3rd hand "facts and figures" being circulated.

The really annoying thing is so many "reputable" vendors are saying their 32 bit tools will work, when, in fact, they know that there's no way they can make a good business case of getting a 32 bit tool to work properly on 64 bit machines. The effort to do so would be more costly than just writing a new one for 64 bit...

But, I get your drift... I think I've said enough now, to say more would either be preaching to the choir or swinging after the bell.

Good luck in your search for something that works reliably!:yes:

 

I have found the CC cleaner does a fine job, however Wise Registry Cleaner is also another that does a good job of cleaning and I use it with my Vista x64, just make sure you know what your doing if you are cleaning the orange or red entries. The nice thing is just like CCleaner it makes a backup just in case. and always do research on something if you think it may not be a good idea to delete it..

good luck..


So your a pretty good computer tech,
no.....
"I am a Computer Psychologist, I help computers with user problems."
~D4RK_4NG3L~