What is Digg?108 Comments
- tsupersonic, on 10/12/2007, -7/+71Everytime there is a windows story, everyone always mentions Linux, Apple and other OS's and how it has an advantage.
Why can't people comment on the topic? - Cputerace, on 10/12/2007, -2/+41umm... you mean like the cleaner that this post talks about? 4.5 out of 5 after 657 votes? And the editor gave it 4 out of 5...
http://www.download.com/CCleaner/3640-2144_4-10547048.html?tag=tab_ur - HHP2K, on 10/12/2007, -1/+39I just recently started using CCleaner, and it's been impressing me from the start. While I like Steven Gould's Cleanup, I run this one after and it catches about 200% more data than cleanup does, almost every time. Pack that with a built in, efficient, fast and accurate registry cleaner that does exactly what you describe, and you've got one hell of a good tool. Not to mention, of course.. it's free. :)
- Cputerace, on 10/12/2007, -1/+31p.s. sorry for the bad grammer in the story description, Its hard when you only have a certain number of characters, you gotta chop and cut sentences :).
- Knullare, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22You don't NEED any sort of spreadsheet program, just use a calculator and lots of paper. You don't NEED a word processor, just write with a pencil on a notepad.
- Cputerace, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20I dont have scientific data, however i do work at a college and see college students computers. The first time i boot them up, it takes forever to load. I run CCLeaner's issue tab first, reboot, and it starts up MUCH faster. This is because all the stuff that was installed leaves registry keys pointing to non-existant files. Windows has to try to load every one of those into memory, however they dont exist. When CCleaner removes the registry keys, it does not have to try to load all the non-existant files, which translates to much faster loading times.
(i had hoped to write something like that in the description, however there is little space). - Menso, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17So how is it inaccurate? Because any sysadmin with a job industry knows you don't need these programs? Hell, what about those who are not sysadmins?
You're an idiot. - Feanor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Bren - How about you try it once yourself and see if it helps you...If it was going to ruin your computer people wouldn't be praising it. Then you would have your own anecdotal evidence and wouldn't need any in empirical form.
- spritom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11If I gather correctly, the claim on what is gained is:
* speed, particularly during an antivirus scan
* hard drive space
* defragmentation (which can go to speed)
* never having that "not-so-fresh" feeling - LucasVB, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11I downloaded CCleaner after reading some of the comments about it in that other story that got the front page, and I am impressed too. It's A LOT faster than the previous tools I used, and it's also pretty straightfoward to do the cleaning. It also found over 2 gigs of junk, mostly from Nero burning cache, that I am more than happy to get rid of!
So, it's a great tool. I digg! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Most people are not SysAdmins. That's why they pay us.
Taking on the registry without knowing what you are doing is a really bad idea. - Bren, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12This article suffers from the same problems noted in the earlier front page article disputing the benefits of these programs. Where is the technical data from reputable sources regarding the way Windows uses/abandons this registry data??
Without this, this article tends to support the earlier article as a prime example. While I am interested in both sides of the idea, there is no supporting evidence here. - kcpwnsgman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9@HHPK2
CrapCleaner (ccleaner) is an awesome program, that's more than a registry fixer, it will also fix issues with unused icons, and a more powerful add/remove thing, and cookie cleaner, it does everything, I had it mostly to clear history and Index.dat files, but its grown on me.
@tsupersonic
While that is true, he was just giving the mac equivilent of it - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Because the majority of the human race are *****.
- cogit0, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7It almost sounds like we are trying to determine the scientific basis of "window rot". I think the question might then become, "can we empirically determine the cause of window rot (if it exists), and fix it?"
I'm not sure if this can be done, but would love to see it happen. - Cputerace, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Spritom:
#1 = speed, particularly when booting up. - Bob042, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Apart from the registry, all the other crap it cleans is great. It found me about 2gigs of stuff that I didn't need in any way whatsoever, from files that the program doesn't exist for to old memory dumps.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7But they're not, so we have to. Thanks for the useless observation.
- cartoonboy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Why would someone give me a thumbs-down for thanking someone for a useful product? Maybe someone could explain this to me as part of the digg.com newbie orientation service? Seriously, can I get a response because the concept escapes me. I noticed I'm not the only recent submitter would got a thumbs down for saying something positive here.
- onewinger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6No digg for you. You shouldn't even own a computer...
What about the average home user, who can't do that? What about people who have years of software config and documents on their computer that don't want to have to do ALL of that again?
Just because you KNOW how to do something, doesn't mean you should. You sound a lot like the user that knows just enough to break stuff... I service that type of user daily.
Not to say that I don't keep a backup ghost image of my computer for that reason... but I use it sparingly, i.e. failing hard drives, badly corrupted software, etc..
Cheers - AgentBarcode, on 01/11/2009, -1/+6I started using ccleaner a couple of weeks ago, it works great and I regained almost 3 GB of space on my HDD. It removed a bunch of useless ***** from my registry as well. It automatically asks you if you want to backup your reg before it removes anything. Great program.
- Araya213, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Using my bandwidth to keep track of my browsing habits for their own business needs without my consent and without payment. Nah, i'll pass.
- FileAsFogg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I have been in the industry as a programmer for some 25 years, starting on assembly, C, C++, Smalltalk, Java and now .NET and have written many a registry entry. A registry entry can be anything. From controlling the Windows API to the saving of settings for different pieces of software, aka Microsoft Orifice and the way Windows looks and feels. Have you ever wondered how Windows knows where your icons are or what wallpaper you have on your desktop every time you start? Ask the registry, because it knows. The most common registry entry is a DWORD, which controls the API and is usually in the form of a flag, i.e. on or off. Having erroneous registry entries can indeed slow a machine down if the user constantly installs and then uninstalls software, like trial versions or demo's. Also some spyware resides in the registry because it contains a lot of useful information like the SSID of the user which is a GUID (globally unique ID) of the user in the registry that identifies them when connecting to networks, which is very revealing. Are these registry cleaners any good? That depends on the user.... If I have uninstalled some software I usually run CCleaner to highlight the redundant entries from that uninstallation, but that is all. Use these tools, but use them wisely and always back up the registry first. If you don't know what you are touching leave it alone, and the best advice is 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it!' That aside, I firmly believe that Norton Doctor is the worst offender of this type of software. And BTW, sysadmins of some of the largest companies use these tools, but again they use them wisely.....
- Snarfy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6The cause of window (registry) rot? It's called COM.
- Araya213, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4If you don't reformat every time there's a problem with windows, cleaning the registry is a good idea. Over time you will no doubt unistall programs that you don't need or that just suck, these leave ***** behind sometimes. Reinstalling windows is not a good answer, it's a really ***** answer actually. If you are like me it could take days or even weeks to reinstall all the registry dependent programs that you need. Unless you run an installing marathon which in my case would take at least 18 hours of work.
- Hoosteen, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I had problems removing Norton and I decided to try CCleaner from others suggestions. Got rid of the stuff norton left behind. Also I had problems of the computer not shutting off when I go to "Turn Off Computer," The computer would just freeze and not shut off at the shutdown screen. After using CCleaner the computer now shuts down correctly. Still don't know what cause the improper shutdown but I am glad that CCleaner fixed it.
- vdog, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Sometimes the simple thing are the most useful. Plus, by getting this to the front page, the less tech-savvy readers will see it.
I've had ccleaner on my machine for the better part of a year, and it works quickly, simply, and well. I haven't seen anything better. - cartoonboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I have recently come to recognize that. It's becoming worse with time :(
- Thorlord, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4CCleaner is something that i use on any computer that i have worked on to tune up.
number of times it has caused a problem: 0
number of times it has crashed the computer: 0
number of times it has removed a registry entry that i wanted/needed to keep: 0
Precentage of computers whom it has improved preformance: 90%
I have used Crap Cleaner on over 300 computers. i work around them, i sell them, and i fix them, i tune them up, and i make them new again.
Crap Cleaner cant have a "Constant Preformance improvement" via numbers mainly becuase they would never be accurate, each computer is different, and trying to think that "Oh it made that computer run fast, it must make mine run just as fast" is an illogical thought.
if your computer is relatively clean, then it hardly improves preformance.
if your computer is messy, it derasticly improves preformance.
Take for instance this:
AOL leaves crap on your computer even after it is uninstalled
so does nearly every Antivirus program.
installing new ATi video card drivers leaves bad registry entries
new and old computers.
i will say i dont know how well it works on windows 98/2000 if at all. so if you still have that.. its time to upgrade anyway. - Araya213, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4No you can use a Mac or Linux and forget about playing games or using programs with user interfaces.
- lostczech, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6So then what is your solution?
- xaxxon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Why you need to be wary of this site:
From the article linked:
"These files also cause defragmentation on your computer."
Defragmentation, huh?
From this article http://computeradvice.mikebinns.net/isWhatIHaveEnough.php..
"RAM Memory". Enough said.
Also, from the same article:
"1.5 gigahertz (1.5 ghz) means 1.5 billion computations every second". No. No it doesn't. It's just the number of clock cycles per second.
Anyways, this is what I found after a cursory glance at a few bits of this site. They were enough to convince me that the author doesn't really understand much about what is going on with his computer -- or at doesn't have command over the vocabulary to describe what he understands. Either way, taking written advice from such a person seems like not such a good idea.
That said, ccleaner might be a wonderful program -- I just wouldn't advise taking this person's advice on whether/how to use it. - Namco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@Bren
Why don't you try it before you knock it? - onewinger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3During the course of managing several thousand computers in an enterprise environment, and observing computers connecting to a domain spanning over 50% of the country, I've noted that removing old registry entries helps tremendously, and I've got quantifiable data to support this.
Over the course of a few months, numerous programs (namely Acrobat, MS Office, Windows Explorer) begin to cache network locations (for no apparent reason). When the domain is unavailable, Windows shell begins to poop out on opening of documents (files associated with Notepad, MS Office, or Acrobat), and hangs the explorer window on open, for 30 seconds or more. After removing the bogus registry entries, it went to 1 - 2 seconds (both measurements taken on a ThinkPad T42 1.7GHz Pentium M). Office also hangs on startup occasionally, looking for non-existent setup files.
Of course, the easiest way of doing this would be to remove all instances of "\" or "$SERVERNAME", but it's good to look for and remove all links to non-existing or invalid network names with CCleaner.
This occurs most often on Windows XP, but I've seen it in Windows 2000 as well. Of course, this only pertains to Windows XP in a domain environment... it's still a good practice.
Cheers - stepnet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If you're gonna use Crap Cleaner. You need to know what all those options are, not a good move blindly clicking "Clean".
Specificially you'll want to DISABLE - Clean old Prefetch Data. Unless there's a reason to clear it, that data makes your system run faster.
Otherwise I use it all the time. - PacketPaul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have a laptop that is 2 1/2 years old ... and has never had it's registry cleaned. I carefully timed how long it took for Windows to load to the login screen. Then installed and ran ccleaner and rebooted. Here are my results....
Before CCleaner ... 37 seconds
After CCleaner ... 37 seconds
I also try to time it took to login to the machine after the username/password prompt. This is more difficult as there is no message telling you the login is finished. Before ccleaner it took about 35 seconds for me to login. After ccleaner it was about the same speed. Maybe a few seconds faster, but not much.
At least in my case, ccleaner has not improved my bootup speed at all. This is a machine I use daily and have installed/uninstalled many programs. Thus I thought it would be a good machine to test ccleaner. - lament, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2next time it asks "Do you want to backup your registry" before you clean up the issues, you say Yes.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Windows rot comes from a number of sources and has been with Windows in all its incarnations.
In the case of XP, as someone pointed out COM does no one any good.
Then load a bunch of programs, trials, catch some spyware...etc.
All of those things tweek your registry and the probability of conflicts goes up every time. - adiggtion, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Ironically, Microsoft's old Registry cleaner (RegClean?) caused severe problems in deleting stuff it should not have -- apps would no longer start, etc. -- which I always found a little ironic since the registry is MS's "baby".
I generally like CCleaner (formerly known as Crap Cleaner? Best name, ever, by the way), but, sometimes it gets a bit overzealous and wipes out stuff it shouldn't at times. Of course, that could be Operator Error. :-) - ePlus, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7People wouldn't need to use "Reg Cleaners" and other similar tools if the Operating System was designed properly, and actually someone thought about what they were doing.
- Thorlord, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2just now i sold a display laptop.
acer.
because people in my store can take the computers online. they can get some random crap on the computer and into the computer. spyware, adware, abundance of tracking cookies.
on this display laptop, after uninstalling useless software thats on it (acers hardly come with any free trials, so its releatively clean) and then running crap cleaner. i get 100mb of storage space back and 47 bad registry keys.
thats on a new computer that was just on display for a month. - atbnet, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3And on the same site it tells us not to use a registry cleaner.
http://computeradvice.mikebinns.net/addRemovePrograms.php - CapeKid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I had wildTangent on my old ccomputer, Ad-aware removed the spyware but left the registry value. This led to an annoying warning after every start-up. I tried everything, including regedit to get rid of the offending registry value from starting up. Nothing work until I ran CCleaner and it fixed it right up. Brillant program. Dugg
- lament, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"installing new ATi video card drivers leaves bad registry entries"
that's why I use Driver Cleaner Pro (but for my nVidia card).. :) - n00bst3r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have been using CrapCleaner for about a year now and I really like it. I use it about once a month when I run my SpyWare/Adware programs and defrag.
- tsupersonic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Believe it or not, Ccleaner has been out for longer than that. I remember using it for years. It's an awesome program, I use it about a couple times every week, regain maybe 500MB on a weekly basis. It is also a great program overall, allowing you to do multiple things. It's one of my favorite programs, and a definite must on every computer.
- drbill, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ccleaner is very good. I have never had trouble with it, and it helps with privacy my "clearing out" all your "tracks" in browsers.
- Cputerace, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Read the front page of the website. The target audience is users who know nothing about computers. For them, clock cycles means nothing, as does RAM. If you say Memory to the average user, they think hard drive, therefore RAM Memory is used.
- sailor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Of course a sysadmin doesn't need these kind of programs...because if he's worth a *****, nobody will be installing crapware on the machines in his charge... they will/should be limited users.
- Bren, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I'm not knocking at all, in fact, I have a similar program for cleaning stuff out of my PC too.
I'm just curious about what exactly it does that speeds up the boot, specifically. It was noted that the program removes entries that are typically loaded into memory by Windows at boot. This sounds a lot like "cleaning out the prefetch" to improve boot times. While I am well versed in removing old crap from the registry that just wastes space, I am not familiar with the concept of removing keys to improve boot time.
I just want to know if anyone can actually explain how thie would work. I'm curious and would like to clear up this ignorance on my part. Trying it isn't going to tell me why my machine may boot quicker. -
Show 51 - 100 of 112 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is