Clean It Time

I want to run spybot but before that I want to make sure if I have back up of registry (just incase), how I do it ?
Further, when I delete the problems (traced by spybot), If I uncheck the box, I hope it will not delete that particular problem?

Here are three options:

Click on START – RUN and type: Regedit (press ENTER). On the menu bar click on file, then export, choose where you want to save it, then enter a name for it in the box titled: File Name. At bottom put a tick in "All", then click on save. If you ever want to restore the saved version, just IMPORT it.
System Restore (it should save a copy daily, but you can always create a restore point manually.
The best method, in my opinion, is to download and run ERUNT. It’s the best registry backup utility available – and it’s free!!!
🙂

Alright here is the problem. I had been using G Data Antivirenkit 2006 for a while now but then I saw that Kaspersky Internet Security 6.0 came out, so I decided to check it out. I uninstalled the G Data Antivirenkit and started to install Kaspersky. But in the beginning of the process it kept saying me that there is still G Data in the registry somewhere. Ive looked and looked, deleted anything I found using regedit but still Im getting the error.

I dont have a fresh copy of the setup file (for G Data) either.
So Im guessing the only solution for me is to either find a way to fool Kaspersky install, make it not look for the already installed products,
or completely remove this G Data Antivirenkit from the registry.
Where would that information be in the registry?
Where does Kaspersky look and say that I have already a firewall install.

Trying to install in Safe Mode doesnt work.

Please help.
Thanks.
still nothing…

Unfortunately the windows installer cleanup didnt find the program Im trying to remove.

I currently have no antivirus/firewall on my system.

The registry cleaners dont find anything.

Isnt there a manual way to remove it from the registry. I tried searching regedit for "G Data" and "Antivirenkit", found several entries and deleted them all but still the same thing.

Its so annoying.

Any other ideas?

Usually there are 2 ways to solve that…
First one is reinstall the corrupted program and uninstall it

and the second is find programs that are called registry cleaners, that delete unused registry keys of uninstalled programs

There are many free out there, so just google "registry cleaner"
and it will remove unused uninstalled keys…

I use TuneUp Utilities 2007 and has registry cleaner but it is not a freeware… It should have a trial version though

Most people I have talked too say leave it alone unless you are a pro, but isn’t there a time when a registry needs to be cleaned, defragged and repaired to speed up your computer and keep it safe?
SO confused by what I read. thanks.

Hi there,

The short answer is "no".

The registry is a text file that can be ‘read’ very quickly. It is very important since all your settings, configurations, installed programs are saved there for stable operation of your computer. If you delete a registry key you had better know exactly what is for and what will happen if it is removed.
If you explore the registry you will no doubt find keys for programs you have installed and later uninstalled. These keys can be removed but they really do no harm to the system.

Defragging the registry probably will make no discernible difference in the speed of your computer.

The third party apps that advertise to "repair" the registry can only scan the registry and compare it to the programs you have installed. After the scan the unneeded registry keys can be removed.
If you think about it; each computer has different hardware and programs installed so it would be practically impossible to design a program that could set up your unique computer in the optimum configuration. A computer programmer could examine your system and configure the registry but no program can "beat" the human brain.

There is one "safe" registry cleaner that I use and it is called Glary Utilities.
I use that but have seen no difference in speed but glary does scan for malware, fix shortcuts, etc..

My advice is to leave the registry alone as long as your computer is operating properly.
The risk is not worth the reward. If you want to do something good for your computer just keep the temporary and other junk files cleaned out. Disk clean will do that or you can download and run CCleaner daily.

Also defrag your hard drive monthly to keep the files in the drive in good order. That will help with the speed of your computer. You can use the built-in defrag utility or download and run Smart Defrag monthly.

Links below for CCleaner, Glary Utilities and Smart Defrag.

Hope this helps,
Al

I know that it should have been installed prior – but TOO LATE… my kids love to go on sites and download stuff – unfortunately, now I can’t access the internet, I can’t register my Norton 360 – so it won’t run the virus scan and repair… what do I do?

Reinstall, it’s the safest way and only takes two hours at max.
You need 2 things before starting:
1 – a disk with all your drivers and the security apps installers: for the
drivers go to the manufacturer site ; for the security apps go to
antivirus – http://www.avast.com/
antispyware – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=43
5BFCE7-DA2B-4A6A-AFA4-F7F14E605A0D&displaylang=en
…………….. – http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html
firewall – http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/
also it would be a good ideea to replace IE (it’s a malware magnet junk) with http://www.opera.com/
They are all the best in their category and FREE.Stay away from Norton McAfee (they’re crap) or AVG(not good enough).
Once you downloaded them just burn them to a good quality disk.
2 – a XP install disk: either your recovery disk (that came with the pc) or a geniune retail one, you should be able to borrow one.
Now lets make sure you boot from the cd not the hd: when your pc starts press Delete or F1 to enter BIOS settings – depends on the brand of the pc, the correct key is on the first screen that appears after you start up the pc. If you have pressed the correct one a blue screen with white or yellow text with BIOS in title will appear. Find Boot order: in some bios types is in the main screen, in the others it’s in Advanced. In there put the cd as the first and the hard drive second. To do this all you have to do is follow the instruction at the bottom of the screen. Keep this boot order from now on.
At the end, just before hitting Enter to save the new settings and reboot disconnect the internet line and put the XP disc in. If you have done the things correctly the pc will boot from the optical disk.
Now all you have to do is to follow the instructions on the screen and XP will be installed
After that reinstall all the drivers and all the security soft in that order.
Reconnect the internet line and allow all to update (for Spybot you have to do it manually).

Hi this question is intended for techies and hardcore users alike.I have received a lot of suggestion for using ccleaner,Glary utilities,PC Health Advisor etc.But is it really safe to leave your registry for repair to these type of cleaners ?
I have had reports of people who said the reg cleaner they used caused problem as some replaced and deleted important registry entries !!!
So forget the brands,just how safe are they ?

Registry cleaners are completely unnecessary.
Cleaning your registry will not improve computer performance or make it run faster.
There are built-in computer maintenance programs for that and they are easy to use.

Registry cleaners commonly delete items that computers actually need, then it falls to the user to figure out how to repair the mess.

Learn how to use your computer built-in Tools. You will never need to use a registry cleaner.

Can anybody recommend a registry repair program that i don’t have to pay for after it has scanned my registry? I am really annoyed that it will tell me i have over a hundred problems, then when i click to repair all, it tells me i have to register it and buy it. I cannot buy anything on the internet because i just don’t trust anyone with my details. Please can someone give me a program that will help me and not cost me any money?

Yes there are a lot.

One of the best is CCleaner: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

You can also delete registry yourself if you want to delete certain registry keys, see how to here: http://www.speed-up-pc.org/speed_up_windows/delete_registry_keys.php

A) Clean Registry Function
B)Clean Junk Files Function
C)Clean History (Privacy) Function
D)Delete invalid Shortcuts Function

Ideally you should go for software that cleans the registry, as this will repair and remove all errors from the registry file system. Software that just removes junk files may leave broken or corrupt files on the system, as the software function would not be as thorough cleaning.

Has anybody ever experienced this?

No, but I’m not surprised. Software like this is usually full of spyware, and often viruses. If Symantec found the virus, did you delete it? And did you install tuneup utilities 2007 anyway after the virus was found? If so, you need to get it off your computer as fast as you can, then run another virus check to be sure it’s gone.

A safe and fast registry cleaner is Microsoft’s Live OneCare Cleanup Scan. It does a thorough job of cleaning the registry then removes itself. I use it weekly.
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/cleanup.htm

I downloaded and installed "1-click answers" utility from answers.com on my win 98 machine. But installation was incomplete with message "required dll userenv.dll is missing". I contacted the answers.com and got the reply that the utility was for win xp. But I cannot uninstall the utility as I am getting the same error message "required dll userenv.dll is missing". I again contacted the answers.com and they asked me to manually remove all the relevent files, which I did. But now each time when windows starts I get error message "searching for answer.exe".

I think the registry still has entries for answer.exe. Should I delete those registry entries manually ? ( I mean all the entries not just the values). Will it cause damage to my system ?

Yes, you can search the registry and clear the entries for it, but be sure you have somewhat of an idea of what your doing, the chances of screwing up your system are slim unless you go on a delete binge, just do a registry search for answer.exe and delete those keys, pretty safe. and since you are on windows 98, you should back up your registry just in case.

For saving you with a 2 page answer on backing up the registry:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322754