«

Hello:

Running XP.

Will probably be trying a "Registry Cleaner" (CCleaner most likely) to try
and
get rid of a bunch of Norton AV stuff that didn't un-install completely, or
correctly.

Gusee it would be wise to Back-Up my Registry prior to doing so.

Have no idea how to.
How would I do this, please ?

Guess I should also ask: How would I resurrect the Registry, if , God
Forbid, the cleaner(s) mess something up ?

BTW: (how would i know if "any" registry setting is actually messed up
after using ?)

Thanks,
Bob

Hi Robert - First, before you use a Registry Cleaner, see here for removal
instructions for Norton/Symantec c**p: http://basconotw.mvps.org/SymRem.htm


Now, a warning about Registry Cleaners and how to back up your Registry -

In my experience all of these Reg cleaners, even the best, are fraught with
danger. I advise against using them except in one specific instance, that
is when you have one that is capable of doing specific Reg searches, and you
NEED (not just WANT) to remove the remaining traces of something that didn't
get uninstalled correctly. (and you didn't have foresight enough to install
it using Total Uninstall, http://www.martau.com/ or free direct dwnld here:
http://digilander.libero.it/molearchive3/tun235.zip or here:
http://freeware4u.com/modules/mydown...le.php?lid=234, in the
first place.) (As an aside, there are, however, some third party Registry
Editors which can be of great help with both the incorrect uninstall and
with certain malware problems, especially some of theCoolWebSearch types
such as the AppInit_DLLs variant of the about:blank version of CWS, for
example. I can recommend Registrar Lite, here:
http://www.resplendence.com/reglite .)

There are a couple of specific bugs that can cause abnormal growth in either
the System or Software hives; however, they are rare, and unless these hives
in %SystemRoot%\System32\config are very, very large (in the hundreds of
megabytes), then I would council you to leave your Registry alone except for
the special circumstances I mentioned above.

I and most other MVP's that I know believe that Registry modifications of
any type are probably best done manually, very carefully, with a thorough
knowledge of what's installed on your machine, and what you're doing, and
then only when necessary. There's very little (if any!) noticeable benefit
in either space saving or speed achievable by cleaning out the Registry
except in those few cases where there's a specific problem the client is
experiencing (usually uninstall or malware related in my experience) that
needs to be fixed.

Lastly, if you must screw around with your Registry, then at least get
Erunt/Erdnt, and run it before you do the Reg clean. You'll then have a
true restore available to you. Read below to see why you might not just
using the Reg cleaner's restore:

Get Erunt here for all NT-based computers including XP:
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.he...runt/index.htm I've set it up to
take a scheduled backup each night at 12:01AM on a weekly round-robin basis,
and a Monthly on the 1st of each month. See here for how to set that up:
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.he...runt/erunt.txt, and for some
useful information about this subject.

This program is one of the best things around - saved my butt on many
occasions, and will also run very nicely from a DOS prompt (in case you've
done something that won't let you boot any more and need to revert to a
previous Registry) IF you're FAT32 OR have a DOS startup disk with NTFS
write drivers in an NTFS system. (There is also a way using the Recovery
Console to get back to being "bootable" even without separate DOS write NTFS
drivers, after which you can do a "normal" Erdnt restore.) (BTW, it also
includes a Registry defragger program). Free, and very, very highly
recommended.

FYI, quoting from the above document:

"Note: The "Export registry" function in Regedit is USELESS (!) to make a
complete backup of the registry. Neither does it export the whole registry
(for example, no information from the "SECURITY" hive is saved), nor can the
exported file be used later to replace the current registry with the old
one. Instead, if you re-import the file, it is merged with the current
registry, leaving you with an absolute mess of old and new registry keys.

FWIW, the second question I ask clients is whether they've recently used a
Reg Cleaner or tried to restore from one. (The first question I ask is
whether they've any non-commercial Norton/Symantec software installed.
)

--
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP/DTS/AH-VSOP
My Blog, Defending Your Machine, here:
http://DefendingYourMachine.blogspot.com/



"Robert11" <> wrote in message
news:h6qdnRTw3bb3niXeRVn-
> Hello:
>
> Running XP.
>
> Will probably be trying a "Registry Cleaner" (CCleaner most likely) to
try
> and
> get rid of a bunch of Norton AV stuff that didn't un-install completely,
or
> correctly.
>
> Gusee it would be wise to Back-Up my Registry prior to doing so.
>
> Have no idea how to.
> How would I do this, please ?
>
> Guess I should also ask: How would I resurrect the Registry, if , God
> Forbid, the cleaner(s) mess something up ?
>
> BTW: (how would i know if "any" registry setting is actually messed up
> after using ?)
>
> Thanks,
> Bob

Hi,

Just want to say a real quick thanks for all the time you
took to answer my query in such detail.

Just what i was looking for.

Thanks again,
Bob
----------------

"Jim Byrd" <> wrote in message
news:JqOdnb7ZXqBhmCXeRVn-...
> Hi Robert - First, before you use a Registry Cleaner, see here for removal
> instructions for Norton/Symantec c**p:
> http://basconotw.mvps.org/SymRem.htm
>
>
> Now, a warning about Registry Cleaners and how to back up your Registry -
>
> In my experience all of these Reg cleaners, even the best, are fraught
> with
> danger. I advise against using them except in one specific instance, that
> is when you have one that is capable of doing specific Reg searches, and
> you
> NEED (not just WANT) to remove the remaining traces of something that
> didn't
> get uninstalled correctly. (and you didn't have foresight enough to
> install
> it using Total Uninstall, http://www.martau.com/ or free direct dwnld
> here:
> http://digilander.libero.it/molearchive3/tun235.zip or here:
> http://freeware4u.com/modules/mydown...le.php?lid=234, in the
> first place.) (As an aside, there are, however, some third party Registry
> Editors which can be of great help with both the incorrect uninstall and
> with certain malware problems, especially some of theCoolWebSearch types
> such as the AppInit_DLLs variant of the about:blank version of CWS, for
> example. I can recommend Registrar Lite, here:
> http://www.resplendence.com/reglite .)
>
> There are a couple of specific bugs that can cause abnormal growth in
> either
> the System or Software hives; however, they are rare, and unless these
> hives
> in %SystemRoot%\System32\config are very, very large (in the hundreds of
> megabytes), then I would council you to leave your Registry alone except
> for
> the special circumstances I mentioned above.
>
> I and most other MVP's that I know believe that Registry modifications of
> any type are probably best done manually, very carefully, with a thorough
> knowledge of what's installed on your machine, and what you're doing, and
> then only when necessary. There's very little (if any!) noticeable
> benefit
> in either space saving or speed achievable by cleaning out the Registry
> except in those few cases where there's a specific problem the client is
> experiencing (usually uninstall or malware related in my experience) that
> needs to be fixed.
>
> Lastly, if you must screw around with your Registry, then at least get
> Erunt/Erdnt, and run it before you do the Reg clean. You'll then have a
> true restore available to you. Read below to see why you might not just
> using the Reg cleaner's restore:
>
> Get Erunt here for all NT-based computers including XP:
> http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.he...runt/index.htm I've set it up
> to
> take a scheduled backup each night at 12:01AM on a weekly round-robin
> basis,
> and a Monthly on the 1st of each month. See here for how to set that up:
> http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.he...runt/erunt.txt, and for some
> useful information about this subject.
>
> This program is one of the best things around - saved my butt on many
> occasions, and will also run very nicely from a DOS prompt (in case you've
> done something that won't let you boot any more and need to revert to a
> previous Registry) IF you're FAT32 OR have a DOS startup disk with NTFS
> write drivers in an NTFS system. (There is also a way using the Recovery
> Console to get back to being "bootable" even without separate DOS write
> NTFS
> drivers, after which you can do a "normal" Erdnt restore.) (BTW, it also
> includes a Registry defragger program). Free, and very, very highly
> recommended.
>
> FYI, quoting from the above document:
>
> "Note: The "Export registry" function in Regedit is USELESS (!) to make a
> complete backup of the registry. Neither does it export the whole registry
> (for example, no information from the "SECURITY" hive is saved), nor can
> the
> exported file be used later to replace the current registry with the old
> one. Instead, if you re-import the file, it is merged with the current
> registry, leaving you with an absolute mess of old and new registry keys.
>
> FWIW, the second question I ask clients is whether they've recently used a
> Reg Cleaner or tried to restore from one. (The first question I ask is
> whether they've any non-commercial Norton/Symantec software installed.
> )
>
> --
> Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP/DTS/AH-VSOP
> My Blog, Defending Your Machine, here:
> http://DefendingYourMachine.blogspot.com/
>
>
>
> "Robert11" <> wrote in message
> news:h6qdnRTw3bb3niXeRVn-
>> Hello:
>>
>> Running XP.
>>
>> Will probably be trying a "Registry Cleaner" (CCleaner most likely) to
> try
>> and
>> get rid of a bunch of Norton AV stuff that didn't un-install completely,
> or
>> correctly.
>>
>> Gusee it would be wise to Back-Up my Registry prior to doing so.
>>
>> Have no idea how to.
>> How would I do this, please ?
>>
>> Guess I should also ask: How would I resurrect the Registry, if , God
>> Forbid, the cleaner(s) mess something up ?
>>
>> BTW: (how would i know if "any" registry setting is actually messed up
>> after using ?)
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Bob
>
>

YW, Robert - Actually, it wasn't as much effort as you might think - most of
that was a "canned" reply that was already to hand, since the Reg Cleaner
question is one that frequently arises in these groups.

--
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP/DTS/AH-VSOP
My Blog, Defending Your Machine, here:
http://DefendingYourMachine.blogspot.com/



"Robert11" <> wrote in message
news:
> Hi,
>
> Just want to say a real quick thanks for all the time you
> took to answer my query in such detail.
>
> Just what i was looking for.
>
> Thanks again,
> Bob
> ----------------
>
> "Jim Byrd" <> wrote in message
> news:JqOdnb7ZXqBhmCXeRVn-...
>> Hi Robert - First, before you use a Registry Cleaner, see here for
removal
>> instructions for Norton/Symantec c**p:
>> http://basconotw.mvps.org/SymRem.htm
>>
>>
>> Now, a warning about Registry Cleaners and how to back up your Registry -
>>
>> In my experience all of these Reg cleaners, even the best, are fraught
>> with
>> danger. I advise against using them except in one specific instance,
that
>> is when you have one that is capable of doing specific Reg searches, and
>> you
>> NEED (not just WANT) to remove the remaining traces of something that
>> didn't
>> get uninstalled correctly. (and you didn't have foresight enough to
>> install
>> it using Total Uninstall, http://www.martau.com/ or free direct dwnld
>> here:
>> http://digilander.libero.it/molearchive3/tun235.zip or here:
>> http://freeware4u.com/modules/mydown...le.php?lid=234, in the
>> first place.) (As an aside, there are, however, some third party
Registry
>> Editors which can be of great help with both the incorrect uninstall and
>> with certain malware problems, especially some of theCoolWebSearch types
>> such as the AppInit_DLLs variant of the about:blank version of CWS, for
>> example. I can recommend Registrar Lite, here:
>> http://www.resplendence.com/reglite .)
>>
>> There are a couple of specific bugs that can cause abnormal growth in
>> either
>> the System or Software hives; however, they are rare, and unless these
>> hives
>> in %SystemRoot%\System32\config are very, very large (in the hundreds of
>> megabytes), then I would council you to leave your Registry alone except
>> for
>> the special circumstances I mentioned above.
>>
>> I and most other MVP's that I know believe that Registry modifications of
>> any type are probably best done manually, very carefully, with a thorough
>> knowledge of what's installed on your machine, and what you're doing, and
>> then only when necessary. There's very little (if any!) noticeable
>> benefit
>> in either space saving or speed achievable by cleaning out the Registry
>> except in those few cases where there's a specific problem the client is
>> experiencing (usually uninstall or malware related in my experience) that
>> needs to be fixed.
>>
>> Lastly, if you must screw around with your Registry, then at least get
>> Erunt/Erdnt, and run it before you do the Reg clean. You'll then have a
>> true restore available to you. Read below to see why you might not just
>> using the Reg cleaner's restore:
>>
>> Get Erunt here for all NT-based computers including XP:
>> http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.he...runt/index.htm I've set it up
>> to
>> take a scheduled backup each night at 12:01AM on a weekly round-robin
>> basis,
>> and a Monthly on the 1st of each month. See here for how to set that up:
>> http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.he...runt/erunt.txt, and for some
>> useful information about this subject.
>>
>> This program is one of the best things around - saved my butt on many
>> occasions, and will also run very nicely from a DOS prompt (in case
you've
>> done something that won't let you boot any more and need to revert to a
>> previous Registry) IF you're FAT32 OR have a DOS startup disk with NTFS
>> write drivers in an NTFS system. (There is also a way using the Recovery
>> Console to get back to being "bootable" even without separate DOS write
>> NTFS
>> drivers, after which you can do a "normal" Erdnt restore.) (BTW, it also
>> includes a Registry defragger program). Free, and very, very highly
>> recommended.
>>
>> FYI, quoting from the above document:
>>
>> "Note: The "Export registry" function in Regedit is USELESS (!) to make a
>> complete backup of the registry. Neither does it export the whole
registry
>> (for example, no information from the "SECURITY" hive is saved), nor can
>> the
>> exported file be used later to replace the current registry with the old
>> one. Instead, if you re-import the file, it is merged with the current
>> registry, leaving you with an absolute mess of old and new registry keys.
>>
>> FWIW, the second question I ask clients is whether they've recently used
a
>> Reg Cleaner or tried to restore from one. (The first question I ask is
>> whether they've any non-commercial Norton/Symantec software installed.
>> )
>>
>> --
>> Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP/DTS/AH-VSOP
>> My Blog, Defending Your Machine, here:
>> http://DefendingYourMachine.blogspot.com/
>>
>>
>>
>> "Robert11" <> wrote in message
>> news:h6qdnRTw3bb3niXeRVn-
>>> Hello:
>>>
>>> Running XP.
>>>
>>> Will probably be trying a "Registry Cleaner" (CCleaner most likely) to
try
>>> and
>>> get rid of a bunch of Norton AV stuff that didn't un-install completely,
or
>>> correctly.
>>>
>>> Gusee it would be wise to Back-Up my Registry prior to doing so.
>>>
>>> Have no idea how to.
>>> How would I do this, please ?
>>>
>>> Guess I should also ask: How would I resurrect the Registry, if , God
>>> Forbid, the cleaner(s) mess something up ?
>>>
>>> BTW: (how would i know if "any" registry setting is actually messed up
>>> after using ?)
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Bob

"Jim Byrd" <> wrote in message
news:JqOdnb7ZXqBhmCXeRVn-...
> Hi Robert - First, before you use a Registry Cleaner, see here for removal
> instructions for Norton/Symantec c**p:
> http://basconotw.mvps.org/SymRem.htm
>
>
> Now, a warning about Registry Cleaners and how to back up your Registry -
>
> In my experience all of these Reg cleaners, even the best, are fraught
> with
> danger. I advise against using them except in one specific instance, that
> is when you have one that is capable of doing specific Reg searches, and
> you
> NEED (not just WANT) to remove the remaining traces of something that
> didn't
> get uninstalled correctly. (and you didn't have foresight enough to
> install
> it using Total Uninstall, http://www.martau.com/ or free direct dwnld
> here:
> http://digilander.libero.it/molearchive3/tun235.zip or here:
> http://freeware4u.com/modules/mydown...le.php?lid=234, in the
> first place.) (As an aside, there are, however, some third party Registry
> Editors which can be of great help with both the incorrect uninstall and
> with certain malware problems, especially some of theCoolWebSearch types
> such as the AppInit_DLLs variant of the about:blank version of CWS, for
> example. I can recommend Registrar Lite, here:
> http://www.resplendence.com/reglite .)
>
> There are a couple of specific bugs that can cause abnormal growth in
> either
> the System or Software hives; however, they are rare, and unless these
> hives
> in %SystemRoot%\System32\config are very, very large (in the hundreds of
> megabytes), then I would council you to leave your Registry alone except
> for
> the special circumstances I mentioned above.
>
> I and most other MVP's that I know believe that Registry modifications of
> any type are probably best done manually, very carefully, with a thorough
> knowledge of what's installed on your machine, and what you're doing, and
> then only when necessary. There's very little (if any!) noticeable
> benefit
> in either space saving or speed achievable by cleaning out the Registry
> except in those few cases where there's a specific problem the client is
> experiencing (usually uninstall or malware related in my experience) that
> needs to be fixed.
>
> Lastly, if you must screw around with your Registry, then at least get
> Erunt/Erdnt, and run it before you do the Reg clean. You'll then have a
> true restore available to you. Read below to see why you might not just
> using the Reg cleaner's restore:
>
> Get Erunt here for all NT-based computers including XP:
> http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.he...runt/index.htm I've set it up
> to
> take a scheduled backup each night at 12:01AM on a weekly round-robin
> basis,
> and a Monthly on the 1st of each month. See here for how to set that up:
> http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.he...runt/erunt.txt, and for some
> useful information about this subject.
>

Hi Jim
I've been following this thread with interest. The two links you give for
Erunt seem to be for T- Online in German.
Can you give an English link please.
Regards
Bill

Hi Bill and Robert - Sorry 'bout that! Those are indeed old links. Here
are the correct ones:

http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/

and

http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-on...runt/erunt.txt


Thanks, Bill, for catching that!

--
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP/DTS/AH-VSOP
My Blog, Defending Your Machine, here:
http://DefendingYourMachine.blogspot.com/



"Bill P" <> wrote in message
news:dp95r3$lhh$
> "Jim Byrd" <> wrote in message
> news:JqOdnb7ZXqBhmCXeRVn-...
>> Hi Robert - First, before you use a Registry Cleaner, see here for
removal
>> instructions for Norton/Symantec c**p:
>> http://basconotw.mvps.org/SymRem.htm
>>
>>
>> Now, a warning about Registry Cleaners and how to back up your Registry -
>>
>> In my experience all of these Reg cleaners, even the best, are fraught
>> with
>> danger. I advise against using them except in one specific instance,
that
>> is when you have one that is capable of doing specific Reg searches, and
>> you
>> NEED (not just WANT) to remove the remaining traces of something that
>> didn't
>> get uninstalled correctly. (and you didn't have foresight enough to
>> install
>> it using Total Uninstall, http://www.martau.com/ or free direct dwnld
>> here:
>> http://digilander.libero.it/molearchive3/tun235.zip or here:
>> http://freeware4u.com/modules/mydown...le.php?lid=234, in the
>> first place.) (As an aside, there are, however, some third party
Registry
>> Editors which can be of great help with both the incorrect uninstall and
>> with certain malware problems, especially some of theCoolWebSearch types
>> such as the AppInit_DLLs variant of the about:blank version of CWS, for
>> example. I can recommend Registrar Lite, here:
>> http://www.resplendence.com/reglite .)
>>
>> There are a couple of specific bugs that can cause abnormal growth in
>> either
>> the System or Software hives; however, they are rare, and unless these
>> hives
>> in %SystemRoot%\System32\config are very, very large (in the hundreds of
>> megabytes), then I would council you to leave your Registry alone except
>> for
>> the special circumstances I mentioned above.
>>
>> I and most other MVP's that I know believe that Registry modifications of
>> any type are probably best done manually, very carefully, with a thorough
>> knowledge of what's installed on your machine, and what you're doing, and
>> then only when necessary. There's very little (if any!) noticeable
>> benefit
>> in either space saving or speed achievable by cleaning out the Registry
>> except in those few cases where there's a specific problem the client is
>> experiencing (usually uninstall or malware related in my experience) that
>> needs to be fixed.
>>
>> Lastly, if you must screw around with your Registry, then at least get
>> Erunt/Erdnt, and run it before you do the Reg clean. You'll then have a
>> true restore available to you. Read below to see why you might not just
>> using the Reg cleaner's restore:
>>
>> Get Erunt here for all NT-based computers including XP:
>> http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.he...runt/index.htm I've set it up
>> to
>> take a scheduled backup each night at 12:01AM on a weekly round-robin
>> basis,
>> and a Monthly on the 1st of each month. See here for how to set that up:
>> http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.he...runt/erunt.txt, and for some
>> useful information about this subject.
>>
>
> Hi Jim
> I've been following this thread with interest. The two links you give for
> Erunt seem to be for T- Online in German.
> Can you give an English link please.
> Regards
> Bill

On Sun, 1 Jan 2006 11:29:29 -0500 If you fall from a tree,leave your
anger on the branch and then "Robert11" <> sent this
:

>Hello:
>
>Running XP.
>
>Will probably be trying a "Registry Cleaner" (CCleaner most likely) to try
>and
>get rid of a bunch of Norton AV stuff that didn't un-install completely, or
>correctly.
>
>Gusee it would be wise to Back-Up my Registry prior to doing so.
>
>Have no idea how to.
>How would I do this, please ?
>
>Guess I should also ask: How would I resurrect the Registry, if , God
>Forbid, the cleaner(s) mess something up ?
>
>BTW: (how would i know if "any" registry setting is actually messed up
>after using ?)
>
>Thanks,
>Bob
>

http://windows.about.com/od/registry/l/aa020407a.htm

I've been running registry cleaners since Win95/b and never had a
problem.I use Easy cleaner's/CCcleaners and Regseeker on winXP and
win98SE,
http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/freeprog.html

you can also compact the registry hives in win XP ,
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
after cleaning.
HTH



--
Free Windows/PC help,
http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/trouble.html
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...m?bandID=88558

Robert11 wrote:
>
> Will probably be trying a "Registry Cleaner" (CCleaner most likely) to try
> and
> get rid of a bunch of Norton AV stuff that didn't un-install completely, or
> correctly.

Nortons removal tools:
http://www.bootdisk.com/helpdesk.htm