Jump to content

Looking for CCleaner replacement


deucy14

Recommended Posts

I am using since new 5 or 6 years a Lenovo laptop.  (attachment)

Strangely, my CCleaner I have used for a few decades fell apart on me.  If I clean out of the CCleaner and reinstall, I can get it to work again, but only for a few days.

I did a search to find what was an available substitute. Some may argue not to bother with having anything like this.

But I did a  search, and although there was a field to choose from, nothing felt like a confidence builder.  Perhaps that substantiates the last sentence.

I am curious to know how utilized these "cleaners" are.  I am open to suggestions for what to look at.  Grateful for comments.

Lenovo laptop System.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

It should not long before I move to a new or newer computer.  I will of course be using Win 10.

The purpose for cleaning out superfluous matter is not to allow it to accumulate for 5 years +.  

I anticipate using WIN 10 by the end of this year with  a new computer. 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

You don't need a new computer to run Windows 10. I agree with AdvancedSetup that you should consider upgrading. This could solve your issue with Ccleaner. Also, it's free to upgrade.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

I prefer an old program called Cleanup!

 

http://www.stevengould.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=72

 

 

Edited by AdvancedSetup
Disabled live hyperlink - not a well known site
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 2/7/2022 at 9:16 PM, deucy14 said:

Strangely, my CCleaner I have used for a few decades fell apart on me.  If I clean out of the CCleaner and reinstall, I can get it to work again, but only for a few days.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by 'fell apart on me'?

Also regarding the reinstall, did you install the latest version, or did you use an old installer that you had downloaded?

Windows Defender will remove old CCleaner versions because the cleaning rules/definitions will be well 'out of date', that could explain what you are reporting.
Windows itself, and browsers and other apps, are constantly changing, so CCleaner has to be kept up to date to clean them properly.
Because of those changes CCleaner for Windows generally gets updated on a monthly schedule.

The latest CCleaner is v5.90.9443, released yesterday (Feb 16th).
Release Notes: https://www.ccleaner.com/knowledge/ccleaner-v5-90-9443

Edited by nukecad
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you nukecad.

 

“Falling apart” means it would quit working for me. It was there, and maybe a little useful, but would stop working for me.

 

I have not been using any cleaner for a few months. Yesterday 2-18- 2022 I used Revo Uninsaller Pro to selectively  eliminate only findings appearing in bold face prior to downloading a new Ccleaner.  I ran the new Ccleaner and it came up with 10 mb it eliminated !  I must be perceived as immaculate perception.

It did eliminate over a hundred showings in the registry, none of which appeared relevant.

Just before coming here to post, I clicked on the Ccleaner icon to bring it up. It came up and displayed itself after 2 or 3 seconds before it disappeared.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Root Admin

A few recommended articles to read on registry cleaners:

Registry cleaners are not supported by Microsoft

"Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the use of a registry cleaning utility can be solved. Issues caused by these utilities may not be repairable and lost data may not be recoverable"

 

In most cases regardless of which Registry Cleaning tool you use it's not going to outright break Windows from booting or running. Normally the damage done is rarely seen or even attributed to the cleaning. How it can sometimes manifest itself is with an application simply not behaving as it used to, a program feature that no longer launches. In some cases on a computer with detailed auditing enabled it can show errors that were not there prior to the cleaning, but again these are typically things that would be nearly impossible to know after the fact what caused it.

Bottom line is WHY are you cleaning the Registry? The system can typically read through the entire Registry in under a minute, but that is not how software reads, writes to the Registry. It makes a specific call to a location where it expects its configuration to be or where it needs to possibly interface with other COM objects to complete an operation and can typically make that read in milliseconds. Reading all the keys for my HKCU hive took 249 ms with a total of 21047 keys. So how is removing a dozen or a few dozen going to really help speed up my computer?

If you can show proof positive 100% that some value in the Registry is actually causing an issue then change or remove THAT entry. Not hundreds or dozens of entries because someone that has been programming for a few years now somehow feels they or their team know the Billions of possible values and every single one that is good or bad and can automate fixing it. Sorry but I call BS, no one knows every single entry and what it means let alone if its good or bad.

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Agreed, you shouldn't run the registry cleaner (any registry cleaner) on a regular basis - especially not with Windows 10 or 11.
For the official CCleaner advice on using the Registry Cleaner see this: https://community.ccleaner.com/topic/59952-i-get-a-registry-error-on-ccleaner-on-windows-10-i-have-scanned-5-times/?tab=comments#comment-326804

I'd also strongly caution about using the 'new' Driver Updater in CCleaner, we are seeing quite a few complaints about it breaking peoples machines.
Personally I wouldn't touch any driver updater, they are notorious for breaking things.
(We were all surprised and dismayed when CCleaner suddenly included one, and all the mods and regulars at the CCleaner forum warned them. They seem determined to make it work 'properly' but we are still seeing problems with it).

Quote

I clicked on the Ccleaner icon to bring it up. It came up and displayed itself after 2 or 3 seconds before it disappeared.

As for CCleaner opening then immediately closing, that's usually a sign that your antivirus is blocking it. Certain AVs are more prone to doing it than others.
When CCleaner v5.89 was released last month anyone who had Norton 360 found it would open/close like that. (That was actually an ommision in CCleaner, the core had been re-coded and a patch for Norton missed out, it was fixed and re-released within a day once the omission came to light).
Usually though we just see an AV block like that for a day or so following the release of a new CCleaner version, just while the AV in question updates it's definitions to recognise the new version.
If you want any more help with that then I suggest that you post on the CCleaner forum, or email support on support@ccleaner.com

Just one more- It's a good idea to run Windows built in Disk Cleanup now and again, there are some things Windows that CCleaner used to clean but no longer does. In particular old Windows versions/Windows Update files. That's because Windows SXS (Side-by-Side) changed the way it uses those old files.

Edited by nukecad
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Root Admin

I am not in agreement with the "official advice on Registry Cleaning". Prove to me that any of that left over stuff is causing an issue. Then, once proven it's bad and causing an issue, what is wrong with manually removing THAT entry. Not 3 more, 10 more, 100 more, etc. Again, useless to worry about that stuff in the Registry. It is not causing your computer harm by having some left over entries. In fact aside from a specific scanner looking for those left over keys almost no software is going to seek out those keys. Software is designed and programmed to look at specific keys, not the entire registry. If the program that used those keys is no longer on the system then they won't be looked at except by specific types of scans or software. LEAVE the Registry alone unless proven otherwise to be an issue.

image.png

You want to remove the tool being classified as a Registry Cleaner - Snake Oil. Simply remove the unneeded function from the software and be done with it.

 

Edited by AdvancedSetup
Updated information
Link to post
Share on other sites

You are not saying anything that we haven't been telling (nagging) them for years about the registry cleaner tool, and we are now doing the same with the much more problematic Driver Updater.

TBH we were astonished when they added that Driver Updater, much more toxic than snake oil.
Even as forum mods we had no advance warning, it just appeared in an update.
And you can bet that we were very vocal about it when it showed up. (And we won't usually help with any problems it causes, they chose to put it there they can deal with the fallout).
But we are forum mods, we are not employees and have no say in what the company does.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
Back to top
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This site uses cookies - We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.