Are Registry Cleaners Still Needed on Windows 10? Microsoft Says They're Not

[Batu69]

They could impact OS reliability and performance, it adds

Registry cleaners and system optimization tools have been around for a while and millions of users turned to them to boost performance of their Windows computers.

But with the arrival of Windows 10, fewer users are actually interested in such apps, as it seems that Microsoft has more or less improved the operating system up to a level when third-party optimization solutions are no longer needed.

A long discussion on reddit questions the performance of CCleaner on Windows 10, as the app has been intensively criticized lately, with a Microsoft employee who posted in the thread explaining that bugs and compatibility issues were the ones responsible for the “new” bad reputation of this tool.

The CCleaner saga

CCleaner is generally considered one of the best apps of its kind, as it provides a rich set of tools to keep a Windows computer in tip-top shape. But with the arrival of Windows 10, CCleaner was originally flagged as incompatible and removed during the upgrade process from Windows 7 and 8.1 computers.

An update to CCleaner fixed the problem and made it fully compatible with Windows 10, but then a number of users reported issues with Cortana and other OS features after installing the app. So is CCleaner no longer an app that can improve system performance? Is there an issue with its registry cleaner that's causing issues on Windows 10?

“This seems like a great question to ask of the CCleaner team, as they should be aware of the bugs/problems their software has or has not introduced over time,” Microsoft employee DrPeppy explained.

Microsoft itself doesn't seem to like CCleaner either. A company executive recently had an unexpected reaction when asked about the app:

“CCleaner is… how do I put it mildly… Don’t… let’s just move on!”

In fact, Microsoft itself is now recommending users to stay away not only from CCleaner, but from any other registry cleaner on their Windows 10 devices, explaining that they could impact system performance and reliability.

“Some products such as registry cleaning utilities suggest that the registry needs regular maintenance or cleaning. However, serious issues can occur when you modify the registry incorrectly using these types of utilities. These issues might require users to reinstall the operating system due to instability. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved without a reinstallation of the Operating System as the extent of the changes made by registry cleaning utilities varies from application to application.”

In the end, it's up to users to decide whether such apps are helpful or not, but with so many bugs occurring even when running the best of them, creating backups should be a priority.

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[shorty6100]

Another vote for "no, they are not". Alert the media-I actually agree with Microsoft for once.....

 

[Kalju]

But perhaps you've noticed that nowhere have not been told that they are mandatory.
Still are recommended, but not mandatory.
Nobody obliges you to eat the medicine, if you have a disease, but it is recommended.
This can be useful, although is known, that a doctor can help the less than 5% of the diseases cases. Otherwise, the body can handle themselves.

[Holmes]

Registry cleaners are not needed true depends on what registry cleaner you use ccleaner is the registry cleaner I use not all registry cleaners are created equal.  I have used process explorer and autoruns from sysinternals and know some registry keys that need to be deleted manually cleaning your registry is better.  I wouldnt recommend any system boosters or optimizers if you must use one use advanced system optimizer I dont recommend using system optimizers in general and registry cleaners are the same.

[Sylence]

Maybe Microsoft is right providing that all programs installed on Windows 10 are fully compatible with it so they won't produce unneeded reg keys after installation 

[Airstream_Bill]

Use them at your own Risk and if you do have a Complete Image Backup of your System before you do use one. 

[VileTouch]

yes. they are. installers such as office or acrobat still dump the complete package in the registry, regardless of what you choose to install. (you install word,excel and powerpoint and windows still asks if you want to open png with project...I DID NOT install project!)

 

uninstallers still leave a TON of crap both in the disk and in the registry after they are supposedly uninstalled. hell, some even don't remove anything other than the desktop shortcut!.

 

some 3rd party services or drivers refuse to stop or be removed completely, and when you force them out, you risk failure to boot. because the registry expects that certain file to be there. (looking at you alcohol 120%)

 

context menu hives are exactly the same as they were in xp. that is, it's an inert hive in the registry. the system doesn't manage it dynamically. in fact you can't even rearrange the context menu entries. so naturally when one of those badly coded uninstallers leave their crap there and remove the associated library, you got yourself a pretty blue screen to stare at.

 

[Israeli_Eagle]

Hmmm... But Win10 also might hide spyware data in the registry and 3rd party tools might delete them partly.

[ilcorsaro73]

 

I think that they are necessary because Windows 10 is an operating system of s**t

[mirassol]

Who says Ccleaner is reputed as Registry Cleaner anyway ?

[straycat19]

If Microsoft says you don't need it then you really do.  

[DKT27]

The problem is as mentioned above, uninstalled programs leave traces behind even when an uninstaller product is used.

 

But the question arises does cleaning registry causes problems or does keeping non-useful entries does.

 

I have personally stopped using them though. It's waste of time I think.

[Jordan]

i used ccleaner+autoruns+process explorer since years. never had a problem

you just need to know exactly what you're stopping or deleting

a minimum of knowledge is needed in such cases, thats why those registry optimizers exists

& they are intended for begginers who can't deal with registry, but they can be harmful for sure if you click next next next!

golden rules:

- always have backups

- read carefully before stopping/deleting things

- if you don't know what it is, don't delete it

- search the web for documentation

- don't install too much crap. only what you need

- make tests in vm or sandbox

- & finally, prefer portable apps if available

[wallofasgard]

Never had any problems with ccleaner too...and no way that i am going to allow malware or PUP remnants to stay on my registry...that just feels so wrong.

[palmpre3]

I still prefer jv16 power tools

[dac]

I have used Ccleaner for years, never caused any problems. Have revived peoples computers with it that would barely work before running it.

[flash48]

Software companies usually put a time-stamp entry somewhere in the registry to make their trail-ware apps expire. It will surely be bad for business If a registry cleaner removes the time-stamp; The trail-ware app will never expire.  Now you know the real  reason why MS and others do not recommend you to clean your registry.

[DKT27]

On 31/12/2015 at 6:51 PM, flash48 said:

Software companies usually put a time-stamp entry somewhere in the registry to make their trail-ware apps expire. It will surely be bad for business If a registry cleaner removes the time-stamp; The trail-ware app will never expire.  Now you know the real  reason why MS and others do not recommend you to clean your registry.

 

I think registry cleaners do not clean the timestamps. Common registry cleaners usually target particular registries. Software makers are usually aware of that and place them in the different part of registry and named differently. Eitherway, their work is to clean only things that are not valid anymore, so not to clean the ones which are in use currently like trial timestamps and such.

[mikie]

Windows 10 automatically cleans up the registry monthly. 

Woman programmers I guess.

 

First run of ccleaner reg cleanup after a fresh install or reinstall or upgrade install of win10 here - its pretty easy to exclude Microsoft items - for me anyhow.   After that let ccleaner rip out all it finds on the registry scans seems to work ok with my ways of doing things.   But I still go into the registry fairly often and manually remove things I would have thought CCleaner should have already deleted .. same with the Program and other folders.. often delete folders that CCleaner left behind.   Ccleaner is kind of a light weight with its reg cleaner that misses a lot of easy stuff but still does have some value I think.

 

I've seen windows do its own registry cleanups too on some x# of days with its own automatic maintenance routines too.

 

WinMend defrags the registry here and saves a few bytes too - every now and then you can actually see or feel some things happen quicker from its job done well. Or its all just a feel good mind trick that works for me  

[wavymavy]

On ‎12‎/‎31‎/‎2015 at 6:21 AM, flash48 said:

Software companies usually put a time-stamp entry somewhere in the registry to make their trail-ware apps expire. It will surely be bad for business If a registry cleaner removes the time-stamp; The trail-ware app will never expire.  Now you know the real  reason why MS and others do not recommend you to clean your registry.

 

Very much agree.  Look at the registry before and after various installs and you can see the footprints.

[mjall]

Microsoft would have noticed some trackers of their being removed by CC and that is why they are pissed of it perhaps none less what most of you mentioned is correct

 

there is no one way solution to cleaning a registry and I would always use a cleaner for the sake of advertisement which unnecessary websites store on your pc to trace what you are doing - bottom line - never trust anyone except your instincts based on experience in OS systems