14 DAY TRIAL // There has been enough said about the way Windows Registry influences your system's performance. The bottom line is resumed to this: the better you take care of it, the better your computer will behave. So cleaning it is a task each Windows user should enterprise regularly.
Just like in the case of defragmentation, there is no recommended time interval for proceeding to this action as it all depends on how you use your computer. If you install and uninstall software regularly then it is better if you performed this more often. Otherwise, it is best to program this activity at larger distances in time.
Useless to say, the applications capable of helping you in this endeavor are coming in hoards as the issue has always been hot. The best applications for the matter are coming both as paid versions and freeware. Eusing Free Registry Cleaner and Baku are just a drop in the ocean, just like CCleaner and EasyCleaner. The best part with all these software is that they are all free and doing a great job. Of course, just like I always say, using only one registry cleaner and proclaiming it the best is never a wise decision, and employing two or even three of them to clean up the largest part of the registry mess will pay off better.
And as it seems that this industry is only growing, here's another registry cleaner that also comes with additional functionality: RegistryWizard. The application costs $29.95 and evaluation version comes with some limitations which I am going to mention at the appropriate time.
I have to admit that the glossy interface is absolutely marvelous and integrates perfectly in Vista and it does not look bad at all in XP either. All the options are running down in the left hand side of the application window giving the user easy access to all the features.
Immediately after installation, the program will launch with your permission and start scanning the registry. Although the action has the best intentions, it definitely is not to my taste, especially when I have not even made the slightest configuration. After the operation is complete evaluation will permit you to repair only 30 errors.
If you want to see which locations were just scanned, take a trip to the last menu in the list ? Settings. Skip right to Custom Scan tab and take a look. RegistryWizard seems to be quite detailed in its search as it will hunt down no more than 24 different types of errors. Not too shabby for a newcomer. Among these, there is Type Library, Windows Associations, Applications, Drivers, Virtual Devices, Shared DLLs, Start Menu, Startup, Fonts, Application Locations, File Extensions, and Add/Remove Cache.
However, as pervasive as RegistryWizard may be in its scanning, there is one problem though. As I benefited from the full version of the software, I could test it properly. Regarding scanning, the program could not remove all detected errors from the test computer. At the first scan it detected 300+ invalid registry entries and managed to remove only a little over 100 of them. A second scan revealed 205 problems and the application could eliminate only 42 of them. A third and final scan with RegistryWizard showed 168 problems in the registry but it could resolve only 5 of them.
Besides stripping the registry of errors, RegistryWizard is also into optimization. There are no settings and no information on how this is achieved, only a big "Optimize" button that once pressed will start the process. If you are running the evaluation version, you can press it without fear as the feature is locked.
But I will tell you what happens. Once pressed, "Optimize" button will start processing something and the only visible change was its turning into "Undo" button. If you decide to use "Undo" button, all the enhancements made to your computer will be lost and all former values will be restored. Given the circumstances, you could say that RegistryWizard provides a "one-way" optimization.
Organize menu actually deals with registry defragmentation which indeed improves the performance of the system. Again, this option is restricted in evaluation version. If you have bought the application, you should be aware of the fact that after defragmentation process is over the system needs a reboot. Actually, the application states this clearly the moment you initiate the operation.
Monitor function is also disabled in the demo version of the software. However, you should know that once started, it will keep its eyes on the registry and monitor the changes that take place with or without your consent. The feature is supposed to continually watch a number of important registry entries and detect when the values are changed. Well, it did not record the change of Prefetch or Superfetch on Vista and set still when I disabled shortcut icon arrow overlay. But the moment I added a new program to the software it registered the change and the same happened when I uninstalled it.
The surprise option of the application is Vista Tweaks menu. Unfortunately not a very pleasant surprise as all the options available can be easily achieved by the user without the help of any application. The alternatives proposed by RegistryWizard to make Vista more to your taste are limited to enabling classic menu items, disable program compatibility assistant, enable Run in Start Menu, enable QuickLaunch, disable UAC and Ctr+Alt+Delete at Login. Needless to say that all of these are not at all tweaks and if you take a good look inside Vista you will definitely spot the way to accomplish them by yourself.
All the items removed from your registry are not discarded beyond recovery but stored by the application in a special location for later use. So if the software caused a boo-boo to your registry, you can patch it right up by using Restore function.
Also, for safety reasons you can enable the creation of a restore point before starting registry repairing. This will enable smooth sailing even if there are errors as you can revert to the previous state in no time.
After proper configuration of the application, users can set a default automatic startup action of the application. The three alternatives available are: Disabled (no action will take place), Scan and Repair and Monitor.
From Settings menu, you can perform a full registry backup to use in case something wrong happens. Unfortunately, during the operation, you will have no idea on the progress and all you can do is wait until the program finishes. One more thing: backup will be placed in system32 directory under RegistryWizard folder.
The Good
Whoever designed the interface did a hell of a job. Users have the possibility of backing up the registry and also create a restore point in Windows to recover from a possible disaster.
Although evaluation version comes with great restrictions you can fully test the software as the publisher offers 30 days satisfaction guarantee (if you do not like the software you get a full refund within 30 days).
The Bad
The application is a disaster when it comes to eliminating detected registry errors. All the other features (which are disabled in evaluation version of RegistryWizard) are a great mystery for the user as there is no clue about what they will do and how the end goal will be accomplished.
There are plenty of restrictions which make testing the application extremely difficult.
Considering all of the above mentioned, the price is quite something, as you are going to pay about 30 bucks on something that you do not know for sure how it will work.
The Truth
Words are not enough, and only testing the evaluation version of the application (with all precautions taken) will give you an idea about the software.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
