14 DAY TRIAL // How many times have you thought about cleaning the registry? I for one like cleaning it manually, but the job I do is superficial as I cannot possibly check every folder listed in Windows Registry and remove the obsolete items. I do that just to fool myself that the operation is more successful than if I were to use only a registry cleaner.
Of course, the number of registry cleaning tools has always been growing and the users can now pick from a myriad of softwares that are boasting with their abilities to clean every bit of useless information in the registry. That is a big BS as I have not yet found the software that can make my registry 100% clean. However, some softwares do a better job than others and those are the ones I would rather use.
Smart Registry is a viable solution for cleaning the unwanted registry entries. The price of the utility is $19.95 and the only restriction imposed by the developer is fixing the problems detected by the software. This would not be an issue for experienced users, as they can see from a glimpse if the detected problems are indeed problems or not. However, an inexperienced user would also like to see the effects that the cleaning will have on the performance of the computer and speeding it up is one of them.
The interface looks very good. It is nice and clean and all users can easily get accustomed to it. The options are arranged vertically on the left side of the application window. Scanning is the first one and the user can choose the areas to be checked by Smart Registry. Users can choose to scan the computer for invalid shortcuts, registry integrity, Windows Fonts, Shared Program Files, Help Files, Startup Programs, File Associations (here reside most of the problems), Application Paths, System Services or Sound Section. VXD sections can also be verified, but this option will have an effect only on Windows 95/98 and ME as it is a virtual device driver and runs only under the mentioned operating systems.
A complete scan of the registry will not take more than two minutes and you will be displayed the number of problems detected for each section as well as the total number of detected issues. Also, the user can see the paths of the problems and can manually fix them (but in the case of more then 40-50 problems this task can become quite time consuming and tiresome).
The Settings area is quite arid, but the options included are useful enough for securing your computer and keeping it running in the normal performance parameters. You can restore the registries from the latest backup and enable performing the scan on application load. The restoring will be made only if the user chose to take security measures and used the Backup function provided.
Backup option is selective and the user can choose the items to be restored from the latest backup operation. Selecting the date of the backup session is provided by the application; this way, you can elect a date when you know your computer was running normally in case you do not know which exactly are the items that should be restored.
The startup manager included in the application allows preventing unnecessary processes to load with Windows and consume resources for nothing. The options available in this window let you enable/disable all the items or select the desired ones and remove/restore the ones you check. This is an alternative to Windows System Configuration utility that practically allows you to enforce almost the same actions.
The Good
Very light in what concerns resource usage and extremely easy to use. The interface allows quick handling and the scanning takes a very short time to complete.
The user can perform backups and if something goes wrong, the restoring option can be used to restore all the files or only part of them.
The Bad
I am concerned about the price as there are similar utilities that cost less or are even free. Also, the fact that the developer does not allow users to fully test the application can be considered as a drawback (but not by me).
I noticed a slight slowing down when going from one feature to another. The application tends to freeze for a second and then obey your command.
The Truth
I think I will stick to my EasyCleaner and Ccleaner combination in order to keep my registry tidy.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
