5 Best Free Registry Cleaners: Microsoft Windows Performance Enhancers

Posted by Vivek ||

August 23, 2008 ||

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Do you use Microsoft Windows operating system like Microsoft Vista, XP, ME or 98. If you do, did you find your system getting sluggish over a period of time. Do you know that one of the major reasons for a Windows based computer to get slow and sluggish is because of ever increasing size of something called as Windows Registry. In this post we are going to focus on solutions to trim the size of your windows registry and improve the performance of your system. But before that let’s see what Windows Registry is and what it does.

According to Wikipedia:

The Windows registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the operating system for Microsoft Windows 32-bit versions, 64-bit versions, and Windows Mobile. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, operating system software, most non-operating system software, users, preferences of the PC, etc. Whenever a user makes changes to Control Panel settings, file associations, system policies, or most installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the registry. The registry also provides a window into the operation of the kernel, exposing runtime information such as performance counters and currently active hardware.

Don’t worry if you didn’t get most of it. Trust me, neither did I . Anyways coming to the point, because of various reasons, you might feel a need to optimize your registry and the best way to do it use a good trusted Registry Optimizer or Registry cleaner. I strongly suggest that if you are not an expert, please avoid editing your registry manually and always take a backup of your registry before using any of the softwares we are going to suggest. We are not going to review any of the softwares which are not free, for that matter free for a trial period or shareware. This post will review registry cleaners, registry optimizer which are totally free and do not have any hidden costs associated with them.

1. CCleaner

CCleaner boasts of having been downloaded over 175 million times. It’s a free system optimizer and privacy and cleaning tool. Apart from trimming your Windows registry it also, clears traces of your online activity and frees up your hard disk. You can get a free copy of CCleaner free registry cleaner and optimizer here. The installer may prompt you to download some additional components from Microsoft, if you do not already have them installed.

2. TweakNow RegCleaner Standard

Regcleaner by TweakNow has been voted by PCWorld as one of Top 101 fantastic freebies. Following is what RegCleaner has to say about why you should use it:

Fast: using a high performance engine, TweakNow RegCleaner quickly scan your registry to find obsolete entries.
Accurate: using complex algorithm TweakNow RegCleaner accurately identify obsolete entries.
Secure: TweakNow RegCleaner automatically create backup file before deleting obsolete entries from your registry.

3. Abexo Free Registry Cleaner

Abexo Free Registry Cleaner is the free edition of Abexo Registry Cleaner. This is another good free registry cleaner. Although there is also a commercial version available, we are not going to discuss it as it’s beyond the scope of this article. All you need with Abexo Free Registry Cleaner is one click to optimize your registry.

4. GlarySoft Registry repair

GlarySoft’s registry repair boasts of being one of the safest registry cleaner in the industry. Following is what the official site says about GlarySoft’s registry repair:

Highly intelligent engine that finds invalid registry entries
High scanning speed with detailed result
Make backups of any registry change made
Improve system performance and stability
Simple and User friendly interface

The Cleaner tool will cleanup your Registry by finding

Invalid paths
Invalid file associations
Invalid file types
Invalid custom controls
Obsolete software entries
Dead file extensions
Invalid application paths
Invalid help paths
Invalid fonts
Obsolete start menu order
Adwares and Spywares that use registry
Invalid startup programs
Invalid shared programs
and all other dead entries through out the registry.

5. ToniArts EasyCleaner

I think, ToniArts EasyCleaner is described in the most simple manner possible by the owner. It reads, EasyCleaner is a small program which searches the Windows registry for entries that are pointing nowhere. It also helps delete unwanted files like the temp files and backup files.

List of features:

Very nice interface!
Finds invalid registry entries —-> deleting them speeds up your computer!
Finds duplicate files —-> deleting them will free disk space!
Finds all unnecessary files like backups, temps etc. —-> deleting them will free disk space!
Finds all invalid shortcuts —-> deleting them will free disk space and increase usability!
Manage programs starting at Windows startup! —-> who knows, you might even catch a virus before it gets serious!
Manage Windows add/remove software listing!
Easily remove Internet Explorer’s temporary Internet files, history and cookies!
Very user friendly!
Shows some interesting info about your disk space usage.
Very customizable.
Multi-language support!
Uses only little amount of recources while running!
Huge help file which gives you every little detail about EasyCleaner!
And much more…

As I said earlier please take a backup of your registry and if possible create a restore point before you use any of the above software. TNerd, has just presented you with an overview freely available registry cleaner and optimizer and we have no affiliation with any of the above software developers or their site. We will hold no responsibility and liability for any damage caused by any of the softwares mentioned above.

There are many other similar softwares however, according to us the above are the top 5 best freeware registry cleaners and optimizers not in any particular order.