Comments on: Free Registry Defrag – Defragment the Windows registry http://4sysops.com/archives/free-registry-defrag-defragment-the-windows-registry/ For Windows Administrators Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:02:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: CharlesKane http://4sysops.com/archives/free-registry-defrag-defragment-the-windows-registry/comment-page-1/#comment-143187 CharlesKane Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:12:43 +0000 http://4sysops.com/?p=3728#comment-143187 My comment stands. For a tool that is so widely offered you would rightly expect that there was some - nay let me say ANY - evidence that it worked or even had any effect whatsoever. I have yet to see any. Whilst fragmentation of a database could occur a bland claim that this is a "common problem" solves nothing at all. What is the problem? Fragmentation alone on a modern rig with present speeds almost certainly means nothing. I can't find it now - but Mark Russinovich talked about this in his blog (or somewhere) - he came down on the side of a view that it was possible that the occasional use of a registry CLEANER might be useful in some particular situations but that a registry defragmenter could not be recommended. I have searched high and low. I have found plenty of evidence of users having problems after using Registry cleaners/defraggers and a lot of almost religious claims about how wonderful they are but nothing to suggest there is any benefit after using such a tool at all. My comment stands.
For a tool that is so widely offered you would rightly expect that there was some – nay let me say ANY – evidence that it worked or even had any effect whatsoever. I have yet to see any. Whilst fragmentation of a database could occur a bland claim that this is a “common problem” solves nothing at all. What is the problem? Fragmentation alone on a modern rig with present speeds almost certainly means nothing.
I can’t find it now – but Mark Russinovich talked about this in his blog (or somewhere) – he came down on the side of a view that it was possible that the occasional use of a registry CLEANER might be useful in some particular situations but that a registry defragmenter could not be recommended.
I have searched high and low. I have found plenty of evidence of users having problems after using Registry cleaners/defraggers and a lot of almost religious claims about how wonderful they are but nothing to suggest there is any benefit after using such a tool at all.

]]> By: Michael Pietroforte http://4sysops.com/archives/free-registry-defrag-defragment-the-windows-registry/comment-page-1/#comment-143089 Michael Pietroforte Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:15:03 +0000 http://4sysops.com/?p=3728#comment-143089 Charles, the registry is just a database and database fragmentation is a common problem. The longer you work with a database the more fragmented it will become. If your computer will be faster after defragmentation depends on many parameters, for instance how big your registry is, how heavily it is fragmented and how fast your computer is. Microsoft offers many tools you need for Windows but certainly not all. This is a good thing because otherwise there would be no other software companies. And what's your problem with snake oil? It helps against joint pain. ;-) Charles, the registry is just a database and database fragmentation is a common problem. The longer you work with a database the more fragmented it will become. If your computer will be faster after defragmentation depends on many parameters, for instance how big your registry is, how heavily it is fragmented and how fast your computer is. Microsoft offers many tools you need for Windows but certainly not all. This is a good thing because otherwise there would be no other software companies. And what’s your problem with snake oil? It helps against joint pain. ;-)

]]> By: CharlesKane http://4sysops.com/archives/free-registry-defrag-defragment-the-windows-registry/comment-page-1/#comment-142140 CharlesKane Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:19:47 +0000 http://4sysops.com/?p=3728#comment-142140 Sounds like snake oil to me. I've never seen a skerrick of evidence that "defragmenting" the registry can provide any benefit whatsoever whether it be speed or integrity. Were such evidence available surely it would have been published by now - or that one of the paid registry defrag apps would have made such claims as a leverage to their sales. As usual it is the usual vague - "speed up your system" claims entirely unsupported by evidence. If there are what you calls "gaps" the OS will simply ignore them, the DB doesn't need to be "sorted" coz the OS will do its "search and find" anyway. MS have never made a registry defrag tool, I'm unaware of them ever referring users to the need to defrag the registry (you'd think it would be in their interest to do so if it were needed). Especially on Win 7 DO NOT use a registry defragger - there are endless reports of blue screen and worse with some of the registry defraggers - is it worth the risk for something which may well provide zero benefit? Sounds like snake oil to me. I’ve never seen a skerrick of evidence that “defragmenting” the registry can provide any benefit whatsoever whether it be speed or integrity.

Were such evidence available surely it would have been published by now – or that one of the paid registry defrag apps would have made such claims as a leverage to their sales.

As usual it is the usual vague – “speed up your system” claims entirely unsupported by evidence. If there are what you calls “gaps” the OS will simply ignore them, the DB doesn’t need to be “sorted” coz the OS will do its “search and find” anyway.

MS have never made a registry defrag tool, I’m unaware of them ever referring users to the need to defrag the registry (you’d think it would be in their interest to do so if it were needed).

Especially on Win 7 DO NOT use a registry defragger – there are endless reports of blue screen and worse with some of the registry defraggers – is it worth the risk for something which may well provide zero benefit?

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