Ok to delete the registry from windows computer

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the implications of deleting the Windows registry, with participants questioning the validity of advice given by a friend regarding this action as a means to speed up a computer. The scope includes technical explanations, personal experiences, and concerns about system stability.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested, Technical explanation, Personal experience

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express skepticism about the advice to delete the registry, highlighting that it would render the computer inoperable.
  • Others suggest that the friend's recommendation may have been misunderstood, proposing that cleaning the registry with tools like CCleaner is a safer alternative.
  • A participant shares a personal experience attempting to delete the registry, detailing the technical challenges faced and the resulting system instability.
  • Concerns are raised about the risks of messing with the registry, with some arguing that any attempt to delete it could lead to severe issues requiring a complete reinstallation of Windows.
  • There are suggestions to ask the friend for a demonstration of their advice, indicating doubts about their expertise.
  • One participant emphasizes the importance of managing the registry rather than deleting it, comparing it to putting all eggs in one basket.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that deleting the registry is a bad idea and would likely lead to significant problems. However, there is disagreement on the effectiveness and necessity of cleaning the registry, with some advocating for caution and others suggesting it may not yield noticeable improvements.

Contextual Notes

Participants note various limitations in their understanding of registry management and the potential consequences of deleting registry keys, indicating a lack of consensus on the best practices for handling the Windows registry.

duhuhu
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My friend who's job is to work with computers all day told me to delete my registry completely to speed up my computer. Now obviously this raises a couple red flags. Is he right? Is it really ok to completely wipe out the registry on my computer?
 
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duhuhu said:
My friend who's job is to work with computers all day told me to delete my registry completely to speed up my computer. Now obviously this raises a couple red flags. Is he right? Is it really ok to completely wipe out the registry on my computer?

You computer will not run with no registry :)

I think he means to clean it. There are several free tools to do this.

CCleaner is quite good for free
http://download.cnet.com/CCleaner/
 
no, he told me to straight up delete my registry. But I am beginning to think that maybe I should not go to him for advise anymore...
 
duhuhu said:
no, he told me to straight up delete my registry. But I am beginning to think that maybe I should not go to him for advise anymore...

That's a good call. You're computer will be broken if you do that and you'll need to reinstall Windows.
 
You should ask this 'friend' if he has followed his own advice.
 
He was messing with you. I would not even try to clean it either. You wouldn't notice any speed improvement anyway and you run the risk of seriously messing up your computer. Leave the registry alone.
 
As other have said, the only way to recover from that mistake would be to reinstall Windows and all the other applications you had installed.
Some day, when I'm about to overwrite a hard drive anyway, I'll try exporting and then emptying the registry to see if the OS is completely killed or just extensively incapacitated.
 
Ask your "friend" to demonstrate on his computer.
 
montoyas7940 said:
Ask your "friend" to demonstrate on his computer.

+1 on that !
 
  • #10
I just had the opportunity to try this. I had a Windows 7 system that I needed to sent to my IT department to wipe. So before sending it, I tried deleting the registry.

It isn't as easy as I thought.

First: You cannot delete the keys at the "HKEY" level, so you have go to the next level where there are hundreds and hundreds of keys to delete.
Second: Even after taking ownership and full access to all keys, I still could not delete every key. I could delete about 50% of those under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT; all but Software under HKEY_CURRENT_USER (although "Keyboard Layout" kept reappearing); and nothing (or, at least, no complete key) under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. However, when I got to HKEY LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM, things started to fall apart. I kept getting a message box, "LicenseManRes.dll could not be found." and the registry editor hung. Control-Alt-Delete gave me an error message.
Cycling power put me into "Startup Repair" that gave me the option of restoring to a earlier point in time. I selected "Restore".
Ultimately it issued the message "Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically". It gave me the option to send information about this problem, and a few selections later it gave me the option to restart - which I took.
This started up "Startup Repair" - so I canceled and recycled power. The only options were Start Repair or open Windows normally - both put me into Startup Repair. There was no option to enter SAFE mode.

So I restarted with F8 and selected SAFE mode with Command Prompt. This got as far as loading CI.dll (not very far) and then dropped back into "Startup Repair". I allowed this to run one more time - and it failed.
 
  • #11
montoyas7940 said:
Ask your "friend" to demonstrate on his computer.

The answer might be "well, it still runs Linux OK". :smile:
 
  • #12
Simply put, the Windows Registry is all your eggs in one basket. Delete the basket = lose all your eggs. Manage it, Clean It, Care for It, but Delete it? Never!

Regarding managing the beast, for the life of me I can't fathom why only recently has SED come to Windows.
 

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