Just installed the Giveaway version. Thanks for the tip. Do you favor the registry cleaner because it's less likely to do damage like CCleaner's?
-Midnight Rambler
I more or less took a shot with the Registry Cleaner because I had Tweaking.com Registry Backups. They use the VSS service to back up all the hives even though Windows is running. So I thought I could try it without taking too much of a chance. Turns out on reading the Tweaking restore instructions I have to go into Safe Mode, and I don't think this open box Laptop will do that anymore. But the Wise Registry Cleaner itself automatically makes a backup so I wasn't totally without a parachute.
I figure it must do a pretty good job of finding dead references because it always seems to find at least 160 things it wants to fix in the registry. Glary Utilities, which I also have, is a Registry Repair. Typically a scan will find zero or one errors.
But from memory I would guess the Wise cleaner is on a par with the CCleaner Registry module. One of these days I have to try to figure out why this beast does not want to boot into safe mode. Edit: No biggie. Turns out I just had to hold down F8 on the built-in keyboard. The F8 on the USB keyboard doesn't work right at the start of the boot. One problem solved.
Or just byte the bullet and toss it. I should get a lightweight detachable keyboard touch screen type PC with Windows 10 on it to tide me over until I have a desk to put a desktop on again.
Also I do have to admit I like the display. The categories it cleans are in a nice table so you have a clear idea what kind of stuff it wants to cut out. But for those who enjoy getting freeware that does the job well I think I would recommend the Wise Disk Cleaner Portable and Wise Registry Cleaner Portable programs. They should be fine for running from a thumb drive and they are updated as frequently as the Pro version afaict from casual observation.
Sorry for the long-winded response. I am just sort of thinking out loud.
