How do I ... scan, cure, and optimize Windows with RegCure?
- Date: April 27th, 2009
- Author: Jack Wallen
- Category: How Do I, Performance, Windows Vista, Windows XP, tip
- Tags: Registry, Microsoft Windows, Error, RegCure Registry Cleaner, RegCure RegCure Registry Cleaner, Backups, Jack Wallen
- Special Reports » See more posts on: How do I
If you are a Windows user, you know how critical it is to keep your registry clear of obsolete, missing, and/or corrupt entries. Most users (and/or administrators) do not have the time or the skills to search through every registry entry to find problematic entries. For that reason, there are plenty of cleaners to handle the task. RegCure Registry Cleaner is one such program.
This blog post is also available in PDF format as a free TechRepublic download.
RegCure
RegCure Registry Cleaner fixes the following errors:
- Windows install errors
- Driver errors
- Windows boot errors
- JavaScript errors
- Windows and third-party application errors
- ActiveX errors
- EXE errors
- DLL errors
- Duplicate entries
- Invalid program shortcuts
- and many more
RegCure also contains a start-up manager tool that helps you enable or disable services at startup. The tool is as easy to use as it is to install.
Getting and installing
As with any Windows application, installing RegCure is just a matter of downloading the installation file. Once you have that file downloaded, double-click it to begin the installation process. You will be happy to know there is nothing out of the ordinary for the installation.
Once RegCure is installed, you can select to run the application upon completion of the install.
The main window
Every action of RegCure is handled through a single window, as shown in Figure A. This window has five main buttons, four each to handle a specific task and one to show the results of a scan.
Figure A
Once you click on a task, you only have to click the Scan button to Start Scan.
Obviously the first task to handle is to take a peek at the Settings window and make sure the RegCure settings fit your needs.
From the Settings window (Figure B), you will see three tabs. The first tab, General Settings, will allow you to configure RegCure to shut down after repair, automatically repair after scanning, create a system restore point, check for updates, and prompt before downloading updates. From the Ignore List tab you can manage a list of ignored issues that you create post-scan. From the Scheduling tab you can schedule automatic scans.
Figure B
If you select to automatically repair issues, you might accidentally “fix” an issue that you do not want fixed.
Once you have your settings taken care of, click on the Scan button. From this window select each of the items you want to include in the scan. After you have made your selections, click the Scan Now button and RegCure will do its thing.
On a Vista laptop, the full scan took under two minutes and found 838 problems (Figure C). These problems range from ActiveX entry issues to File Associations.
Figure C
If you’re confident in the results, click the Next button to have RegCure fix your issues.
Once the scan is done, click Scan to resolve all the issues found. The next screen will allow you to select specific issues for RegCure to NOT fix. Of course if you are using an unregistered copy of RegCure you will be able to repair only font issues and file associations.
Licenses for RegCure start at $29.95 for a single computer and go up to $549.00 for an unlimited site license.
Backup
RegCure also contains a backup option, which creates a backup of your registry. It is very wise to make a backup of your registry before doing any editing on it. When you make a backup, make sure you are backing up a current, working registry.
With this backup in place, should problems arise with your registry, you can always go back to that working registry. Use this with caution of course. If you have installed new applications since your last backup, those new applications will not run.
The backup (or system restore point) is created prior to any repairs being committed to your registry. This means that every time you run RegCure you will get a new backup.
To restore to a backup registry, just click on the Backup button, select the registry you want to restore to, and click the Restore button (Figure D).
Figure D
If your list of backups starts getting out of hand, it would be wise to delete backups you know you do not need.
Start-up manager
The last feature of RegCure is the Start-up manager. This feature allows you to select various services and prevent them from starting at boot. To do this, click on the Manage Startup button, go through the list of services (Figure E), select those services you do not want to start, and click Disable Selected.
Figure E
You can hit the Select All, but most likely you will not want to keep every service from starting.
This is a simple way to stop some services from running without having to delete the application.
Final thoughts
If you are looking for an outstanding solution for the often-troubling issues that are caused by the Windows registry, RegCure is the solution for you. It’s easy to use and reliable and will keep your registry clean and free of errors.
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Jack Wallen is the host of the TechRepublic open source blog as well as a regular writer in the "10 Things..." and the "How Do I..." blogs. Previously, he worked at TechRepublic as the Editor in Chief of Linux content and was integral in creating the original Linux portion of TechRepublic. Jack has been using and advocating the Linux operating system for over ten years now and will continue his zealotry until the penguin finally reaches its goal of world domination. Read his full bio and profile.
| 04/27/09
