WIn 10 Registry Cleaner?

[An0maly_76]

Despite a RAM swap that solved most of my issues, I've still had a couple isolated no-video starts with my 5900X build. They seem to occur after losing AC power, or if the PSU rocker switch is turned off, which doesn't happen often, as I have a UPS. Still think something is screwy with my board or PSU, but the infrequency makes proving one or the other near-impossible at this point.

 

Obviously, the system's had forced hard shutdowns via power switch, likely with Win 10 loaded just fine. I have noticed recently that File Manager is taking longer and longer to load, especially certain file storage, and my browser has started acting stupid as well. Google-fu indicates registry issues, confirmed by McAfee, but apparently Win10 doesn't come with a registry cleaner. I can't seem to find anywhere to download the stock one, and I'm skeptical of most I find that are free downloads due to malware. Any ideas?

[Gokul_P]

Windows explorer lags on a good day  . Avast has a cleaning tool ( https://www.avast.com/lp-ppc-avast-cleanup-scan?ppc_code=013&ppc=e&gclsrc=3p.ds&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=en-in_clp_sch_gen_exc_bng_dtp&utm_term=registry fixer&utm_content=registry-exact#pc ) it is just a 30D free trail btw after that you have to pay. and i seen avast antivirus offline scan fixing corrupted register entries( I think it was avast i usually download one of the free trials and run a scan and unistall it so really cant remember)  i doubt these do anything but if you think it does

[DigitalGoat]

10 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

Despite a RAM swap that solved most of my issues, I've still had a couple isolated no-video starts with my 5900X build. They seem to occur after losing AC power, or if the PSU rocker switch is turned off, which doesn't happen often, as I have a UPS. Still think something is screwy with my board or PSU, but the infrequency makes proving one or the other near-impossible at this point.

 

Obviously, the system's had forced hard shutdowns via power switch, likely with Win 10 loaded just fine. I have noticed recently that File Manager is taking longer and longer to load, especially certain file storage, and my browser has started acting stupid as well. Google-fu indicates registry issues, confirmed by McAfee, but apparently Win10 doesn't come with a registry cleaner. I can't seem to find anywhere to download the stock one, and I'm skeptical of most I find that are free downloads due to malware. Any ideas?

A registry cleaner will do nothing for you, unused registry entries make no difference to a system. Your issue could be caused by incorrect mounting of the CPU cooler, failing memory controller on the CPU, failing RAM slot, damaged traces between CPU and RAM, debris in the RAM slots, dirty and/ or insufficient contacts on the RAM modules, loose connection at either end of the display cable and the list goes on.

It is possible an improper shutdown has hosed the system in some way, but again a registry cleaner will not help you there.

Use SFC /scannow to check for Windows file corruption.

Check the disk for file system errors with checkdisk and for physical errors with HDSentinel or similar.

A repair install of the OS would probably help if the are no hardware issues found, this will re install Windows files and associated registry entries and settings while keeping your apps and files, there are several good sites with tutorials for how to do this, tenforums and elevenforums are good tutorial sources.

Remove McAfee.

[Eigenvektor]

The only reliable way to "clean" the registry is to do a fresh install.

 

The registry is essentially just a key/value store where every program can add whatever keys and values it likes. Cleaning it is, at best, guesswork - is that key/value pair still used by something? No, let's simply delete it. Oops, now I have more issues. It'll do virtually nothing to improve performance.

[manikyath]

3 minutes ago, Gokul_P said:

Windows explorer lags on a good day  . Avast has a cleaning tool ( https://www.avast.com/lp-ppc-avast-cleanup-scan?ppc_code=013&ppc=e&gclsrc=3p.ds&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=en-in_clp_sch_gen_exc_bng_dtp&utm_term=registry fixer&utm_content=registry-exact#pc ) it is just a 30D free trail btw after that you have to pay. and i seen avast antivirus offline scan fixing corrupted register entries( I think it was avast i usually download one of the free trials and run a scan Often and unistall it so really cant remember) 

this sort of apps are hot garbage these days. windows has been doing better with keeping the registry sensible, and the app developers somehow decide to cram more and more nonesne into them that's *actual* snake oil.

 

if you care, source:

Spoiler

i used to work for a place that, among other things, did 6-monthly maintenances on all managed systems, part of that maintenance was running ccleaner. in the days most of it was win7, we'd clear about 700-1200 items out the registry on average. if it was skipped past maintenance, that'd be near the 2000 items mark at times. the last time i ran ccleaner as part of the maintenance process (before we ditched it..) i dont think i've seen triple digits on any but the most 'fucked up' machines, and the hits it did find were just mundane things that really had no sensible impact.

 

also to note, these numbers are HUGELY inflated, because most of these machines were VERY heavily used, and the majority of the things it "found" literally dont matter at all.

 

---

on topic: dont mess with the registry, registry isnt your problem here.

 

start with some stuff that windows *can* do for you, before you start potentially breaking even more stuff with registry cleaners:

open CMD as admin and run this:

sfc /scannow

then run this

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

 

another thing to try is to clear "file explorer history", i've seen that help occasionally as well.

open an explorer window, right click the "quick access" thingy, click 'options'.

this brings up the "folder options" thing, at the bottom in 'privacy' there's a thing "clear file explorer history", click clear, and click OK.

[An0maly_76]

21 minutes ago, DigitalGoat said:

A registry cleaner will do nothing for you, unused registry entries make no difference to a system. Your issue could be caused by incorrect mounting of the CPU cooler, failing memory controller on the CPU, failing RAM slot, damaged traces between CPU and RAM, debris in the RAM slots, dirty and/ or insufficient contacts on the RAM modules, loose connection at either end of the display cable and the list goes on.

It is possible an improper shutdown has hosed the system in some way, but again a registry cleaner will not help you there.

Use SFC /scannow to check for Windows file corruption.

Check the disk for file system errors with checkdisk and for physical errors with HDSentinel or similar.

A repair install of the OS would probably help if the are no hardware issues found, this will re install Windows files and associated registry entries and settings while keeping your apps and files, there are several good sites with tutorials for how to do this, tenforums and elevenforums are good tutorial sources.

Remove McAfee.

 

19 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

The only reliable way to "clean" the registry is to do a fresh install.

 

The registry is essentially just a key/value store where every program can add whatever keys and values it likes. Cleaning it is, at best, guesswork - is that key/value pair still used by something? No, let's simply delete it. Oops, now I have more issues. It'll do virtually nothing to improve performance.

Fresh install. Damn, I was really hoping to avoid that...@DigitalGoat's mention of memory controller is interesting. Not knowing about compatibility lists, I initially used RAM not listed for several months, experiencing multiple issues. The fact that swapping for listed RAM greatly reduced these issues to only when power is lost or PSU rocker switch is turned off might suggest that extended use of the previous kit has damaged the IMC. As long as I don't let the system sleep or completely disconnect power, it starts just fine. I've never seen a system do this before.

 

ADDED: Also, this lag seems to be particularly bad when accessing my 8TB WD Black, which has over 260 movies on it. Could that much data cause File Explorer to slow down that much? I've been considering an SSD or even a second M.2 for the movies, but I'm skeptical that a second M.2 would compromise GPU performance, and while an SSD would improve throughput (the 8TB hits 226 mbps vs a SATA SSD's typical 560ish), I'm not sure how how noticeable it would be.

Edited February 12, 2023 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info

[aDoomGuy]

Agree to the above, if Windows have been shut down unexpectedly enough times I think the issue will be with files not old registry keys. If SFC and DISM don't help a clean install WILL. Clean install and a winget script and maybe some custom batch/powershell scripts to bulk install applications. Will get you nice and started.

[Eigenvektor]

1 minute ago, An0maly_76 said:

Fresh install. Damn, I was really hoping to avoid that...

I'd see that as a last resort. Just saying that cleaning the registry is very unlikely to help. I'd definitely try the steps other people have been pointing out first.

[An0maly_76]

@Eigenvektor@aDoomGuy@manikyath@DigitalGoat@Gokul_P

 

I added this to my last post, seemingly too late...

 

This lag seems to be particularly bad when accessing my 8TB WD Black, which has over 260 movies on it. Especially after adding one (I've been adding and redoing a few to correct a technical issue I resolved).

 

Could that much data cause File Explorer to slow down that much? I've been considering an SSD or even a second M.2 for the movies, but PCIe lane swapping with a second M.2 would compromise GPU performance, and while a SATA SSD would improve throughput (the 8TB hits 226 mbps vs a SATA SSD's typical 560ish), I'm not sure how how noticeable it would be.

Edited February 12, 2023 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info

[Gokul_P]

7 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

@Eigenvektor@aDoomGuy@manikyath@DigitalGoat@Gokul_P

 

I added this to my last post, seemingly too late...

 

This lag seems to be particularly bad when accessing my 8TB WD Black, which has over 260 movies on it. Especially after adding one (I've been adding and redoing a few to correct a technical issue I resolved).

 

Could that much data cause File Explorer to slow down that much? I've been considering an SSD or even a second M.2 for the movies, but PCIe lane swapping with a second M.2 would compromise GPU performance, and while a SATA SSD would improve throughput (the 8TB hits 226 mbps vs a SATA SSD's typical 560ish), I'm not sure how how noticeable it would be.

Better  idea is building a nas, You could try turning on/off indexing on that 8tb drive and may be it solve the issue or just replace windows file explorer for good alternatives is also a good idea.

[manikyath]

13 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

This lag seems to be particularly bad when accessing my 8TB WD Black,

what's SMART data like on the drive?

[DigitalGoat]

A clean/ fresh install is not always needed in situations like the OP's, a repair install would probably be fine, this keeps the users files and apps intact but replaces the Windows files, apps, drivers and registry values, potentially solving intermittent and non hardware based problems.

Some Windows settings might be re set to defaults as a result but they are easy enough to customise again, worth the effort before considering a clean install.

[An0maly_76]

14 minutes ago, manikyath said:

what's SMART data like on the drive?

To be honest, I only recently started noticing this, so I haven't gone that far, and haven't had to do that before. Is this BIOS accessible or would CrystalDiskInfo show this?

[An0maly_76]

23 minutes ago, Gokul_P said:

Better  idea is building a nas, You could try turning on/off indexing on that 8tb drive and may be it solve the issue or just replace windows file explorer for good alternatives is also a good idea.

Yeah, I'm just using the 5900X for the moment, as that's the machine I'm recording / ripping on.

 

I have a couple 2nd-gen Intel budget gaming builds I was hoping to flip, but it seems like those interested want to pay $100 for something with $400 of new parts. A NAS seems like a better repurposing. Would a GTX750ti or GTX1050 be okay for recording / ripping movies, you think? Both EVGA SC cards, 2 and 4 GB.

Edited February 12, 2023 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info

[manikyath]

1 hour ago, An0maly_76 said:

To be honest, I only recently started noticing this, so I haven't gone that far, and haven't had to do that before. Is this BIOS accessible or would CrystalDiskInfo show this?

crystaldiskinfo.

 

in particular read/write/seek error rate is what is of interest to me in this case.

[An0maly_76]

1 hour ago, manikyath said:

crystaldiskinfo.

 

in particular read/write/seek error rate is what is of interest to me in this case.

Keep in mind, the machine is being used as a Plex server for now and stays running, but that may change in the future.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info