Maurice writes:

<<Does anyone in the group know anything about a registry utility call "PC =
Bug Doctor"? >>

Forget it.

Registry cleaners at best only do a very superficial job, over-aggessive
ones can wreak havoc, and the milder ones don't do much other than remove a
few dead software entries ( but seldom all).

The removal of these entries is not significant, and I've never noticed any
real-world difference after running any of them, even though some look
quite impressive. The fact is, especially with XP, registries these days
are huge compared with the older systems, and removing a few redundant
entries is hardly worth the bother.

By far and away (I'd suggest the ONLY) effective registry cleaner is to
have a system of regular registry backups and replacements.  Keep one known
good copy of your registry files (User.dat and System.dat) to which you can
periodically return, plus a few later ones as you add new software and
settings. With a properly thought out registry replacement system, you'll
keep your computer running sweetly for years.

Don't rely on W98's inbuilt registry backups, as they don't keep for long
enough in default settings to be much practical use. Though you can change
that if you wish.

Not so vital for those running XP, as its System Restore takes care of
that, but still useful if you don't want to do a full System Restore.
System Restore also has serious limitations because it deletes backups
after a fairly short period. But there is a way to retain certain RP's
permanently.

Even better, use the free Microsoft utility ERU, or ERUNT for XP/2000. See
my Web tutorial for fuller details if need be.

Don Penlington
 From the Beach at Surfers Paradise in sunny Queensland.
Computer tutorials and other things at my website:
http://users.tpg.com.au/deepend/index1.html

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