Some applications mostly downloaded from the internet, leave a series of traces or temporal files in our PC allowing Windows to run slower and taking up valuable hard disk space. CCleaner removes those files from your system and optimizes your Windows registry.

CCleaner

With all of the files that get downloaded from the Internet every day, plus the daily use of the computer, it’s no surprise that trails and scraps of data build up over time and slow down your machine. When this happens, the best thing is to get rid of superfluous elements to improve system performance and free up valuable space on the hard disk.

Now, the team at Piriform brings us the latest version of their CCleaner . This cleaner is one of the most useful programs for eliminating unnecessary system registry entries, temporary files, web browser histories and cache, cookies and the virtual scraps left behind by old, previously removed programs.

CCleaner features a user friendly interface allowing multiple operations quick and easily. Upon opening the program you will see a navigation panel located on the left-hand side, with an icon for each of the 4 main sections of the program: Cleaner (for files), Registry (for cleaning out the Windows registry), Tools (for removing programs and cleaning Windows Startup) and Options (for changing the settings). This navigation panel also includes a link to the online help, in English. CCleaner is very easy to use since all its features are presented in the main window and any registry or cleaning tools can be run just by clicking on them.

Using the application is pretty simple but, unless you’re an advanced user, we advise you to use the default CCleaner options when searching for elements to clean, and to make backups of whatever the program suggests before proceeding.

According to its developers, the improvements made in CCleaner range from the addition of a selection box for Startup elements, better index.dat detection, and more secure deleting, to support for cleaning Windows Vista thumbnails and ImgBurn files.

The program won’t be able to perform miracles if the operating system is at death’s door and its effectiveness will also depend on the how the computer being analysed has been used, but apart from these understandable limitations this is an effective program that lives up to its promises.

Download CCleaner

Databases made for storing Windows settings and options must be optimized at all time to take full advantage of your system´s performance. It may seem like a task for experienced users only, but Ccleaner will enable any kind of user to clean and optimize Windows registry with just a few clicks.

The majority of the problems with Windows are, in one way or another, related to its registry. This registry takes care of storing information – as entries in a hierarchical database – about everything to do with the configuration and behaviour of the operating system, the software that is installed, and the hardware itself.

As such, the condition of this registry has a huge influence on whether or not your computer runs at its best, something which is very unlikely if you’ve had your operating system installed for a long time or if you’re in the habit of installing and uninstalling lots of programs. To solve this problem, all you need is CCleaner, a program which will, among other things, take care of searching for all the unnecessary entries in the Windows registry. Here we explain how to use it.

Installing CCleaner is very simple, so we’re going to skip straight to the action.

1. When opened, the program first displays the cleaner tool that it comes with for removing unwanted files from the PC. Since our major interest is working with the REGISTRY, you should click on its icon, which is the one placed on the left of the window, next to the other main options.

2. CCleaner displays on the left-hand side of the screen a list of the issues that will be searched for (under the heading Registry Integrity). By default, all elements are selected and, unless you want to keep some of them, we recommend that you leave it that way and click directly on “Scan for Issues” to start scanning the registry.

3. Once the application has finished going through the registry it will display the list of invalid entries found there. At this point, unless you want to pick which of these are to be repaired and which not, we recommend you leave them all selected and click on “Fix selected issues”. This is when a pop-up window will ask you if you want to make a backup before making the changes and you should answer Yes, since any change that has a negative effect on your computer can therefore be undone easily.

4. After this, the final step begins when CCleaner opens up a new window in which you will see information about each registry entry and the recommended Solution. You’ll be able to browse through and work with the entries one by one or simply opt to “Repair entire selection” to do the job quickly, easily and efficiently. Once you confirm the elimination of the entries, all you need to do is click Close, exit the program and restart the PC for Windows to start-up with a clean and tidy registry.

As shown here, the processes run by the program are too simple and guarantee noticeable improvements in the system. CCleaner should be a part of the daily maintenance every computer needs to make the most of its system’s potential.

Download CCleaner