Registry Repair Wizard 2010
SmartPCTools Software brings Registry Repair Wizard 2010 to PC users who want a simple and complete registry cleaning tool that also defrags the registry and some other handy tools as well.
Ease of Use, Performance: 20/25
Look & Feel: 23/25
Features 18/25
How much I enjoy 18/25
Total: 79/100
SmartPCTools Software brings Registry Repair Wizard 2010 as its latest registry tool for cleaning and fixing errors in the PC registry along with a few other handy tools for keeping your computer running smoothly. Registry Repair Wizard 2010 is the latest release of this all in one registry tool that includes the registry scan and repair tool, a backup and restore tool for the registry, registry defragment tool, Startup organizer, Internet Explorer add-on organizer and a privacy eraser.
The Registry Repair Wizard has all the tools you would commonly need for cleaning and getting your computer up to speed for a commonly used routine of computer maintenance. Along with virus protection and general disc defragmentation the registry is the next line for computer maintenance that needs attention on a routine basis.
I regularly run a registry cleaner at least once a week on my own computers when not installing or removing programs just to catch any garbage that has gotten into my registry. The registry in a computer is the storage place for all kinds of instructions and information your computers operating system uses all the time.
The registry is the database location on your computer for settings and configurations so it is vital that this is one place that people keep clean as well as not mess with. The chances of having problems by removing the wrong things is high and just playing around in the registry can cause fatal errors.
Having a trustworthy program to remove errors and unwanted items is important and using this tool routinely will improve performance and keep your computer running smoothly. Just to touch on one thing before I continue, the registry will never be as good as new when you first installed Windows on any computer using any software program like registry cleaners.
When you first installed Windows it was clean without any extras and the more programs you install the more items end up in the registry. After awhile things tend to build and your computer will always go slightly slower with the more programs and hardware items you install.
But these extra programs do not add all that much to a registry and by slightly slower we are only talking milliseconds instead of any really easy to see time. Any program that claims it will restore your computer to just like it was when you first installed Windows or unboxed it from the factory is stretching the truth at least a little or a more often a lot.
The most you can hope for is that no problems are encountered using the registry cleaner and it does find problems and unwanted registry entries that are easy to remove without any further problems. Entries can be things like information about hardware or software that was previously removed and missed by the uninstall or even things that were temporary like installation instructions such as rebooting the computer after the installation.
These unwanted entries will be removed easily using a good registry cleaner and some helpful parts of the program come in the form of backups and restore programs. Backup and restore is a must with these types of programs so if something was removed that you needed it is easily retrieved and reinstalled.
Registry Repair Wizard 2010 is available as a trial software that allows you to repair two items which is about par for the course for trial software in registry cleaners. It allows you to test the software and see if you had problems with it but does not allow you to clean enough of your computer to make not purchasing the full version worthwhile.
The full version I am reviewing comes as a very quick download and you just insert the key and user name from your purchase email when you have the program installed. The program costs about $30 for a one year subscription and a lifetime subscription for $50 from the SmartPCTools website.
Installation only takes a minute and once installed simply enter or copy the code from your purchase into the appropriate registration box. You have a simple layout with Registry Repair Wizard with a main window with your current program information in the center toward the right hand side and the menus along the left side of the page.
At first installation the program will prompt you to backup a copy of your registry which I feel is not only required but should not even be asked. I think the program should just make the backup and if you did not want to backup you could always delete it yourself but Registry Repair Wizard gives you the choice.
When you open a main menu item it will list selections in that area below the heading for the various programs that are all common to that heading. Registry Repair Wizard has Scan & Clean, Backup & Restore, Defrag Registry, Startup Organizer, Internet Explorer BHO(Add-ons) Organizer and Privacy Eraser.
The other two menu items are Settings & Tools with Settings, Exception List, Advanced Tools and Online Help while the Product information is a small section with version information and your product license. All your main tools for this program are under Registry Repair with a good set of easy to use programs under one area and help is always available from the Question Mark Button in the upper right corner.
Once you have a backup of your registry in case anything goes wrong you can scan and clean your registry as well as use various tools like startup organizer to get rid of programs you don't need at the startup of your computer. The Internet Explorer add on or BHO organizer are parts of Internet Explorer that you may or may not need but it helps you find out what is on your computer that IE is using.
The Privacy Eraser is your main tool for deleting files from your recycle bin and other locations for quick and easy cleanup of your computer as well as a fast way to protect your privacy from snooping eyes. The Defrag Registry tool is not a very needed tool as it really does not need to be done on such a small area of your computer.
I have read several articles and opinions and the major consensus seems to be that the registry does not take up enough space on your hard drive. Defragging or defragmenting a drive or registry is simply organizing the software locations on the drive so that things are all stored in the same area for the same program.
When talking about programs on a hard drive like 500 gigabytes in size making sure programs are written and stored all together in the same physical location on the drive can save time when accessing that program. The registry is all saved in one special place reserved by the operating system and is not large enough in size to worry about needing to defragment as Windows already stores it in one place.
The second menu, Settings & Tools, has settings for the program like the page effects when using the program and some other things like home page for Internet Explorer and the Exceptions list for entries that Registry Repair will ignore due to being needed by Windows. Other parts that are very useful are the tools under Advanced Tools which is a list of tools from Windows that is the rest of your routine maintenance that every computer user should be performing.
While these tools such as Windows Backup, Disk Defragment and System Restore are part of Windows these shortcuts mean having all the computer tools for routine maintenance under one roof and in one location. Many registry repair programs have this and it has become a welcome addition to have all your routine maintenance tools in one program for easy computer repair and maintenance from one spot.
Running the main registry scan and repair is simple with the click of a button and it only takes a minute or two to run through a very full registry like I have. I found 333 items that needed attention the first time I ran the program on one computer.
The program removed the items quickly but some are the errors that are going to have to be ignored as they come from entries that cannot be erased. This is also something common to the registry and is a standard part of cleaners to find and place ignore or exceptions on entries that Windows cannot do without but are causing some sort of problem.
These problems are something you do not need to worry about and that is the reason for the exceptions list that records the entries the program will ignore in future scans. The scan found errors that are almost identical to two other programs I have routinely used for my registry scanning in CCleaner by Piriform and WinASO's Registry Optimizer.
There were a few different wording differences to headings that are no big deal but both major purchased programs in WinASO and Registry Repair Wizard found just about the same exact errors and both cleaned them out just as well as the other. I used two disk drives and ran both programs on identical copies of main drives or C drives of Windows and programs installed that I created.
That means I had two exact copies of my hard drives and could run the programs side by side to see what each program found and tell if one was finding things the other did not or vice versa.
Both programs found just about identical errors and no other errors that were found to make the error count high just to look good.
I can give no higher praise to a program than I want to use it regularly on the computer with all my important information and programs, data and emails. I had no problems using Registry Repair Wizard 2010 on my test computer so I jumped the gun and installed it on my work computer.
I have my working programs such as Photoshop, Dreamweaver and email that I use every day for my reviews on this system so things have to work correctly. I have also had no problem and will continue to use the program on this computer as it does work well and is an all in one place to perform my routine maintenance.
Registry Repair Wizard 2010 works well and I found it is a useful program that puts not only the registry repair programs but the shortcuts to Windows maintenance programs in one place for quick use. I did not encounter any programs that required registry entries I had previously deleted in the two months I have had the program running on my test computer or the two weeks with my work system.
The only smaller problems I have with Registry Repair Wizard 2010 is the fact that it does not have a forum for support and only a single review by professional websites like PCWorld or other large computer sites. I did not find many reviews by journalists or reviewers but CNET does have the program reviewed by its professional tester and has customer ratings which are pretty good.
There was no complaints about the current 2010 version but complaints about the previous versions mostly due to marketing and the fact that the programs trial version only repairs a couple of errors. I did not find many complaints about actual functionality and none about major problems so I think the program has a decent track record.
I have been impressed with Registry Repair Wizard 2010 and after my initial trepidation found the program ran just fine without any major or minor problems with the program itself. I highly recommend Registry Repair Wizard 2010 for an all in one registry repair program that includes a good place to launch into other Windows routine maintenance programs.