Deleting Registry Entries

[The Flying Pram]

My laptop isn't the fastest machine on the block (1.5 Ghz~512Mb Ram), so I follow advice to keep it free of unwanted programmes, temp files, cookies etc. I also disable all the things I don't frequently use from the Start menu. It has Zone Alarm firewall, AVG, Spybot, & Adaware, all kept up to date, and run regularly.

I installed an Internet monitoring programme a few days ago - "Net Limiter" - which proved quite an eye opener as regards how much I download. It did, however, cause problems on start up, and seemed to be clashing with Zone Alarm, and the wireless adaptor.

In the end I removed it from "Add and Remove Programmes" within Windows. Unfortunately the extra delay remains, and looking through the registry there are still some entries left behind. Now I'm well aware of the risks that tinkering with the Registry can pose, so I am asking if it is safe to delete all these entries, and if so how? Can I just delete all the folders, or does it have to be done individually?

Manually searching I have found them under:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER - Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE - Software
HKEY_USERS_S-1-5-21- very long number -Software

I looked at some of the Freeware "Uninstallers" but I get the impression that they are meant to be used while the software is still installed.

Any advice would be welcome.
TFP.

[twiggs]

How about system restore to a date before you installed "Net Limiter"?

[ZH875]

Export the keys, then delete them.

You can always import them again.

[The Flying Pram]

Thanks ZH875, I've found the "Export" option on right click. I'll give that a go, and if I still have problems there's System Restore to try. I am I correct in thinking that the real dangers lie in editing working entries, rather than deleting ones for unwanted programmes?

[bnt]

As long as you're careful to limit yourself to only the exact Registry keys left by the program, you should be fine. They're not doing any harm, since the program that used them is gone.

Note that
HKEY_CURRENT_USER (HKCU) is just a "link" to one of the entries under HKEY_USERS_S-1-5-21... etc. It's there so programs (and you) can just work on the Registry bits that refer to the current user, and not need to figure out which of the longer entries is the current user. If you delete an entry from HKCU, it's deleted in that user's HKEY_USERS_S... area too, so don't be surprised if you can't find some entries in the one place after you start deleting them from the other place.

[Lost_luggage34]

If you are concerned about your machine performance, it's worth a good look at the utility Hijackthis.

Lots of posts in the past here about it - I feel certain it's up at the top of the forum in FAQs and/or as a sticky.

Have a look and post any questions.

[Tarq57]

I'd be inclined to not delete any of these keys. Some of them are quite likely valid keys to do with the internet connection, that have had their values changed by the net limiter program. If there is (was) and option in that program to "enable/disable" settings applied, it would be worthwhile re-installing it, disabling its settings and then uninstalling it.
There are also a few "optimisers" around to improve (or allegedly improve) connection. (Most of these just make sure the TCP etc settings are optimised for your internet speed) Try TCP Optimizeror Advanced Windows Care

[The Flying Pram]

bnt: your note was spot on.

Tarq57 It doesn't seem to have had any Ill effects, and the start up time has reduced a bit.

I might take up my computer savvy nephews suggestion to do a complete re-install of Windows at some point. The machine came with bundled software that I don't want or use, and even my dealer had problems removing the McAfee AntiVirus. Don't worry, I have all my documents backed up, and all my other applications are free downloads.

Thanks for all the help.
TFP.

[bnt]

Those net optimizers might be changing settings in other places too, not under [HKLM|HKCU]\Software. For example, they might change TCP/IP driver settings for packet sizes etc. Unless you know exactly what was changed, and where, just leave it alone. It may be that uninstalling the program reversed the changes, but for stuff not under "Software" as I described, I recommend you play it safe.

[call100]

Install CCleaner and do a registry clean. It is completely safe and easy to use. It will take out all the leftover crap from uninstalls. With regular use it will keep your machine nice and clean...Download from here.........
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/
And it's free...

[The Flying Pram]

Tarq57 - I've used TCP Optimiser and it has made a small but noticeable difference.

call100 - I just have, and it got rid of 40mb or so!! Strangely, afterwards, I found that my Download Helper add-on was missing from Firefox. I've reinstalled it, so next time I use CC Cleaner I will probably remove the tickboxes from Mozilla as I have it set to clear Cookies and History etc on closing anyway.

By the way, after my experiences with Net Limiter I have found a far better solution - "Bandwidth Monitor". It takes up much less memory and does exactly what I want. It is surprising how much bandwidth even ordinary web surfing uses.

Once again, thanks everyone.