Good morning.

I am new to CCleaner, having installed it this week. I'm interested in learning more about the Registry's "complete backup option" as mentioned in the product tour. Does it have its own backup within the cleaner or does the backup use Windows backup or other system? There really isn't much info on this option and I'd like to know exactly how it works. Thanks for any input you may offer.

Hello Scotirish,
The back-up option that you are referring to is not a complete Back-up of the Registry.It is a back-up of the changes to the Registry that you may make while "fiixing Registry Issues".Each time you ask to "fix issues" CCleaner will ask if you want to back up the changes.
This allows you to restore the changes if things turn out badly
However,I advise most users to leave the Registry alone since most users are not experienced enough to get themselves out of trouble.
I at least suggest that you do what is recommended in this link and related links before you start messing with the Registry.
http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?s=&...st&p=102905

Good luck,
davey
P.S. http://www.ccleanerbeginnersguide.com/ CCleaner Beginner's Guide.com Bookmark and save to Favorites

Thank you for your response, Davey. I have checked out both links in your response and they are quite helpful. I am only interested in the backup part of CCleaner, as I don't plan to mess with the Registry otherwise. I don't plan to go into the Registry for anything else. I'm just interested in the backup for backing up the "Registry issues."

I agree that we should backup important files and the registry on a regular basis. Basic computer skills are also a must when cleaning the registry. I have been using CCleaner since 2005 on four computers. I have always fixed every issue that CCleaner finds and keep the backup in a separate folder. I have never had to merge a .reg file back into the registry. CCleaner does it's job in a way that has little risk of problems.

The backup created by CCleaner is a .reg that can be opened in notepad to view.

.REG files (also known as Registration entries) are text-based human-readable files for storing portions of the registry.

CCleaner Rocks!

Jamin4u

Thanks Jamin4U for your input. I guess I'm having trouble communicating my question to get the type answer I'm looking for. In the CCleaner "tour" for newcomers, in the section (#5) relating to the Registry, it states, "That is why CCleaner includes a complete backup option, so in the rare event you remove something that you later need - you will have a backup to restore from. To use, simply press the "Scan for Issues" button and once completed press the "Fix Selected Issues" button. You will be prompted to backup and helped throughout the process." It is this last sentence that I want to know about. Exactly what happens? Can you give me sort of a step-by-step sequence of what transpires in this system registry scan -- and what you do if you want to restore something the CCleaner "fixes" if you should need to do so. Thanks!

CCleaner uses windows registry editor to remove and add items to the registry.
When prompted to backup I select yes.
Save as window opens I select save. (cc20080712_1424) is time and date. You may change file name, but leave file type as .reg file.
A new window opens I select Fix all selected issues.
Are you sure? I select OK.
Close
Rescan and fix all issues until no more issues.
Keep in mind if you don't change the name that the time must change, or you will be asked if you want to replace the file with the same time stamp.

If you want to restore an item locate the .reg file where you saved it (my documents is default).
Right click on .reg file and select merge.
This will open windows registry editor, select yes to merge the entries into the registry.

I hope this is what you are looking for.

Jamin4u

Hello again,
Forgot to say you are Welcome to the forum
This link starts with a user like yourself.Read it all the way to the end.
http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?s=&...st&p=106973
Good luck,
davey

Hello again, Jamin4u. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much!
Regards,
Scotirish

Hi Davey. Thanks for your additional response and for the link. Appreciate your interest and help.
Regards,
Scotirish