AS my health has varied a lot the last couple of weeks, I've often been too late posting on the regular GOTD page. Today was another of those being late days I suspect, so here goes it case it helps anyone...
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Advanced Registry Doctor Pro's registry cleaner for the most part works identically to what you saw in or with Elcor's Premium Booster, on GOTD last month. After a scan you see a list of problems with a large white "X" on a red background -- in Premium Booster double clicking that entry made that repair & that icon turned into a white checkmark on a green square, but Registry Doc Pro lets you jump to the registry Or make the repair, which IMHO is a definite improvement. You're again given your choice of two types of registry scans, Quick which is a normal scan, & a smart system scan, which tries to find whatever a found bad entry should point to. Additionally there are a list of optimizations you can apply by clicking the Optimize Your PC button, which turns into a Roll-back Optimization button once applied. Like last months GOTD, the Protect Your PC button will add several registry entries re: Internet Explorer ActiveX compatibility, but today right clicking one of the listed fixes lets you jump to that key in regedit. The Startup Wizard lets you turn off &/or add apps set to start with Windows via the Start Menu &/or the registry's run keys. You can perform registry backups, & copies of the registry files are saved separately, so if you had to you might restore a backup from another OS [e.g. a WinPE disc], though the only way the software will restore a backup is running it in Windows. [ERUNT has a CLI app to do that for you that's saved with the registry backup]. Defragging the registry works, but as with the earlier GOTD, the report tells you how successful it was, not how badly you need it. You can schedule a registry backup or defrag but the app has to start with Windows for that to work -- you may rather just DIY on a regular basis.
Installation adds the "Advanced Registry Doctor Pro" program folder with 93 files, 7 folders, ~9 MB. The registry gets 2 new Elcor Software keys, an uninstall key, & a Realset Software key... about 150 new entries total.
Bottom line, for cleaning the registry it may seem easier using today's GOTD, but CCleaner is a good alternative IMHO more suited to experienced users & has a killer rep. ERUNT will restore a registry backup when Windows won't start, System Restore in win7 will restore the registry [assuming Windows will start], & ERUNT comes with a registry defrag app -- Advanced Registry Doc Pro adds a nicer GUI, shows you what your defrag accomplished, and is easier to use than ERUNT for restoring a backup [with ERUNT you have to navigate to the folder where the backup was stored using Windows Explorer & run the app there]. Restoring a win7 restore point will also restore all files/folders, & sometimes you just want the registry put back, in that case making a registry backup a better choice. System restore is not ideal by any means in XP, & if you dual boot XP, starting XP will delete any Vista/win7 restore records. There's nothing wrong with redundancy when it comes to safety, & there's nothing wrong with using ERUNT, setting a restore point, & doing a backup with Advanced Registry Doc Pro if you wanted, using ERUNT if Windows won't boot, & the restore point or today's GOTD if it will. Managing auto-start apps is as easily done in CCleaner, or even manually -- your Start Menu's right there, & I set the Run keys as favorites in regedit... Autoruns is king for that sort of thing, but I don't usually recommend it unless you really need to [e.g. to stop a driver or service from starting] &/or you're experienced putting things back, because it can let you very easily break Windows. The Protect Your PC feature in Advanced Registry Doc Pro *may* be better suited to older versions of Internet Explorer, & I'd expect opinions to be very mixed on Optimize Your PC -- I think most people would like more control over the individual tweaks, being able to pick & choose, but when all the choices might just as well be written in some dead language [when they mean nothing to you], this all or nothing approach could be a big plus... if it helps, great, if it doesn't, click the button again to put it back.
