It’s Easy to Tell

when the CES is over. Things turn back to the mundane, as it is January after all. Over at ZDNet, things are no different. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has a story questioning the authenticity of bit rot.

Well, it is probably sad that ‘bit rot’ was the termed coined to describe it, because those, like me, who insist on speech accuracy will acknowledge that there is no such thing as bit rot, but the phenomenon being described does indeed exist.

Every Windows installation ever available for use has experienced the slowing over time due to the creep of garbage that accumulates in an installation. This is one of the reasons that many feel the need to update their machines yearly. Some buy a newer faster machine, which guarantees better performance, but those with a bit more knowledge are aware of the fact that almost as much speed can be recovered with a new install of the Windows operating system they currently possess on the hardware currently used.

Windows, as an operating system has a nasty habit of picking up garbage, like the dust bunnies under the old bed upstairs. The installation and subsequent removal of literally hundreds of programs, and then their incomplete removal, will in fact, slow a machine down. It is not as much of a slow down as the CPUs have gotten so much faster, but it is there, to be sure.

This is squarely a problem with the Windows Registry. With each install, or feature change, bits get twiddled, and sometimes, when a machine gets shut down incorrectly, those changes aren’t completely committed to disk. It is also a problem with the removal routines, that cannot be trusted to remove themselves completely – some by design. If you have ever used any trialware, you can rest assured that that software left nasty little bits of junk in your system’s registry. It is designed to keep you from simply re-installing the trialware and getting continued use of the product. I have heard people mistakenly put forth the idea that, if they don’t use any shareware, or freeware, that they will be safe from this, as all commercial software is written with a higher degree of competence. What a joke! It is usually the commercial software that becomes the worst offender in these cases.

With all the garbage, the registry bloats, and that in itself takes longer each time the PC boots. Again, not a big thing on a modern fast machine, but each little bit hurts. Sometimes, things are uninstalled, but registry reads cause the machine to continue looking to load some part of an install that simply is not available anymore. This takes time and can be the cause of certain failures.

Now there is a whole class of programs devoted to taking care of this problem. Some are known as registry cleaners, some are part of larger, general cleaning tools. They work to varying degrees, and because some can cause more harm than good, many experts will say that their use is not recommended. (The cure is worse than the problem!)

However, if you can find a program that works well, reducing the size of the registry, yet allowing the registry to be easily returned to its previous state, in case trouble lurks, then you have a gem.

I hesitate to speak of any, because invariably someone will mess things up on their system, either because of some bizarre system difference, or simple inability to follow directions. When that happens, it is almost impossible to shut them up, and if you have any conscience at all, you feel bad, though you know it really was not your fault.

So, look cautiously, try sparingly, and then hang onto what works. You’ll be happy, and save yourself that re-install, either because you want to regain speed, or to recover from a botched registry trimming.

You can now return to your mid-winter blues and doldrums…

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