Bad keys return every time

chasrome

All the bad keys (166) relate to the "Add or Remove Programs" module. After cleaning and fixing (54 keys will not allow batch delete, they require one-by-one deletion), the jv16 program reports zero errors. It will report zero errors after reboot and after registry compacting and any other usage -- BUT the very next time that the "Add or Remove Programs" facility is invoked, jv16 will again report 166 errors (the same ones fixed previously) including the 54 errors that must be deleted one-by-one.

Anybody know what is going on here?

jv16

Could you give samples of these keys, and let me know what version of PowerTools you are using?

chasrome

Ver 190540

Samples:

"Key Entry's name"

HKLM\Soft\MSoft\Win\CurVer\App Management\ARPCache\{026C2636-B788-409C-B178-A7603289EC2A}\

HKLM\Soft\MSoft\Win\CurVer\App Management\ARPCache\{0DC0F122-1B1C-11D4-AED6-00C04F022C53}\

HKLM\Soft\MSoft\Win\CurVer\App Management\ARPCache\{158BAA72-723B-42EA-A72D-31470B51B5C8}\

All of these are for tthe same key. Only the coded names are different.

Corrections to my original post:

There are 162 of these recurring kyes (not 166)

The 54 items that remain after the first 'fix' transaction can be deleted in a batch by selecting 'delete' instead of 'fix' the second time.

redseujac

Those kind of keys (ARPCache = Add/Remove Programs Cache) always return even after removing them, I'm afraid.

I read this about the ARPCache registry entries:

ARPCache is a secret, undocumented section of the registry used to store information for Add/Remove Program items in the latest versions of Windows. If you open Add/Remove Programs in the newer versions of Windows, you will notice that certain information has been added, such as, size, frequency of use, and last used on. This data is kept in binary files in the ARPCache of the registry, which means that even if you know where it is in the registry, you probably will not be able to read it. ARPCache Viewer deciphers the binary files and shows you what is in each entry.

A problem with the ARPCache is that Windows automatically adds to this storage area but it does not automatically remove items when they are uninstalled

chasrome

OK. Thanks for the information BUT . . .

Why is Registry Cleaner prompting us to delte these keys indicating that they are invalid?

Why can we then delete the invalid keys with Registry Cleaner and they will stay away even through mutiple reboots but then reappear as soon as (and only if) the Add or Remove Program facility is invoked?

I think there must be something more here.

jv16

chasrome wrote
OK. Thanks for the information BUT . . .

Why is Registry Cleaner prompting us to delte these keys indicating that they are invalid?

Because most people, sadly, think that a registry cleaner is as good as the number of errors it finds. This is why our competitors list all sorts of bogus keys as errors, and so does PowerTools.

But with PowerTools you can disable this from Registry Cleaner > Advanced Options > "Don't show items that would be automatically re-created", which doesn't however, ignore these ARPCache keys. I now fixed it and the fix will be included in the next released version. In the mean time, you can just write "ARPCache" under the Ignore Words tab of the Registry Cleaner and these items will not be listed for you any longer.

chasrome

Thank you. I had already selected the option "Don't show items that would be automatically re-created" in the Tools so this 'problem' will take care of itself in the next release.

Hmm -- I did not realize that software design was so much like politics! I guess it's in the nature of the beast, eh?

jv16

chasrome wrote

Hmm -- I did not realize that software design was so much like politics! I guess it's in the nature of the beast, eh?

I'm afraid so. Just earlier today, I had to address the matter (here: http://www.macecraft.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3697&start=0) because human beings seems to have a built-in tendency to prefer quantity over quality. And of course, when talking about "errors", you'd want as many of them out of your computer as possible.

That's fine, of course, but it started to go bad when certain products started to use tricks to duplicate certain errors, count twice and include this kind of errors in the list only to show the user that their product finds the most errors.