Registry Cleaner

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET Staff on November 06, 2008

This simple Windows Registry cleaner scans well, but could use some interface tweaks. Madcrosoft Registry Cleaner's small button and spreadsheet-style list interface falls short of fully functional. Columns of data can't be sorted. Locked in place on the Desktop, the interface size can't be adjusted, rendering much information available only by using window sliders.

The keys to effective Registry cleaners are scan speed, error checking and error removal. Madcrosoft Registry Cleaner falls fairly in the middle-of-the-pack for speed. The app catches a good amount of the Registry errors present. Of course, no cleaner catches every error, and some items listed as errors might refer to items on swapped out drives. We wish the interface made it easier to pick and choose which errors to delete. You have simple single-click buttons to choose all or none, but that's it.

We'd love to tell you how well this program removes errors, but Madcrosoft Registry Cleaner suffers from a choice common in the genre. The demo disables error removal. It should allow some removal just to prove capability. System restore points take just a click to set, and restoring a backup is almost as easy.

Installation fails to add a program link to the Start Menu, but automatically adds an icon to the Desktop. Novices should find Madcrosoft Registry Cleaner easy to use, but experts will wish for better control over the process.