Question regarding Windows Update cleaning

[Willy2]

I have a question regarding "Windows Update cleanup".

In Windows 10 (and also in Windows 8) the Operating System has a build-in Task (think: Task Scheduler) that removes - after 30 days - the files that are needed to remove and rollback a Win 10 or a Win 8 Update. This way the size of the infamous "Winsxs" folder would grow too much, is kept (comparatively speaking) "under control".

Clean Up the WinSxS Folder
Reduce the Size of the Component Store in an Offline Windows Image

But does this command/Task also reduce the size of the registry (for both Win 8 & 10) ? I tried to GOOGLE to find an answer but I didn't find anything useful.

I ask because I recently used the "Disk Clean up" tool on my Win 7 system and it allowed to reduce that "Winsxs" folder by some 800 MB. After that I used a registry compacting program and then the registry was reduced in size from about 144 MB down to about 122 MB (a reduction of a whopping 22 MB).

 

[Digerati]

You do not need to use a compacting tool for the registry with Windows 10. If it was needed, Microsoft would have included it in Disk Cleanup.

To answer your question, the command does not reduce the size of the Registry - at least not as a task of the command. It may be reduced just because some entries are removed anyway - but those entries are not removed for the purpose of reducing or compacting the Registry.

 

[Willy2]

- In other words, you also don't know. Never tried such a program ?
- I ask because I have program (Tweaking's Registry Backup) that makes a copy of the registry upon start of my system and keeps those copies for a month. Then I have ~ 32 copies and these occupy a significant amount of diskspace. Then a ~ 15% reduction (see above) of the registry size means that a significant amount of diskspace will be left un-occupied.

(A friend asked me about this and I didn't want to ruin his Win 10 system. So, that was an additional reason why I opened this thread).

 

[Digerati]

Sure I have. I use to use ERUNT and NTREGOPT on a regular basis going as far back as Windows 95 and then with XP. But W10 is not XP.

And yes I do know. You don't need these programs. And significant amount of disk space? Come on! Not even! That is, unless you keep 32 copies on your disk. :r1: You need to be realistic here. Registry sizes are typically shown in 1000s of Kilobytes. That is, a typical Registry is normally less than a few 100MB. Hard significant with today's TB hard drives.

I didn't want to ruin his Win 10 system

Then leave it alone! If you are not a formally trained bona fide Windows expert, don't mess with it. If Registry compression was needed, Microsoft would have put it in Windows.

W10 is not XP. There is no need to treat it that way. Third party apps that promise to make Windows run better than it ever did are not needed and often cause more problem than not.

 

[Tekno Venus]

I ask because I have program (Tweaking's Registry Backup) that makes a copy of the registry upon start of my system and keeps those copies for a month. Then I have ~ 32 copies and these occupy a significant amount of diskspace. Then a ~ 15% reduction (see above) of the registry size means that a significant amount of diskspace will be left un-occupied.

If you're concerned about size for your backups - then compresses your backups with zip, rar or 7z.

I just tested. Exporting my SOFTWARE hive as a binary hive file was 160MB. Compressed with 7-zip to a .7z file reduced the size to 20MB. That's an 1/8 of the size.

 

[Willy2]

.- I have a 500 GB HD, enough to store A LOT OF data, including those backups. It's just a matter of (silly ??) pride to keep those registry hives as small as possible. A false sense of "I have all under control".
- But I participated in discussion on this topic on another forum and then the topic of compressing the registry also came up. But I don't have any experience with a Win 10 or Win 8 system.
- I have applied a number of other tricks & programs you won't find on an average user's HD. All meant to increase performance of my system.

- Just being curious, please do the following: Install & run Tweaking's Registry Backup (on a win 10 or win 8 system) and see how large such a backup is before & after compressing the registry with e.g. Eusing's Registry Defrag.
(I - at least - hope someone is willing to execute the procedure above to satisfy my curiosity.)

ERUNT & REGOPT overlook the registry hive called "Components" (Win 7 and newer) and are therefore outdated. That's why one should switch to e.g. Tweaking Registry Backup.


(Disclosure: I have helped the author of the TWEAKING programs (Tweaking.com) to get rid of A LOT OF bugs in those programs. That's why I am a bit "pushy" to promote those (Truly Excellent) programs).

 

[Digerati]

That's why one should switch to e.g. Tweaking Registry Backup.

I disagree. It is just another reason to not use 3rd party tools.

(Disclosure: I have helped the author of the TWEAKING programs (Tweaking.com) to get rid of A LOT OF bugs in those programs. That's why I am a bit "pushy" to promote those (Truly Excellent) programs).

That explains a lot.

A false sense of "I have all under control".

I am glad you admit that but IMO, it just illustrates my point further. Again this tool is not needed.

It is critical to accept that Microsoft has every incentive to ensure Windows and our computers work optimally. Regardless what we may think and feel about some of the business and marketing decisions and policies at Microsoft, the developers are some of the world's best with PhDs and top computer scientists on staff with decades of experience and exabytes of empirical data to draw from and supercomputers for testing and simulations to ensure Windows runs at peak performance. If compressing the Registry was a needed task, Microsoft would put it in Windows - just as they have done with defragging, TRIM, Updates, and more. If compressing the Registry was that beneficial, then certainly other 3rd party apps would be available too and it would be something widely recommended. As seen here it isn't. Note how old most of those articles are.

FTR, I am not saying all of Tweaking.com should be avoided. They do have some decent tools. I am just saying there is no need or benefit to compressing the Registry. If you need the couple 100 megabytes of disk space you might recover, then you have other issues and priorities you should be addressing that don't risk corrupting your operating system.

- Just being curious, please do the following: Install & run Tweaking's Registry Backup (on a win 10 or win 8 system) and see how large such a backup is before & after compressing the registry with e.g. Eusing's Registry Defrag

My advice is DO NOT do this! If you, Willy, want to test such features on your own personal systems, that's just fine. But since any dinking with the Registry can result in an unbootable system (that might not be restorable via a Registry backup), please do not recommend others do it with their systems here. Thanks.

 

[Willy2]

- There's one "Tweaking" program that I outright hate and won't "push" but all other programs are - IMO - very good.
- I've read your opinion and your reasoning but in this regard I don't think we'll ever be "on the same page". But it's (still) a free country/internet, right ?

 

[satrow]

How about using Sleep or Hibernate and saving the (reduced # of) Registry backups in an NTFS compressed folder?

 

[Willy2]

Updated reply:

- There's one "Tweaking" program that I outright hate and won't "push" at all but all other programs are - IMO - very good.
- And if one is "fiddling" with one's system (e.g. compressing the registry) then one SHOULD always make regularly (and automatically) backups (what A LOT OF people forget).
- Yes, without regularly backing up things can horribly go wrong. (I have experienced it myself). Hence the installation of the excellent "Tweaking's Registry Backup" program.

- I've read your opinion and your reasoning but in this regard I don't think we'll ever be completely "on the same page". But it's (still) a free country/internet, right ?

 

[Digerati]

But it's (still) a free country/internet, right ?

Yes, and I didn't spend 24+ years in the military to trample on other's rights. You are certainly entitled to express your opinions - but not to "push" them on everyone in technical discussions where there is absolutely no technical evidence to back your opinion up! I note you, yourself are a bit wishy-washy (and on different pages yourself) by admitting, "It's just a matter of (silly ??) pride to keep those registry hives as small as possible" and "A false sense of "I have all under control"."

Your "silly pride" is not valid "technical" reasoning for telling readers to use a Registry defrag program when there is no evidence anywhere suggesting such a program is needed, beneficial, or safe.