The Windows Registry is one of the key system elements of the OS, meaning you should always try to keep it in perfect shape with tools like Argente Registry Cleaner.

Argente Registry Cleaner analyzes the whole Registry in just a few seconds and finds all the invalid entries that programs usually leave behind after an incomplete uninstallation process. These entries can end up collapsing the Windows Registry and causing serious performance issues, but with Argente Registry Cleaner you have nothing to fear: the program will scan all the Registry areas, create a list with all found errors and provide you with the necessary tools to erase them. And for those of you who don't like messing up with the Registry, Argente Registry Cleaner also includes a backup option to be on the safe side.

Argente Registry Cleaner includes some interesting configuration options with which you can select which areas in the Windows Registry you want to scan, but unfortunately there's no option to set automatic scans according to a user defined schedule.

With Argente Registry Cleaner you can keep the Windows Registry fully clean, optimized and functional in just a couple of clicks.

Download Argente Registry Cleaner 1.5.0.2 in Softonic

With Vista becoming ever more widespread, users are demanding more control over how it is installed. vLite allows you to remove unwanted components in order to make Vista run faster and to your liking. Note that this is not a hacking tool - all files and registry entries are protected as they would be if you installed the unedited version only with the changes you select.

The program works by configuring the installation directly before the installation itself, meaning you'll have to remake the ISO and reinstall it. This method is much cleaner, not to mention easier and more logical than doing it after installation on every reinstall. You can select which components to remove but note that unchecking a component will not remove it. The developers say this has been done because not all components are supported by the program and disabling the check boxes removes any confusion. Be very careful when removing components however because they cannot be reinstalled afterwards. The program warns you to be careful with major components by displaying a "Caution!" warning label when you hover over it.

This is a great tool for Vista users but use it with care because if you remove something you didn't mean to, you'll end up doing the whole Vista installation over again.

Download vLite 1.2 Final in Softonic

HDCleaner is the easiest and most comprehensive way to keep your PC running smooth and error free. There may be many junk files in your hard disk when your computer is running. They would make the computer system work slowly and astatically. HDCleaner uses a highly intelligent engine to scan your hard disk & improve PC performance!

You needn't know about the system and file types. Only click your mouse, it will clean all the junk files quickly and safely. It safely removes Web cookies, Web history, recent documents history, any hidden user traces and more with just a click. Registry Cleaner and Optimizer: Enhanced regclean or regcleaner in short. It cleans the Windows Database Registry for invalid information such Invalid Fonts, shortcuts to files.....HDCleaner implements the US Department of Defense and NSA clearing and sanitizing standard. HDCleaner also identifies garbage files on the HDD of the network computers.

Download HDCleaner 3.152 Beta in Softonic

Clean Centre is an all-round cleaner for your hard drive to ensure that your system is not bogged down by malicious files or strange system problems caused by registry errors.

It can detect over 60 types of junk files (which doesn't sound a lot considering how many there must be out there) and allows you to delete them in 3 simple steps. Unfortunately, you can't help getting this feeling that this is a slightly "cheap" program because the interface looks really basic and shoddily put together. It is at least very easy to use and allows you to select those cookies or sites that you'd like to treat as exceptions. In fact, it's highly customisable allowing you make exceptions of such aspects as your Temp folder, Recycle Bin and even your registry. After cleaning, you're presented with a list of files that have been cleaned or removed from your system although you're not given a chance to say whether you definitely want them removing which is a bit annoying. However, at the same time, it does the job a lot quicker than programs that are constantly bothering you with prompts about whether you are sure and if you want to continue etc.

Overall, this is not the best cleaning package I've ever used but at the same time, at least it's quick and easy.

Download CleanCenter 1.9 in Softonic

Vista Manager is a powerful software tool to tweak, optimize, maintain and tune up your Windows Vista, it bundles more than 20 different utilities in one. It will help your system to be stable, fast, secure and personal.

Information

Get detailed system and all hardware information on your system; show all detailed information of running processes and threads on your machine; Vista Manager offers 1-clicking and cleans your system automatically.

Optimizer

Tweak your system to improve windows startup and shutdown speed; tweak your hardware to increase system speed and performance.

Cleaner

Find out which files or folders engross your disk space and shown with chart; Find and clean junk files to increase Hard Disk space; Duplicate Files Finder can scan your computer for files with the same size, name and modification time; Registry Cleaner can easily checks your registry and repair incorrectly linked registry entries, automatically remove invalid entries; Registry Defrag rebuilds and re-indexs your registry to reduce application response time and registry access time.

Customization

Control what is started on Windows startup; edit context menus of mouse Right-Clicking; customize system desktop, menus, toolbar and notifications settings; automatically change your desktop wallpaper on background.

Security

You can improve desktop, menus, Windows logon securities, and enable numerous hidden performance options of system, disable system updates and error reports; hide and restrict to access drives, specify which applications are not allowed to be executed on your computer; encrypt/decrypt and shred files, change the location of system folders; Privacy Protector can maintain your personal privacy by eliminating the tracks that you leave behind; create lots of randomization password once.

Network

Optimize your Internet connection speed, manage all shares items; tweak your Internet Explorer easily.

Download Vista Manager 1.5.6 in Softonic

Wise Registry Cleaner is one of the safest Registry cleaning tools available in the market today. Its scanning engine is thorough, safe and fast.

Wise Registry Cleaner comes with a user friendly interface. It has been divided into two modes for user assistance. To start a scan in General Mode you need to click on the "Scan" button to start the scan process.

When the scan is over, check the items that you wish to delete/clean and click the "Delete" button to start the cleaning process. A backup copy of the repair will be automatically saved so that it can be undone if necessary.

To start a scan in Automatic Mode, click on "Option" button to show the option dialog, choose "Automatic" in "Run Mode" and click on 'Ok' button save the option. Finally, Exit Wise Registry Cleaner. When you run Wise Registry Cleaner in the next time, Wise Registry Cleaner will scan and correct all problems automatically.

Download Wise Registry Cleaner 3.7 in Softonic

When analyzing a software application one must praise its virtues, but also look for possible flaws that developers can improve in future versions. However, in the case of Glary Utilities it's really difficult to find anything that we don't like.

This excellent toolkit includes a handful of system utilities that enable you to tweak, repair, optimize and improve your system's performance. Tools are conveniently categorized so that you can quickly find what you're looking for: disk cleaner, uninstall manager, memory optimizer, file shredder, duplicates finder, tracks eraser... just about any tool you need. They're all generally very intuitive and in case they make important changes to the system (like the Registry repairing tool) the program creates a backup copy first.

Not all the tools included in Glary Utilities include configuration settings, something we missed in some of them such as the Disk cleaner. Also, we would like to have a Firefox Assistant, the same way the program includes an Internet Explorer Assistant.

Download Glary Utilities 2.6.1 in Softonic

Sometimes it's handy to have an all in one tool that does everything from cleaning the registry to system monitoring rather than several different apps. This is not only more likely to work properly and not conflict but it's also lighter on your RAM.

Desktop Maestro is an all-in-one cleaning and monitoring application that integrates registry cleaning, system monitoring and privacy cleaning. The developers PC Tools are well known for Registry Mechanic and Desktop Maestro combines the best of this tool with it's other flagship product, Privacy Guardian.

Desktop Maestro features the same clean and easy to administer interface that you get with most PC Tools products. Desktop Maestro will scan your entire registry for any invalid entries and clearly lists the registry errors found so you can choose to selectively clean each item or automatically repair all errors. It does of course make a backup before making any changes. The Privacy Guardian basically clears any trace of surfing habits and document use from your system and finally Desktop Maestro can also provide optimization and performance tweaks that can improve efficiency in system usage, processes, CPU, memory and disk space.

Desktop Maestro is a quality all in one product that removes the need to have a separate registry cleaner, privacy cleaner and optimiser in one.

Download Desktop Maestro 3.0.0.830 in Softonic

Advanced System Cleaner is a powerful utility to free up valuable disk space by analyzing disk space, uninstalling applications, cleaning up those unwanted garbage files, find duplicate files on your disk, cleanup invalid information in your Registry to improving system performance, protects your privacy by removing all the unwanted traces in your system. It safely removes cookies, history, recent documents history, any hidden user traces, and more with just a click.

Every day your hard drive gets littered with file fragments and debris you can't see. Unwanted files from daily usage and Internet surfing can build up over time, slowing down your system's performance and leaving a trail of your Web-browsing habits for anyone to see.

Download Advanced System Cleaner 1.8.1 in Softonic

Registry cleaners are so common that it's hard to sort the wheat from the chaff sometimes but AML Free Registry Cleaner is definitely one of the better free cleaners you'll try.

Normally I use CCleaner for my registry cleaning requirements but AML Free Registry Cleaner offers a level of registry cleaning and penetration much deeper than that. AML Free Registry Cleaner is particularly good at identifying and correcting multiple entries in your Windows Registry but of course, not all entries should be removed. This is why the program comes equipped with an editable filter which can help you select which kind of entries should be considered as dangerous. However, be very careful when configuring this because if you get it wrong, and tell it to ignore dangerous entries, AML Free Registry Cleaner may miss those entries that pose a danger to your system.

The AML Free Registry Cleaner scanning process is simple enough and if you have any uncertainties, the wizard will take you through most of the process. Like most good cleaners, AML Free Registry Cleaner also makes a backup before making any drastic changes so that if the worst does happen, you can always roll back although if you do break your OS badly, this could prove difficult. Probably the most useful feature in AML Free Registry Cleaner however, which I've never seen before in a registry cleaner, is that it allows you to see in real time which registry entries relate to which programs. This makes it easier to identify those processes that may be malicious and those that are not.

If you're looking for a simple, efficient little registry cleaner, you could do a lot worse than AML Free Registry Cleaner.

Download AML Free Registry Cleaner 4.7 in Softonic

We never get tired of Windows manager tools here in the Softonic offices, and after trying out this latest offering from Yamicsoft, we are still looking for a tool that strikes a good balance between usability and functionality. WinXP Manager may offer a fine range of options and tweaking utilities, but the delivery is haphazard with several sources of concern for the average user.

Let’s start from the beginning. The first time you open the program you are prompted to create a system restore point, just in case something should go horribly wrong. If you have system restore disabled on your computer, WinXP Manager will go ahead and load up anyway. What you are presented with is a detailed overview of your system specs. Through the tabbed navigation, you can switch the view to check out details about your operating system, computer, hardware, and processes. There isn't, however, any central tab that would display all the information in one place so that you could easily print out a complete run down on what you have in your box. Neither, for that matter, is there a print button for quickly converting anything to hard copy.

On further investigation, you find yourself digging through tabs of tabs to find what you need, or alternatively, opening pop-up windows that appear when you click buttons that lie alongside those that don’t produce pop-ups. Supposedly consistency wasn't high on the priority list. WinXP Manager runs inside a fixed width window, something that wouldn't usually merit any criticism but in this case the window is very small relative to the entire screen size and results in some scrolling.

Putting design and usability aside, there are a lot of positive things to say about WinXP Manager. As we mentioned, it does provide comprehensive information about all aspects of your hardware and software. There is a handy optimization wizard that guides inexperienced users through the process, and for every tick box you see, there is a corresponding detailed tooltip that will give you a clue whether or not you are on the verge of destroying your PC. There are an amazing amount of utilities for tweaking XP to the last, although we are concerned that the registry cleaner may be over aggressive.

Boiling it down, WinXP Manager is a fantastic utility for anyone that has a good general understanding of the many various elements making up their PC. If you have a tweak in mind and don’t want to bury yourself in the actual system files, then this program will serve you well. On the other hand, if you are after a quick all round maintenance fix and you don't quite get the registry or services, then you should look for a less hard-core solution.

Download WinXP Manager 5.2.6 in Softonic

Predicting possible Hard Disk failure can be one of the most fail safe ways to make sure that you never lose all your data.

HDD Observer is an intelligent tool that shows you what the health of your units is using the patented SMART technology that all modern hard drives now support. It allows you to check your hard drives performance at regular intervals and it also gauges the temperature of your unit. For example, if HDD temperature is near its critical value then HDD Observer begins to check it more frequently to exactly detect the time when the temperature will reach it's critical value. If the critical value is reached, then HDD Observer will check HDD's with a lower temperature to free-up any available system resources. In this way, you are spreading the load across your hard drives rather than just one. It allows you to set alerts when you're running out of disk space or when you've accumulated too many temporary files. If you're using several drives, the program can also employ a desfragmenter and registry cleaner across all of them as well as an option to clean those registry entries that are obsolete or dangerous to your system's stability.

Easy to use and a much more intelligent way to use your hard drives, HDD Observer is a great SMART choice.

Download HDD Observer 2.4 in Softonic

Don't be fooled by the name - XP Tools Pro is not just for Windows XP but it's an all round registry tweaker, cleaner and PC optimiser for any system.

Making sure the registry is clean of errors is essential to the smooth running of your machine and XP Tools Pro helps you reach the parts that other optimisers can't. It basically promises to speed up your PC by almost twice as much and while that is a bit far fetched, it does pack a big punch - much more so than the average optimiser. Probably the most powerful component is the "Memory Turbo" element which reuses RAM which isn't being used or is being wasted by Windows. However, although this does make an initial difference, it seems to fight Windows for control of your RAM and you may experience slight freezes or at least a few hang ups from time to time. In addition to optimising and cleaning however, this program also promises to make your machine more secure. Amongst the 20 utilities it offers are options to erase your Internet tracks, hide sensitive files and folders and lock important applications. In this respect, it's actually much more useful as a privacy tool as it covers just about any possible angle where your surfing habits or file usage could be compromised.

Cleaning, privacy and security management, this tool features some highly impressive tools that will be of use to anyone on the move.

Download XP Tools Pro 9.1 in Softonic

One of the biggest problems with Windows, and what has many people jumping ship for Macs, is that it suffers from clogged and infected registries.

Registry Clean Expert scans your Windows registry and uncovers incorrect or obsolete information in the registry which in theory should speed up your machine. However, don't get too excited because whatever is slowing down your PC may not even be related to your registry - it could just be a case of a trojan or malware that's infected your hard drive. Also be careful because any changes you make to the registry, can destabilise your system. However, Registry Clean Expert does give you the option to rollback any changes you've made with the backup/restore function.

The most useful function for me though was that you can also edit an manage BDO items in your startup sequence. BDO items are those items which launch themselves when you turn on your system. They are usually entered in your registry too and if your system is taking increasingly long to start up, then you may well find that it's the BDOs that are causing the problems.

While it may not always fix your registry, the BDO cleaner will certainly speed up your startup's and shutdowns.

Download Registry Clean Expert 4.61 in Softonic

Registry problems are the most common reason for Windows PC to slow down and performance issues.

Reg Repair is a free registry cleaner utility which claims to delve deep into your Windows registry and find and fix potential causes of performance problems. The first problem you may encounter when installing this software however is that your antivirus checker may detect it as spyware. The reason is that it requires access to your registry which all good spyware and anti virus scanners protect. It's also because the program tries to establish a secure (https) connection with Digital Support online service which it needs to perform checkups and be updated with the latest registry threats. You may see "dsweb" displayed at some point in the alert which refers to the utility that checks for updates. The one unusual aspect of this program is that, after the simple scan and presentation of results, you can be linked directly to one of the developers online support technicians to work out what the problem is and whether it is a threat. Of course, you have to pay for this service although you can perform a basic clean for free at your own risk.

A quick and simple registry cleaner that features support from real engineers in case you are unsure or worried about deleting a particular registry entry.

Download Reg Repair 1.3 in Softonic

Getting the most out of your PC without physically upgrading it is an ongoing conundrum that developers are constantly trying to tackle.

HS WinPerfect aims to boost your PC's performance by enhancing it in several important areas including internet, memory usage as well as cleaning up any old temporary or old files. The devlopers have bult the program on one of their main cleaning products - HS CleanDisk Pro but this is much more than a cleaning program as it optimises as well. It tries to detect the kind of use that your PC has been subjected to - i.e. gaming or wordprocessing etc and then tweak your system apprortiately. This includes speeding up your internet connection, freeing up your CPU and accelerating the way your RAM handles images. The problem with programs such as this that try to do everything is that usually, they are good at one thing but not good all rounders. In this case, the cleaner is excellent but the optimiser is very dodgy to say the least. It does reveal a whole list of registry entries that could be potentially harmful but even after cleaning them, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference to the speed or performance of your system.

A good cleaner but be wary of false promises about the optimisation wonders of this program.

Download HS WinPerfect 6.16 in Softonic

Remove Empty Directories will surprise you in the same way you're usually surprised when running a temporary file cleaner. You'll be simply amazed to see how much space you can waste also on empty folders.

This little tools analyzes your hard drive (or just the folder you select) in search of empty directories, so that you can delete them afterwards and have a cleaner, better organized hard drive. The program's settings allow you to set some basic rules and filters to modify its behavior. However, there's no backup, restoration point or anything similar so if you delete something important, it's up to you.

The whole process of scanning and deleting folders takes only a few minutes. What's more, you can run it from the folder's context menu, as Remove Empty Directories is integrated with Windows Explorer.

Download Remove Empty Directories 2.1 in Softonic

Maintenance tasks are usually tiring and boring. This is why a tool like PC Health Optimizer is such a great, lucky find.

This complete set of tools contains pretty much everything you need to perform basic maintenance routines on your system and keep it in perfect shape. You'll find a junk file cleaner, a memory optimizer, a Registry cleaner, a PC analysis tool and a file shredder, among many others. There's even an anti-spyware tool to make sure your PC is safe and clean.

All tools in PC Health Optimizer are perfectly organized in different categories and presented in an attractive, nicely designed interface. All you have to do is browse the program's categories and select the one you want, which will open in a separate window. They're very easy to use but there's also a complete help section in case you need it.

PC Health Optimizer may not include as many maintenance tools as other commercial apps, and also lacks advanced features – such as, for example, the ability to schedule tasks – but it's really a great choice for an unbeatable price.

PC Health Optimizer Free Edition will help you improve your system's performance with a complete pack of maintenance utilities, all neatly organized in a nice interface.

Download PC Health Optimizer Free Edition 2.5 in Softonic

Comprising four focus modules (System Cleaner, Privacy Protector, System Maintenance, Special Tools) designed to do everything from cleaning your Registry to removing spyware infestations. Super Utilities is a megamart of system-maintenance tools designed to keep your computer running smoothly.

System Cleaner features a spyware-removal component as well as a handful of tools for cleaning your disk and Registry and for performing routine maintenance tasks. Privacy Protector lets you hide or lock folders, clean your system tracks, password-protect applications that hold sensitive data, quickly and securely delete files, and hide IE Favorites and Start menu items from view.

System Maintenance includes Task Manager-like functions, Internet Explorer customization tools, and valuable system information. Special Tools lets you schedule shutdown times, locate and back up your drivers, identify space-hogging folders, and modify the Super Utilities context menu options.

Download Super Utilities Pro 2008.8.0.1992 in Softonic

If you're a Vista fan but would like to tweak or enhance it even further then Enhance My Vista is an interesting application.

EnhanceMyVista is an easy to use but powerful enhancing, optimizing and tweaking tool for Windows Vista. The program is very easy to navigate with an extremely simple interface and some interesting tweaking options. The program also allows you to view technical data on the specifics of your hardware such as your CPU, graphics card and monitor. It features all the regular tweaking tools you would expect too such as a manage running processes list, analyzer and registry cleaner, defragger and cache cleaner. You can also give the program a look of your choosing with several natty little skins. In addition to all this, the program integrates very well into Windows own administration tools so that you can access them directly through Enhance My Vista instead of the control panel.

In terms of speed, this program doesn't really enhance Vista as much as the name suggests but as an all round tweaker and one stop control panel, it's superior to anything Windows Vista itself has to offer.

Download EnhanceMyVista 1.7 Free Version in Softonic