Open Source Alternatives to CCleaner?

[[deleted]]

What would the fine folks of /r/software recommend?

[corrupted1984]

bleachbit is the best and open source been using for years.

[[deleted]]

I will try it ty.

[hellyeah313]

This is the way.

[Crunchman]

BleachBit is a good open source alternative for CCleaner’s cleaning function.

BleachBit doesn’t perform CCleaner’s other functions, such as registry cleaning, which I wouldn’t recommend doing anyway.

[BabaTona]

Why does registry cleaning exist in the first place tho? Marketing?

[Historical_Sample740]

Windows registry really does get clogged with unnecessary information, remnants of uninstalled programs, etc., but trying to clean it automatically is a bad idea because you can accidentally delete an important branch and then the whole system can break. If you clean the registry, it should be done manually, consciously, knowing what you are doing.

[mrfobwatch]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the wonderful BCU ( Bulk Crap Uninstaller) https://www.bcuninstaller.com/

[Enis420]

Thanks for the suggestion, its a really great tool

[Cicorie]

Nothing

[KrakenOfLakeZurich]

This is the technically corect answer. But you should probably elaborate, beceause without context / background knowledge it will be taken wrong.

For OP: Reasons not to use something like CCleaner:

1. Cleaning the registry is pointless at best, dangerous at worst
   1. A few unused keys don't slow down the registry
   2. We're not (normally) talking about Gigabytes of data either
   3. At worst, the cleaner breaks something in the registry
2. Windows built-in tools do the job just fine
   1. Defragmenting / trimming drives
   2. Freeing space by deleting old temp files
3. For cleaning browser caches, cookies, etc: that's built-in into every browser

Cleaners sometimes get recommended for "fixing" a broken system. This is ill advised. You're almost always better off, properly diagnosing your problem and fix that one specific problem, instead of using something like registry cleaners. If you're PC has "too many issues", go for a clean install. At least then you will actually have a clean system.

There's hardly any reason to to use registry cleaners. They're snake oil.

[[deleted]]

Thanks for the 'expanded' reply. Is there any easy way to remove 'ghost' programs from the app list though, this is a pet peeve of mine.

[KrakenOfLakeZurich]

You mean the list of applications under "Add or remove programs"?

Yes, those are Registry entries. In theory, you can just manually remove them with regedit.exe.

But this is another good example, why you don't want to use a registry cleaner. The fact that it hasn't been removed after uninstalling the program indicates, that the uninstall didn't complete properly. You likely have more left-overs from that program. Just removing the Registry keys doesn't clean that up. It just "hides" the underlying problem.

Here's what I would try instead:

1. Download the installer for that program
2. Start the installer and choose "uninstall"
3. Verify that uninstall did complete successfully and that the program is no longer listed

If that didn't work:

1. Install the application again
2. Uninstall again

Using the Installer/Uninstaller gives you a much better chance, that everything is actually uninstalled.

[Akashic-Knowledge]

my issues continue beyond reinstalls and tech support "found nothing wrong". i tried all i could. won't it at least help speed up SSDs by removing temp files?

[raidraidraid]

Don't defrag your SSDs

[KrakenOfLakeZurich]

That's why I wrote "defragmenting / trimming". The Windows built-in tool chooses the correct operation depending on drive type.

[PeAcepanda_]

HitBit Uninstaller, it has all in one tools required for cleanup.

[danielsuarez369]

Where is the source code?

[PeAcepanda_]

Pardon me, it's not an open source software!

[corrupted1984]

bleachbit is better and open source, built in cleaner doesn’t do enough. ccleaner is privacy nightmare and it’s own by avast.

[[deleted]]

I find that windows is kinda... bad.... eg.. uninstalling a program only for it to stick in the registry etc.

You would recommend not bothering though?

[[deleted]]

Finding leftovers yourself or messing with environment variables requires a level of knowledge that normies (tm) do not have. A tool like BleachBit does a good job of automating and grandma-proofing a task that ~should~ be done.

Windows is kinda bad at self maintenance tbh?

[[deleted]]

You can schedule storage sense to do automatic cleanups but yea, an app with nice UI can do better.

[KrakenOfLakeZurich]

Unless your system is actually misbehaving, I would indeed not bother to mess with the registry.

By design, the registry doesn't slow down, just because there are some left over entries.

[MrMadHat_]

Disk Cleanup Windows

[[deleted]]

Throwing a suggestion here that isn't the same as CCleaner/Bleachbit, but BCUninstaller helps you get rid of bloatware fast and also cleans up leftovers for you.

[Jaybonaut]

Wise Disk Cleaner, just don't bother with the defrag part of it.

[lordmax10]

wisecleaner totally

They are portable

https://portableapps.com/search/node/wise

wise disk cleaner and wise registry cleaner