Does anybody have a good, free registry cleaner that they trust? I feel it would be a good idea since I've installed and removed a lot of programs in the few years i've had my computer and I'm worried if I just pick a random one I'll get screwed.
Thanks.
Well, ya know ...
Linux, the ultimate Windoze service pack!
(C'mon baby, don't fear the penguin.)
This post brought to you by Linus Torvalds and Bruce Dickinson.
KE7GKP:
I have no fear of the Penguin. But the penguin has no friends (apps) that are useful to me. That is why they apparently congregate down there toward Antarctica.
Ah phoooey! 
Uh, Firefox, and the Arduino IDE aren't useful to you?
KE7GKP:
Uh, Firefox, and the Arduino IDE aren't useful to you?
My world is broader than yours, apparently.
Well, that's a hell of an assumption to make. I was just citing 2 examples, ya know.
linux is nice and all but if you need to install anything that you can't do with sudo apt-get install, its just a pain. I've spent countless hours trying to get something to work on linux that takes two seconds with Windows. However I intend to keep trying until I get it right.
Please no OS wars, I beg of you all. You can fight that battle on so many other forums. The great thing about the Arduino platform is, as well as being open source, it's mult-platform, it honors all three main PC OSs.
No need for a war. OpenVMS beats all that crap. Hands down. 
I liked RSX-11/M better, but even so, I mourn the demise of DEC.
I have compiled a lot of things to use then in my ubuntu install and I keeps getting easier and easier.
I use both Windows and Linux/ubuntu, I'm not a fan-boy but I think that linux is way better than windows in a lot of aspects.
To play with c ou c++ its a matter of openning the terminal, in windows I need to install Gb of IDES's and compilers.
I guess the extremely worn out (and childish) "Windoze" joke will never go away. At least when someone uses it, you know they aren't worth communicating with.
The registry / system cleaner I use on Windows systems is "ccleaner" (formerly "crap cleaner.") The only real gotcha I've run into is the installer. Uncheck all the toolbars it wants to install.
For a clean (re)install of software I like - http://ninite.com/ - (PC windows) very much
doesn't support all programs but it saves me a lot of time ! and it supports utilities like "PC Crap Remover 3.9.1493" ...
so write the URL in your disaster-recovery manual 
my 2cents,
Rob