AthTek Registry Cleaner 2.0

Overview

Over time it is inevitable that a computer’s registry becomes cluttered with redundant keys and invalid shortcuts that affect its overall performance. The Athtek RegistryCleaner is meant to scan your computer, identify these issues, and then fix them so that the system runs as if it was brand new.

Installation

To be honest the installation is a simple step-by-step process and requires a very meager 1.2 MB of hard disk space. The software supports all versions of Windows from 2000 onwards including XP, Vista and 7 as well as the 64-bit versions of those operating systems.

There’s no need to worry about any adware ending up on your computer because none is included.

Interface

When you launch the software for the first time you’ll notice that it has a clean and well-organized interface with slightly cartoony icons.

On the left side is the navigation column that contains the main tasks the software can perform such as ‘Scan & Clean’, ‘Undo’, ‘Compact’, and so on. Select any of those icons and you'll see information about the task and how to proceed in the box on the right. Over at the top right corner there are three further icons to email Athtek, visit their website, or purchase the full version of the software.

Generally the interface is very responsive and shifts between options quickly.

Pros

It goes without saying that the main benefit of the Athtek RegistryCleaner is the fact that it will help to improve the speed and performance of your computer. Aside from that however, there are other features that make it stand out:

• Works on both 32 and 64-bit Windows. Most other similar types of software do not support 64-bit versions of the operating system (with slightly different registry structures).
• Scans the entire registry extremely quickly. It should take no more than a minute to complete a full scan.
• Provides the option to backup and restore the registry. This is especially useful just in case anything does go wrong.
• Let’s you choose which registry items to focus on and gives you the ability to ignore certain areas that you’d rather not alter.

All in all, these features make the software live up to expectations and surpass them in some ways too.

Cons

To be frank, there are very few weaknesses in the Athtek RegistryCleaner once you register it. However there is one big thing you should be aware of: this 15 day full trial version does not actually allow you to fix the errors it finds. It only lists the errors and when you click 'Repair' it warns you that the feature is available to registered users only. We double checked this on 2 different computers.

Alternatives

Popular alternatives to the Athtek RegistryCleaner include CCleaner, SlimCleaner, and Glary Utilities (Free, Pro, Slim, Portable). That being said, these are all software that don’t just focus on the registry but rather attempt to clean up other areas as well by removing unused files and dead shortcuts too. As such they tend to be a lot less streamlined.

Although there are other standalone registry cleaner programs out there, few provide the sort of functionality that can be attributed to Athtek.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a tool to clean up the clutter in your registry and restore it to the pristine state it was in when you got it fresh off the shelves, the Athtek RegistryCleaner is definitely a frontrunner in terms of both speed and features. It would have scored higher in our review if not for the problems in the Cons paragraph above.