Step 1:
Download the installation file, (800,136 compressed bytes), from one of these locations. These files have been verified to be the correct version, as of the month shown at the top of this page. There are several older versions all over the internet, so download from these links only. If you must download from somewhere else, be sure to check the version and build number before you run the RegClean.exe file located inside the installer.
- New Mexico, United States regclean.exe
- Bonn, Germany regclean.exe
- Berlin, Germany regclean.exe
The installation file is self extracting if you double-click on it. However, you can rename it with a "ZIP" file extension and treat it as any ordinary .zip file, if you wish. I prefer to rename it because the application file has the same name as the self extracting file, i.e. "RegClean.exe." Once renamed, there is no confusion as to which file is the installer and which is the program. In either case, the installer file contains three files within; ReadMe.txt, RegClean.exe, and Oadist.exe. Oadist.exe will install an updated Oleaut32.dll if you have an old version of Windows 95. See step 4 below. If you have Win98, NT4 or later versions, you can delete Oadist.exe.
Step 3:
RegClean makes "Undo" files each time it fixes errors, so in order to keep track of those files, I suggest extracting the files contained in the installer into their own directory, e.g. "C:\Program Files\RegClean."
Step 4:
If you have Windows 95 or NT 3.51 and you DO NOT have Internet Explorer version 3.0 or higher installed on your PC, you may need to install an updated version of Oleaut32.dll. See the RegClean ReadMe.txt file for instructions. Note that all other Windows versions already have an updated Oleaut32.dll.
Step 5:
Previous versions of RegClean had occasional problems and could corrupt the Windows Registry. I haven't heard of this happening with version 4.1a, but as a precaution, you might want to backup your Registry files before running it the first time. I'm afraid that if you don't know how to backup and restore your Registry you'll just have to hope for the best. There are plenty of free Registry backup utilities available, including the ones that come with Windows, but I don't have an instruction page ready at this time. Meanwhile, this might be helpful;
Backing Up Your RegistryFor Windows 95: Locate Eru.exe on your computer and execute this file. If you do not have this file on your system, search your Windows 95 installation CD for Eru.exe, Eru.inf, Eru.txt, and Erd.e_e. Copy these files to a directory on your machine and then Run Eru.exe. You will be prompted to back up registry to a floppy.Step 6:
For Windows 98: From the Start button, select Programs and click DOS Prompt. Type scanreg. This will back up your registry on your hard drive. To restore if needed, reboot to DOS and then type scanreg /restore.
For Windows NT: Sign on as Administrator. From the Start button, select Programs, and click Command Prompt. Type rdisk /s. You will need a floppy disk available to make recovery disk.
Create a shortcut for the extracted RegClean.exe program and double-click it to run RegClean. The RegClean ReadMe.txt file explains further, but all you really need do is click the buttons to "Fix errors" and "Finish."Step 7:
After running RegClean, restart Windows to ensure that your Registry is fully intact. You'll want to restore your backed up copy right away if anything is wrong. See Restart Windows with a Shortcut for a free program that creates Desktop icons to ReStart, ReBoot or Shutdown Windows.
Step 8:
If RegClean ran successfully, then you can delete the extracted file named Oadist.exe since you don't need it.
Final Note:
Some programs make meaningless entries in the Registry every time they run. Don't be concerned if RegClean lists a series of the same "errors" in each Undo file. They're probably harmless.
