First, it is always wise to have either a backup or good restore point -- just in case. But I depend on registry cleaners for day to day cleaning after I install and uninstall software. The two I rely on most are Registry Easy and Wise Registry Cleaner. Neither has ever fouled up my machine and both do a seemingly good job. I also have RegCure, Registry First Aid, CCleaner, TuneUp Utilities and jv16 PowerTools, but rarely use them. jv16 reports finding a very long list of empty registry keys, but then is unable to delete them.