How do I UNinstall a program that's not in the add/remove list?

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heh.. Your right Leo, I do disagree.. The registry should be dealt with.. By not cleaning the registry, if you ever chose to reinstall the software (possibly because of a missinstall), you have not removed ALL the old entries from the previous install... As you can imagine, this definitely does cause problems as well...
Not to mention deleting the older folder only and installing a newer version afterwards... That's 2 places in the registry locking into the same files.. 2 different settings when it should be 1..

Hey Leo,

Heres a tip: if you HAVE to force a program uninstall do what Leo said and run CCleaner afterwards. It's a free program that you can download from the internet. Just google "CCleaner" and you should find it.

It usually finds all of the registry entries and invalid bits-and-pieces on your computer that don't match and cleans them up. I haven't had a problem with it and have been using it since its realize.

I have some of the same concerns about uninstalling programs. Specifically, removing "all" registry keys as well. I have a couple programs that, for the most part, remove the program and clean the registry. I have Total Uninstaller and Your Uninstaller. I wish, however, that there was a program/application that "will" get "all" references to a program being uninstalled! I also run Registry Mechanic when uninstalling.

A test for those who are so enamoured with "registry cleaners": try running them on a brand new installation of Wndows. One that you haven't installed *anything* on. They will still find and delete a load of keys. That's your first clue.

The fact is, there is no reliable way - at all - for a program to tell whether any particular key is junk or not. For example, naively you might think that a key that points to a path that doesn't resolve to anything is junk. A lot of registry "cleaners" think so. That's their detriment: it doesn't take a minute's thought to conceive of a number of situations where that is not the case.

And, of course, Windows is closed source. There is no way to tell whether a key is still being used by Windows. None of the registry cleaner makers have seen the Windows source code. They're just guessing.

Basically, if you run a registry "cleaner", you immediately lose all right to complain about Microsoft when your system behaves unexpectedly, crashes randomly, and doesn't work as it should. It's your own fault.

People who immediately assume that a big registry immediately implies bad performance are rather stuck in the 1970s, anyway: even Windows 1.0 only loaded into memory the parts of a file that need to be accessed rather than the whole thing; and the Windows NT line is excellent at it, as are the *nixes.

After clicking on "How do I UNinstall a program......., when one goes to the last link on the page named 'your own website' (it's in blue and double underlined) malware attempts to download immediately. McAfee Site Advisor flags this site in Red, and Spy Sweeper nails it so it can be quarantined. DON'T GO THERE!

Hi Leo.
Thank you.I followed your advise and backed up the machine,then changed the names of the two programs i wanted to remove.I then shut down and rebooted and used the machine for one day without any problems appearing.The next day I simply deleted the two programs and their two shortcuts.That was two days ago and all is working ok.
Once again THANKS.
edjenjudi.

Hi Leo,
Chances are that the software will have an uninstaller if it is from a a reputable source. I also check internet if there are any complaints about uninstalling problems. Sometimes uninstallers have to be downloaded separately.
If I'm not sure, I use a utility to check and record the changes made to the registry by the installed software. It takes a couple of minutes only.
I also use registry cleaners, but always in the manual mode, so I can omit any changes that could require even a new windows installation. This is not a very big problem as I regularly back up my hard disks and keep the operating system only in C:, (somewhere other than c:\windows for added security), which also increases the performance, shortens defragmentation time, etc. If a software insists on installation to c: I set it up and migrate it to another drive later.

One thing you all forgot, alot of times an uninstall will get corrupt for one reason or another and simply reinstalling the program will reinstall the uninstall....then you can unintall it normally....

I'm scared of the registry! I've been told to stay our of there! Shiver

I downloaded a couple of programs for fun and ran them, MB Zodiac Yoga and MB I Ching, I cannot remove them or uninstall them!!!
The site offers no help either

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