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Summary: Any program of even moderate complexity should include an uninstaller. If one does not, uninstalling can range from trivial to downright scary.
Unfortunately this can get complicated. Some programs don't require an uninstaller - all you need do is delete them (I'll show you how to do that for most). Some programs should have an uninstall option and don't. That's where things can get messy. • I want to start out with a big caveat: if a program does not include an uninstall utility we have to start making assumptions. Lots of assumptions. And when we make assumptions, sometimes they'll be wrong. Most of the time the steps below will work, but sometimes they won't. Sometimes a program won't be completely uninstalled, and sometimes something else you didn't plan on will be affected by the uninstall. Before you begin any of this, make sure you have a current backup of your entire system. These are computers: something will go wrong. And yes, with that big a caveat to begin with, you might consider not uninstalling whatever it is you're considering. If it's not causing a problem, and it's not taking excessive disk space, then sometimes just leaving it all alone until the next reformat is the safer thing to do. "... sometimes just leaving it all alone until the next
reformat is the safer thing to do."
• Not all programs add themselves to the Add/Remove programs list in Control Panel. Be sure and check on the Start Menu to see if the program you want to install has placed its uninstall option there instead. I'll start with the simple case: programs that have no uninstaller because they don't need one. In these cases the program can be "uninstalled" simply by locating where the program is installed and deleting it. Some very simple (in terms of installation) programs just come as a single ".exe" file. All you need to do is locate and delete that file and you're done. A lot of utilities like Process Explorer, which I refer to a lot, fall into this category. However, most programs install to "C:\Program Files" and do so by creating a folder therein names either either for the program, or perhaps for the company that made it. For example if you've installed some program called "Leo's Power Widget" and decided you no longer needed it, you might find: C:\Program Files\Leo's Power Widget You can probably just delete that folder and its contents to "uninstall" the program. One safety note: if you're not sure, rename that folder, reboot, and use your machine for a while. If no errors pop up because the software or other components couldn't be found, then that's an additional indicator that deleting might be safe. • "But what about the shortcut that's left in the start menu?" I hear some of you asking. If you didn't put that there manually, then this is a case of a program that should have had an uninstall program, but doesn't. I can think of several reasons this might be but none of them are, in my opinion, acceptable. When a program starts making changes elsewhere in your system - to places other than where it installed - then in my opinion it requires an uninstall program to clean those changes up. Changes include menu items, folders and data files elsewhere on your hard drive (such as "Documents and Settings"), and of course the ever popular registry. If you want to force an uninstall of a program that does any of these things, then this is the approach I would take:
As you can see, it can get messy. It's one reason that uninstallers exist, and one reason they're difficult to get right. But in my opinion it's also really bad form for an application to really need one, but not provide it. • My general approach to uninstalling is a little different. I do, occasionally, uninstall software that appears in my Add/Remove programs list. As you can imagine I try things, and cruft accumulates, so it's a quick and relatively safe way for me to clean up a little. I also keep an eye on my startup programs. When something gets added, I evaluate whether I really need it long before I might delete the program. By the time I do delete something its startup entry, if it had one, is long gone. I reformat my machine every couple of years. That uninstalls everything. That may seem harsh and in a sense it is, but particularly for someone who tries things, who installs and uninstalls, and just generally accumulates things, "software rot" tends to set in. They system becomes just a little slower, just a little less stable. It shouldn't, but it does and after a while a rebuild and reinstall of all the software is the best way to clean it up. And as I said, it uninstalls everything whether there's an uninstall program or not. Related:
Article 11819 | Posted September 6, 2007 |
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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.
Posted by: Michael at September 7, 2007 6:52 PMA 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.
Posted by: Simon at September 8, 2007 6:17 AMAfter 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!
Posted by: Marvin Modeen at September 8, 2007 1:51 PMHi Leo.
Posted by: edjenjudi at September 9, 2007 5:01 AMThank 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,
Posted by: O.A.Orcan at September 9, 2007 10:36 PMChances 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....
Posted by: David at September 10, 2007 11:06 PMI'm scared of the registry! I've been told to stay our of there! Shiver
Posted by: No Geek at September 12, 2007 8:32 PMI downloaded a couple of programs for fun and ran them, MB Zodiac Yoga and MB I Ching, I cannot remove them or uninstall them!!!
Posted by: Melani at May 7, 2008 10:03 PMThe site offers no help either
Hi there, I 'm having an issue while trying to boot up my both PCs. One PC is running windows Vista Home Premium and the Other one is running Windows XP Professional.
The issue is that I have tried to install and uninstall A second operating system in both of them, After successfully uninstall the OS. At any giving time I boot the computer, I still have them as a list to select as an OS, is there any idea about how I can remove them?
Your answer will be very appreciate.
Posted by: Gray at August 24, 2008 7:28 AMhi i really need help.i installed microsoft 2007 on my computer. after this i deleted microsoft 2003 from my computer but didnt uninstall it from add or remove program in control pannel .the problem i have is when i use microsoft word and try to download a new type of sheet like a timetable, it brings me through a microsoft genuine thing saying that my microsoft 2003 is not a genuine key .i never use microsft 2003 and so i didnt have a key but now i deleted it and cant use my microsoft 2007 right.i dont really have the same problem in this article because i deleted the file in the first place ,also i not sure if i force uninstall 2003 will it uninstall 2007 .please i not great with computers i need this to be fixed.
I'm fairly certain that deleting Office 2003 without using Add/Remove after having installed Office 2007 is the root of the problem. I would re-install Office 2007 (it may offer to repair, which you can try as well).
06-Oct-2008
Posted by: will at October 5, 2008 1:00 PM