How do you un-install programs?

I used to check for leftovers manually and with uninstallers . . . I no longer care. LOL
Why? I dont know, i never felt a difference and it started to be a PITA.

 

I never install programs unless I know the steps that I would take when time comes to uninstall the particular program that I am thinking about installing. That really is my only rule. So, I read about what other people and the developer are saying about uninstalling the program that I want to install. If I learn that I have to go through extra hoops to uninstall a program, I ll stay away from that program.

Just about always, I either uninstall from Add/Remove programs or use the uninstallers located in the Start menu folders. If there is a tool that the developer recommends to be used, I ll use it. After rebooting, I run CCleaner and delete the folders that the program leaves around. In all the years that I have used computers, only once I had to go into the registry in order to fix an error that showed up in my Event log because of a leftover key. So basically, I don't do nothing with the registry unless there is an specific reason.

I hardly ever install new programs in my real system. In the last two and a half years, I only installed one new program (switching programs) in my old XP and in the two W7 laptops that I got this past year and a half, after I had the computers for a few days, nothing new has been installed but the above is what I would do if I install anything new.

Bo

 

Use revo, and then ccleaner and glary, and sometimes bleachbit for cleanup. Yeah I sometimes go thru msconfig and also online armor to block old autoruns. It's really irritating all the crap that windows allows to be left behind, so now I just do 99% of my browsing off of flashdrives and also save important files to them as well. When PC starts to slow down, reformat, reinstall, and PC runs like new.

Make sure to backup your drivers and installer files to your flashdrive.

 

im having a big problem unistalling unthreat antivirus,can anyone help?

 

i just got this desktop with windows 8,dont know how to get to safe mode?

ive tried ccleaner and looked for It to uninstall,no luck.

and also tried revo unistaller free,no luck.

it keeps poping up when I restart my computer?

 

I used to do a lot of installing and un-installing years ago, but have long since settled into a good working configuration. And thus I don't do a lot of reconfiguring these days.

Most of the material I do install are updates to existing applications. And thus no uninstall required.

The few times a year I remove something I'll use a variety of tools (already mentioned in the thread) to ensure I got all of it.

When I evaluate something new, especially a major application, I'll test it in a disposable virtual machine or image the main machine before installing. This way I can be sure I'm back to yesterday, 100%, with no muss or fuss, if I want to.

 

@THESAWISFAMILY2005

http://support.unthreat.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/12/10/how-to-uninstall-unthreat-products

HTH

 

It's got nothing at all to do with Windows, it's the result of incomplete uninstall scripts which don't remove all of a program's files and registry keys. For the that, the blame lies solely with the developers of the software, Windows itself has no part in it at all.

 

Aside from the techniques presented so far, the best way to uninstall (3rd party) programs that have been downloaded by a user is to use a tool that monitors installation and creates a database of virtually all of the files installed. Then when the user decides to uninstall, all of the information is known as to what needs to be done to completely wipe the program and its side effect files from your computer.

The tool I used when I was running WinXP Pro SP2 was Total Uninstall.

This is a very powerful program, and if you ever need to re-install your Windows OS, make sure you have a handy copy of this program and its documentation on separate media in order for it to be the very first 3rd party program you install - and then you will never experience the uninstallation side effects that irritate us all when crap is left over.

-- Tom

 

I downloaded the av and then got it to uninstall with revo free

thanks for all the help people

 

Sorry roger and with all due respect to you but i must differ with you sir.
The very fact that we use 3rd party uninstallers would seem to indicate that there is a deficiency in the built in windows uninstaller.

So in that respect windows very much has something to do with it.
Regards.

 

No, it's got nothing to do with Windows. When you uninstall a program, the uninstaller (which could be Windows installer, or a 3rd party uninstaller depending on what the software publisher is using) only removes the files and registry keys that it has been programmed to remove. Windows has zero control over what gets removed. For example if the uninstall script which lists what is to be removed is missing then the program will not be able to uninstalled either via add/remove programs or an uninstall link in the program's folder in the start menu.

 

About referring to Windows - when I use the term it implies all of the decisions of M$ developers, and the one decision that causes most of the problems is that the "Resgistry" with regard to accessible OS related structures is probably the worst decision of any OS architecture ever! Period!!! No responsible OS engineer today would ever even think of designing "a Registry" into the architecture of any modern OS.

Of course, Windows engineers never thought to design Windows OSes from the start with security in mind.

Just use the Total Unistall program as I recommended above (in msg #36) and all of your uninstall problems will melt away once and for all.

-- Tom