installing uninstalling games

im planning to install some games on my computer but when i uninstall eventually would it leave a big mess?

 

They shouldn't do. What games do you have in mind?

 

Usually just registry entries, but they don't cause any real performance impacts.
Also most of the times the leave some game files.

 

when u uninstall I would recommend revo uninstaller for finding and cleaning leftovers

 

i havent played a game on my computer yet but im thinking of buying one to play occasionally but dont want to leave trails of stuff behind every time i uninstall a game. I use revo and other programs but its really hard to remove everything from a program thats big

 

Just use imaging and/or virtualization to remove everything

 

Use a program such as Regshot or InCtrl5 to take a before and after snapshot of your registry and file system. These programs generate a comparison log that shows you what has changed. Several weeks or months later after you uninstall the game, take a look the log to see if all the files/folders and registry keys/values that were added during the install have been removed. If not, remove them manually. (The log also shows you modified files and registry values, but you should normally not touch those).

General advice on using these types of programs:
--close all non-essential programs before the install you wish to monitor and turn off your anti-malware/hips/firewall programs too to guarantee a clean install log. also avoid any hardware changes during the install such as turning on/off a wireless connection, unplugging the computer (if laptop), dis/connecting USB or other devices to it, etc.
--if you need to restart windows for the install, then take the after shot first. (reboots introduce a lot of noise into installation logs). you can also take a separate pair of before/after reboot shots if feel it necessary. (you can use the previous after shot for the new before shot, although it's a little tricky with InCtrl5).
--after the install is complete, run the program briefly and close it before you take the after shot. programs often add stuff to the registry or documents and settings on the first run so you may want to log those too.
--if you wish to be more thorough, then do a separate before and after shot for the first run.
--if the program needs you to update some system component (e.g. directx), you may want to do that first and log it separately or not at all (especially if you will not be removing that component when you uninstall the main program).

other thoughts:
--run the snapshot program a few times with unimportant installs or program updates to get the hang of it.
--you may also want to take a before shot, run some basic programs like a web browser, notepad, ..., then take the after shot. this way you can see the types of file/registry changes that commonly go on during normal use of the computer (the noise) so you know what to ignore. (you can tell the snapshot programs to ignore these folders or registry keys).
--systracer is another snapshot tool that is probably better and faster on newer computers than inctrl5 or regshot, but it's not free.
--these programs are most useful if you use them a lot because then you learn what to ignore, and you can set them up over time to only monitor important files and folders to make the snapshots faster.
--personally i use revo uninstaller free for the initial uninstall, then i check the inctrl5 log to see what revo missed.

 

thanks pajeen sounds like ashampoo uninstaller but with more control i will give it a try