some questions regarding total uninstall..

what are the default selection of folders and files that you guys exclude from scanning during a snapshot??is excluding the windows\system32\config folder,the place where windows stores the registry hives needed??coz in ashampoo uninstaller suite it mentions to exclude this folder.. i also exclude the tempfolders,recent documents,cookies,ntuser.dat.ntuserdat.log,pagefile,recycler from scanning..
do you guys do anything extra??also do you accept the default selection for registry
i exclude the keys hklm\system\controlset001 and hklm\system\controlset002 also from scanning..


and one more thing, the default selections in the paid version regarding the registry has changed compared to the freeware version has anyone noticed that??

 

I have recently installed TU3 but didn't realise I chould exclude somethings from being monitored I have only installed 2 applications with it at the moment. For future installs should I configure to 'exclude' certain keys?

I haven't uninstalled with it just monitored but also use XPSmoker to clean my temp files + index.dat etc and will remember to this prior to an uninstall. I just ran TU3 (trial) with setting any excludes. I would appreciate any advice for furture installs, thanks.

 

I have looked at the setup in TU3 and see some of the keys are not monitored by default but I do note that there is a little page icon (red mark on it) which shows Cookies and Index.dat when the software was installed as I had not cleaned these (only realise I should do this before an install now ) they are listed in the tree list.

It does give me a right click option to delete or add to ingnore list - do I just delete at this stage or will TU look for these if I need to uninstall the software monitored? I do not want to re-introduce and index.dat which I have since cleaned plus old cookies but am unsure on the way I should work with this.

 

@ robyn
i think you can either delete or add to ignore list those cookies and index dat files ,and the next time u uninstall it they wont come back.
these are some of the files and folders that i exclude and these are my suggestions..
1-if you have multiple windows oses then its better to ignore the drive containing the os where total uninstall is not installed
2-its better to ignore the temp files ,recent documents,recycler,cookies,pagefile,temp internet files,the file ntuser.dat and ntuserdat.log from scanning.there is no point in scanning those files anyway.
3-dont mess with those registry selections that come with tu.leave the default settings.
4-its always better to rightclick and terminate all those apps in the system tray when u are installing a software via tu..ie during the preinstall and postinstall snapshot..
5-these suggestions pertain to the tu version3.xx only (shareware version)
6-there is one other software ashampoo uninstaller platinum suite..which is better in my opinion.try it.but the learning curve is lilbit high than tu..

 

Thank you for these details clansman, I have only used TU to install 2 programs but considering the details you have given I feel perhaps I best uninstall if necessary they way I normally do as I do not want to end up with a huge mess.

I had some of my programs running before I started the monitor which could mean I end up with bits of them gone missing I really appreciate the details you have given here especially as I have only started to use with the prospect to register after the trial.

I will look at Ashampoo (just found out there are tools in HijackThis for uninstalling software!) and see if I could learn how to use this. I can see why you have the excludes etc but I just didn't think of this before monitoring my 2 installs

TU sounded great and it most likely is but somehow I feel it could cause a few problems when I use it to uninstall at a later date. I know I was depending on it to remove a trial of an AV before installing the full version but now I think I should uninstall via the software and then clean with my registry cleaner.

If I uninstalled TU with 2 programs monitored will it break all connections with them and just leave me with the normal uninstall routine for them?

Thank you for your advice, I think I best leave the monitor until I know much more about the way it works and keep plodding on with a registry cleaner and perhaps a second one just to make sure.

TU may be uninstalled before my software if this is possible

 

Total Uninstall can be removed without affecting any software it monitored. You may wish to keep a copy of the *.tun files it made though, should you consider it likely that you may try it again in the future.

It does however do a far better job than any registry cleaner (most of which, for safety's sake, can only remove references to files that no longer exist or keys which they know belong to specific applications that are no longer present) and keeping it installed does not impose any overheads on your system.

It is worth trying a few "practice" or "dummy" installs (i.e. just leave Total Uninstall for a moment, then rescan) to identify those keys that Windows regularly changes. I would actually recommend removing all the existing exclusions and doing a "reboot install" (start Total Uninstall, restart Windows and then finish this "install") just to identify which keys are changed by Windows on restart (and which can therefore be excluded in future - there are a lot of these however). The existing exclusions are rather broad and mean that Total Uninstall will miss out on some changes (e.g. new drivers or services).

 

Thank you Paranoid, I would love to be able to actually use the program as I feel it would help out a lot especially with stubborn software installs but I really would need to learn a lot more on how to and what to exclude etc as I am worried I would cause more problems when I uninstalled

I will try the 'practise/dummy' install method and hope I can clarify the keys etc and try to gain confidence in using it. I will have to learn about the way to use the monitor as reading some of the help file I noted it suggests to start and install and let TU monitor at a later stage I think I know what this means but had already installed via TU letting it monitor all the way.

I will not uninstall TU until I have a further look and hopefully be able to understand a lot more about it to enable me to use it effectively. This is the first time I have used a program of this type therefore my confidence in the how to and why etc is not great.

Thanks for explaining more of it to me, I will have a look and see if I can produce the start up keys etc and then know what to exclude in the future. I just ran the program from defualt with the 2 applications therefore have TU's excludes but have cookies etc included I am not sure if I should ues TU to uninstall these programs if necessary (well one I will have to uninstall as I have to install the full version after my trial) but given that I included everything I may be best to use the software uninstaller until I master the correct use of TU.

 

This is a valid concern since TU does not track which applications made the changes it finds - so any software running in the background that makes changes will be included (e.g. Process Guard will show up if you approved any new programs or changed its configuration while TU was running). On the other hand, it is often easy to tell from the key name which program was responsible and the "blank" and "reboot" installs will also likely include such entries as well.

TU is one of those tools that can shine a bright light into the innermost workings of Windows and the other software installed on your system, so it can be pretty intimidating at first (I remember staring somewhat aghast at the log of changes reported when I installed F-Prot or Outpost, both of which required a restart which meant that lots of hardware keys, Plug'n'Play details and other software I have running on startup was included too).

For some guidance, here is a list of the registry keys I have chosen to exclude on my system since they are frequently updated by Windows itself (Win2K SP4, other Windows versions will vary):

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RecentDocs
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\UserAssist
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Cryptography
HKLM\System\ControlSet001
HKLM\System\ControlSet002
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\ACPI
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\ACPI_HAL
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\SCSI
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\STORAGE
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB
HKEY_Users\...\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RecentDocs

 

Well, thank you again, I can definitely see this is a program to 'learn' before employ! I will note your guidance to the excludes and try to translate to XP Pro. A friendly GUI but a little too powerful to use without starting on the learning curve with the dummy run plus understanding of the depth TU can go.

If you were aghast at the logs Paranoid I am sure you will understand how scared I was when I noted all the things it listed for my 2 installs. I don't think I could use this as a means of uninstalling both of these as I really did just run 'as seen' without all the preparation needed.

If I feel I can work this out and benefit from my learning then I will feel a lot more confident to use it for a TotalUninstall with the correct setup next time.

Thanks again for your patience.

 

@robyn-some other things too

1-make sure u run ur installed software atleast once before u make ur post install snapshot.this is bcoz many softwares creates their necessary registry entries and files at their first run.so u might miss some entries if u dont run the software atleast once b4 postinstall snapshot.running means just starting the software and configuring some basic items..

2-make sure the item ur going to uninstall is not running while u are uninstalling something via tu.kill all the processes related to it too b4 uninstalling,so that u get a smoother uninstall..

3-b4 making the post install snapshot too make sure the application that u are going to monitor is not running,also any of its processes..

regarding ur already installed software,
u can just see the file and registry changes in the tu gui,and select those items u consider\think as not belonging to the installed software,right click and select remove from the log,and save the changes b4 u close the gui-u will get a prompt anyway to save.see the attached screenie...in this way those items are not restored when u uninstall via tu..my advice is that u first uninstall those 2 softwares via there own uninstallers and then use tu's uninstall also after that.but just be sure to select the cleanup dropdownmenu from the uninstall gui rather than the total uninstall menu..follow these for any uninstalls..this will surely keep ur system out of junk than any registry cleaners as paranoid suggested..and u can test any no of softwares..


u can safely uninstall tu b4 ur monitored software.that wont cause any problems atall..

ashampoo ui is surely much more perfect than tu imho but it is lil complicated to learn when compared to tu.ashampoo's help file is really good too..one other thing is that tu will give u two options for uninstall by default-total uninstall and cleanup while ashampoo only offers uninstall via its own uninstall routine.. no cleanup like tu by default..but this is possible by tweaking the default selections too..



imho stick with tu gain experience then ,jump onto ashampoo..tu3 is really a good pieace of software..

 

@paranoid2k
is excluding the windows\system32\config folder,the place where windows stores the registry hives needed??coz in ashampoo uninstaller suite it mentions to exclude this folder.what do you think?? are you excluding this folder??thanks in advance..

 

Thanks for the screenshot and the further details - reading and trying to learn (hopefully) but will make sure I know a lot more before I make any big mistakes

Just noticed looking at my log - MUIcache can this safely be removed and excluded?

 

Hi Robyn

Look at it this way, you now have a new toy that will keep you busy a couple of months.

When you uninstall the trial that you have installed with TU3, remove the program in question first via add/remove, do a reboot and then run TU to uninstall the remaining files, then run your reg-cleaner. This is the way i have used it with good results. It's also a good way to find exactly how much some programs leave behind (even with the default exclusions in TU3) after an "uninstall".

Anyway you are in good hands with Paranoid2000 & Clansman77, so i will end my post by wishing you the best of luck.

Regards

 

A new toy that is for sure but not one to 'cuddle' until I know what I am doing in how many years? I am trying to work out what can be deleted from the first installs but think it will be best to uninstall them in the normal way and only us TU after my 'dummy' runs
Oh dear I have an error which I will need to sort out as TU will not close for me now

 

Can't you shut it down via taskmanager?

 

Sorry Don, I had to use taskmanager and it worked but was then had to go out. I rebooted and opened TU again and was able to close the correct way, thankfully.

 

I had to go out too , i'm looking forward to "hear" what you think of TU after an uninstall.

 

You probably could exclude this, since any change to the Registry would affect these files. I would suggest excluding individual files rather than the folder though - just in case you had a badly-behaved application that tried putting new files in there.

A good point that I was going to mention...running the program's own installer should ensure that it is properly shut down and a reboot is necessary for those applications that run as services (e.g. firewalls and anti-virus software).

In my experience, most programs do uninstall most of their components but do leave a couple of keys behind. Where TU really shines is if the uninstall fails - programs using the Wise installer have their details saved on a .log file which the likes of CCleaner may delete.