Uninstall Software?

Looking for some uninstall software for WIn 7 x64. Something like Your Uninstaller 2008 that will recognize both x86 and x64 installed programs.

 

Try Total Uninstall, link as follows: - http://www.martau.com/uninstaller-download.php

 

I was looking at that. For some reason I felt uncomfortable with the software. Turns out it botched my Windows install 2 times in the past.

 

I use it and haven't had any trouble with it. I'm curious, what happened in your case?

 

Deleted important registry keys that are used to boot into windows. It would go into the loading screen and BSOD right after. I ended up having to do a clean install both times.

 

I assume that this might have occurred when you used Total Uninstall to uninstall a monitored program. I have encountered problems in the past when using the "Total uninstall" profile, so I never use that.

To avoid trouble, what I do is to always use a program's own uninstaller first. I then go through the Total Uninstall install log and look for any background noise that occurred during the install, exclude it from future scans then delete it from the install log before continuing with the uninstall.

After I'm satisfied that what's left in the install log is relevant, I use the "Clean up" profile, edited so that it only deletes leftover folders and registry keys created during the install. I never allow Total Uninstall to restore changed values/keys or create deleted values/keys as the program's own uninstaller should have done that if necessary. I'm only interested in deleting rubbish that the program's own uninstaller may have left behind.

This procedure works for me and is a potentially safer way of using the program. Total Uninstall is a very powerful program, but I've found that sometimes it can be a little too powerful and can occasionally break something unless one takes steps to reign it in.

BTW, I'm using Total Uninstall on a 32-bit Windows XP platform, so I've no experience of how the program performs on Vista, Windows 7, or 64-bit platforms.

 

revo uninstaller

 

What pegr says is how you should use Total Uninstall indeed, you can never blindly trust doing an uninstall without overlooking things, If you make the install remove/revert everything detected as added/changed during an install, when the installation routine required a system reboot, you'll most probably end up with a borked system. Just configure it to first use the programs main uninstall method, and then check and adjust the noise of what has been captured during the install process.

 

I don't think it currently supports either Windows 7 or 64-bit platforms, which the OP stated as a requirement.

 

Not x64 compatible.

 

With total uninstall, usually the problems occurs with only those softwares that require a reboot. The softwares that do not require a reboot, the before and after snapshots will not have any important windows registry changes in them (typically). The before and after snapshots of total uninstall after a reboot are usually complicated.

 

That's a very good point, which is why it's important to check the install log first for background noise before using it to uninstall a program.

Also, programs that require a reboot are typically complex programs that can only be properly uninstalled using the program's own uninstaller. The "Total uninstall using first the provided uninstaller" profile exists for just this purpose and is described as follows: "Uninstall anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, driver or any program that install system devices."

What Total Uninstall excels at is removing the remaining traces left by supplied uninstallers. Often this debris is harmless and could be safely ignored, but not always. For example, leftover traces of security programs can interfere with the proper operation of the system afterwards, which is why uninstaller programs, such as Total Uninstall, that can remove all traces of a program installation are a good thing if used wisely.

During a monitored program installation, it is also important to remember to launch the program for the first time before making the post-installation snapshot. Additional registry keys relating to program setup and registration often get created on the first launch of a program, which won't be captured in the install log otherwise.

EDIT: The registration issue raises another interesting point that further illustrates why software uninstallation often involves more complex issues than can be reliably handled by simple snapshot reversal alone, and why the supplied program uninstaller should always be used first.

Installing a license that grants use on a single machine often involves contacting a registration server that records software installation for the purposes of license enforcement. Uninstalling the software using the program's own uninstaller may then involve contacting the registration server to record software uninstallation, thereby making it possible to reinstall the software again at a later date.

If licensed software were to be uninstalled using only the "Total uninstall" profile to do a full snapshot reversal, even if successful at removing all program traces, the registration server would not have been contacted during uninstallation. Any attempt to reinstall the program later may then be detected by the registration server as a violation of the terms of the license.

 

Just thought I would mention Total Uninstall had messed up my system also. Sometimes it is just too aggressive. Pity I didn't learn that until after I had purchased it. I switched to Your Uninstaller but I'm don't know if it is compatible with Win7x64.

 

Nirsoft appears to have a Win 7 x64 uninstall program-

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html

I have never used the program but all the other nirsoft programs I have tried have been pretty good.

 

Its compatible, but the x64 programs dont show up to get uninstalled which makes it pretty much useless.

 

I have never used Ashampoo's Uninstaller but Ashampoo's website "implies" that it works with Windows 7 x64.

From Ashampoo's website:

Operating Systems: XP, VISTA32, VISTA64, Windows 7

http://www2.ashampoo.com/webcache/html/1/product_2_1003___USD.htm

 

It doesnt imply anything. It specifically says it works with Vista 32 and 64. Why wouldnt it say if it worked with Win7 32 and 64? It only says Win7 so I assume it defaults to 32 unless specified.

 

I am not personally against Total Uninstall. The problems in Total uninstall should be present in all snapshot based uninstallers. This is a drawback of snapshot based technology, but the benefit is that it is the only technology available if you want to remove all traces of a software from your computer.

I always use the software's own uninstaller to uninstall that software first and then run Total Uninstall for cleanup only. But even doing this way, you can remove something important if you are not careful. Typically the problem occurs for only those software that require a reboot during their installation. So, snapshot based uninstallers should be used by only those people that have mid-to advanced level computer know how.

For example, I would never trust my mom to use total uninstall to cleanup a monitored software. It would be a disaster every time.

 

Typically, Ashampoo writes the OS version (32 or 64) if their software is only compatible with one and not the other. If they have not written anything then it means it is compatible with both. You can check this policy by looking at the requirements for their other software too. I am not sure why they have written Vista 32 and Vista 64 for their uninstaller 4, it must be a typo.

I recommend you try their uninstaller 4, I am confident it will work on 64 bit windows 7. I can not test it myself as I do not currently have a 64 bit OS available.
http://www2.ashampoo.com/webcache/html/1/product_2_1003___USD.htm

 

I had it installed yesterday. It wouldnt uninstall anything without a log file of the installation.

 

Well, it is a snapshot based uninstaller. It probably only works if you have a monitored install to begin with.

You do not like/prefer snapshot based uninstallers?

 

Try to uninstall manually using Ashampoo Uninstaller...

 

Yes, I agree that snapshot based uninstallers require a degree of knowledge that makes them unsuited to less experienced users. Even for experienced users, it's possible to make a mistake. That's why I always keep an image to hand, so that I can easily restore the system if an uninstall should break something.

For anybody reading this thread who is not familiar with Total Uninstall, I would just like to mention that Total Uninstall also has another mode of operation where it can perform an analysis of an installed program that was not installed using Total Uninstall to monitor the installation, in order to attempt additional clean up of the file system and the registry after using the supplied program uninstaller. Whilst not as comprehensive as snapshot reversal at removing all traces, it does a reasonable job and is a lot safer. This mode probably is suitable for users of all levels of experience.

I can't say how good Total Uninstall is when compared with other uninstallers, as I only have experience of this particular program. As always, each person has to experiment for themself and come to their own conclusion about what works best for them, weighing up the pros and cons of each approach.

 

Thats exactly how I broke my system the first 2 times. Im a big fan of Your Uninstaller 2008, but it doesnt detect x64 installed programs.

 

IMHO, uninstallers are like registry cleaners in this respect. Some are no doubt safer than others but even the best of them are capable of breaking something, which is why it's always a good idea to have an easy way of recovering the system if something does go wrong.

URSoft's website states that the latest version of Your Uninstaller is compatible with 64-bit Windows 7. If I've read your post correctly, what you're suggesting is that, whilst it may run on that platform, it can't handle native 64-bit applications. If that's true, it seems to me to be a bit misleading of them to advertise it as 64-bit compatible or have I missed something here?

EDIT: I just noticed that the latest version was only released yesterday, so maybe you were talking about the previous version?