Community poll forum: How do you uninstall a program on your computer?

Forget uninstallers and registry aids. Use MAC OSX and just drag the folder to the trash. Friends don't let friends use Microsoft, unless of course you enjoy the pop-ups, worms, hacks, attacks and other vulnerabilities. Not to mention the non-stop security "enhancements"...

how do you get to microsoft xp uninstall/add program. i really need this because i mistakenly installed a program without reading the policy. they gave a free 3-day policy but now i have to pay so im trying to uninstall it. please how do you reach the uninstall/add program on xp because i dont know were to find it.

If there is an uninstaller built in to the program, I use it. If not, I try the Windows uninstaller. As a final source, I have a thrid-party program to remove it.

THEN, I go looking for it, and, if it exists, delete the folder. It's gone.

Following that, I have a commercial program to check the registry and delete anything I don't need. On occasion, the program I've deleted still exists there, and I remove the entry.

Ccleaner. Works like a charm and it's freeware.

I use Add/Remove Plus! from Innovatools. I have used this product for a couple of years now and it has worked well for me.

Freeware available from http://www.superwin.com/freeware.htm

I have tried several uninstallers but with only varying success. Even the most extensice tend to leasve some scraps behind--most often empty registry keys. So I simply do the uninstallation manually for best results. I begin using the Windows Add/Remove applet. Then I use jv16 Power Tools to search for files of the same name (be sure to include the programs name as well as the Software Company's name)and delete those files. Next I use jv16 to search my startup menue, uninstall folder, installed software, looking again for the uninstalled program and then deletingw aht is found. Finally I run the jv16 Registry tool to scan for registry porblems such as empty keys, etc. and delete what it finds. All told this takes about 10 minutes but when you are finished you can be sure that there are no scraps of the old uninstalled program left behind. The other benefit of using the jv16 Power Tools (by the way I use the old free version which can still be found on the Internet) is that it creates a backup of what you delete so that if you accidently delete something you shouldn't have, you can later restore it. Let me give you one example: I removed the Microsoft Anty Spyware Beta (in favor of Counter spy) recently using the Windows Add/Remove applet. After the installation, and using the above manual method I described, I found that there still remained: three folders, the uninstall program file, and 42 registry entries (no, that is not a mistake, 42 registry entries!!). I reinstalled the program and tried the program "YourUninstaller" mentioned in the above article and the results were nearly the same (1 folder, uninstallation program file, and 34 registry entries). You will be amazed to find using a program such as the jv16 Power Tools just how many old empty registry keys are on your computer from old installations. A friend of mine who really does not do that much downloading of software found that after two years he had 576 empty or useless registry entries on his machine just from old software that he had "uninstalled." You will be amazed at how much better your computer works (lots of little glitches disappear) when you try my method.

After reading actingmark's comment I decided to try ''jv16 Power Tools'' - amazing program. So good I actually went throught the trouble of signing up with CNET forums and finding this string again just so I can comment on how pleased I am with the prog lol.

actingmark - ty. Now I'm going to try ''Counter spy''. If it's good enough for you, I guess it's worth taking a look at!

And as for how I uninstall programs - I use the provided uninstaller if there is one, then delete any folders left behind, then run a registry cleaner (which is now jv16).

I always try to use the software's uninstall program if there is on if not I use Window's add/remove program. Is there a better way?

I have found Go Back by Roxio to be the best.
I have used the Uninstaller on Norton Systemworks.
But sometimes it creats more problems.
And I have used the Add/Remove program that comes with Windows. But I Prefer to just 'GoBack' to the previous state my computer was in, as sometimes this is the Best.

Peter Norton had the best housekeeping stuff--back in 1989.

I use norton only as a selective cookie wiper. Been thinking about just doing a full delete on the temporary files rather than monkeying around with symantec at all.

I trial a lot of shareware. So I use the remove option in Add/Remove Programs a lot.

But the best uninstall utility I use is called ''Format''; every 4 months or so I clear out my entire boot drive, and reinstall Windows -- in all of 10 minutes!

It's easy for me, because I have split one drive into C: and D:, moved the My Documents folder to my D: drive, and have a Norton GHOST image of my C: drive.

The hardest part was finding out where Firefox and Outlook kept my data -- most programs simply use My Documents. (The second hardest part was moving My Documents correctly -- but that is a whole new topic... :-))

GHOST takes less then 10 minutes to re-image, everything is clean again, and I simply continue to work as usual (while the latest patches and updates download and install themselves in the background).

S. Kris
Sydney, Australia

Your idea of splitting the hard drive is great. Can you tell me how much space you would give to the c: drive. As well, what do you ghost on the c: drive? Just the windows install before adding any other programs, or windows and your basic programs, or....?

My guess is when you reformat, the ghost drive quickly writes over the c:drive and wipes out all your programs but your basic initial setup.

Dan