Uninstalling progarms - I mean completely

[satpach]

I am a novice when it comes to Windows 2000 Pro, but after I unistalled a program that I did not want (rebooted, just to be sure), I did a RegEdit and Edit-->Find on a string = "Program name" and found at least a dozen keys which had entries relating to this program still sitting around.
How do I completely delete all traces of the program ?

 

[beerhunter2]

All software uninstalls leave residual traces behind; in the registry, in Program Files, in the Windows and Windows system directories.

There are some utility programs you can buy that monitor every step of any software installation. These utility programs can then reverse every step of the installation when you want to remove the software, and leave your computer in the same state as it was before you installed the software.

I don't have the names of any of these programs, but go to:

http://www.tucows.com

and you should be able to find a few.

 

[satpach]

How about simply deleting all the keys in the registry where this program lingers? Or is it an insane idea?
Thanks a ton

 

[Mekkins]

If it's not throwing up any errors or revealing its itself in any other way, it doesn't hurt just to leave the entries. If it's a program you really hate (BonziBuddy, Gator, etc.) do some manual cleanup.

Personally, I just run a search of the registry and delete any key that mentions the offending program. I know everyone warns about editing the registry and backing it up, but I've never had any problems deleting entries for uninstalled programs. Occasionlly a particular program (Yahoo comes to mind) will leave entries in a particular profile and a user will get an error message such as "C:\Program could not be found." In that case, you need to open their Ntuser.dat file (Load hive) in regedt32, go to Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run, and delete the entry.

Gator is a different matter altogether. It leaves entries everywhere: the registry, the Startup folder, Common Files. Two Gator processes (Gmt.exe & Cmesys) continue to run even after it's uninstalled.

 

[beerhunter2]

You can do that, but you need to be very careful in the registry file. Also, software may update any number of registry keys elsewhere in the registry and you can't know about all the updates.

Then you would need to go into Program Files folder and delete leftover files there. Plus if you really want to get rid of all traces, which .DLL's did this software add or update in the Windows system directory?

If all you're concerned about is uninstalling the software and cleaning out the registry file, then you can try a program called Registry Healer, which can also be found on the Tucows web site. It's cheep enough that it won't break the bank.

 

[satpach]

Mekkins:

When you 'delete' keys in the registry, do you only delete the values or the entire key itself.

For example, when I ran a Find on the program name, the first hit was on a Class Key (a long Hexadecimal) - now this key had 4 folders under it and the first one had two keys - one of which had the entire path C:\.... program.exe.

My question is obvious: Do you take the entire Class Key out (the inherent assumption being the program put it in there and left it untouched during uninstall)
OR
just delete the specific key where you find a mention of the program name
OR
just delete the Value (not the key) where your program name is mentioned.

Thanks in advance.

 

[gfincati]

Try System Mechanic (

http://www.iolo.com/).

This utility will completely remove all references in the registry and is completely safe. It also has an excellent "Windows Start Up" manager.
GF GF

 

[Mekkins]

Satpach, I generally only delete values unless the key is CLEARLY related to the program itself. For instance the anti-virus program Inoculan will often show up under keys that specifically reference Cheyenne (I think that's the former name of the maker of Inoculan). If I'm searching for "Inoculan" and I hit on a value for it but I notice that the key itself is called Cheyenne, I will delete the entire key. Otherwise I leave the key alone, even if the only entries in the key appear to relate to the program I'm removing. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Mekkins]

Your safest bet is to only delete keys and values that Find lands on.

 

[Mekkins]

One other thing: be careful what you use as a search word. If you search for a program with a fairly unique name like "Inoculan" or "bonzibuddy", you're in good shape. For something like "gator" or "office", you need to be careful. A search for "gator" will pull up references for any program with "gator" in it such as Netscape Navigator. If you wanted to remove references to say Microsoft Office, best to search for a path such as "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office". If I remember right, you don't need to use quotation marks when searching for a path.

 

[satpach]

Thanks a ton, my friend ... it was detailed and I did what you said.
It did not work, but I learnt something that's worth sharing:
Since just deleting the values where the Find stopped didn't work, I decided to go ahead and delete all values from all keys in the particular folder where the Find stopped. It took a while for this manual exercise ... and guess what, even that did not work ... but it completely screwed up my HotSync (I have a Clie) ... I had to reinstall the Palm Desktop and reboot in order to get that working back again, so I guess we should not finger with things we have no clue about !! I felt very sorry ... but got out in good shape.

Thanks for the tips, anyway.

 

[Tejanorey]

Norton has a neat program that installs completely...I have noticed that it works better than the windows add/remove procedure BUT it will not uninstall certain windows programs. The Norton feature is called "Norton Clean Sweep". Semper Fi! Tejanorey

"Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army."
- Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War; shortly afterward, the Marines were ordered to not wear their khaki leggings to keep the enemy from immediately fleeing

 

[Mekkins]

Satpach, what didn't work? I thought you had uninstalled a program and just wanted to clean up after it. Was the program continuing to do something after being uninstalled? If you don't mind my asking, what program are you trying to get rid of?

 

[satpach]

This was a trialware that I had installed but never used. Many months later, I tried using it but it kept saying that the trial period was over. An uninstall-reinstall exercise did not help in re-activating it ...that's when my curiosity was triggered about these lingering entries
so when I said "it didn't work", I used that program as a Test to see if the uninstall had in fact completely wiped out all possible traces.

Hope that explains.

 

[Mekkins]

Ah, I see. Have you tried downloading a new copy of the program? It's possible that will help. I assume you checked Program Files to make sure the program directory is completely gone. You might want to look in the root of the Winnt directory to see if there are any ini files that might have been put there by the program. If a filename stands out, open it up (ini files will automatically open in Notepad) and see if it makes any reference to the program or the location where the program was stored. If so, delete the file (if you feel certain the program put it there. The name of the ini file should look like an obvious reference to the program). Open up Win.ini and System.ini as well and do a keyword search for the program. If you find any references, delete them (but not the files). I doubt you'll find anything in Win.ini and System.ini but you might.

 

[LeBodge]

Whenever I write apps for trialware, I hide the key when the app was first started deep in the registry, a search for the app's directory, ini files, registry search or anything else will not find it, it's hidden in a mass of thousands of other keys - I suspect this is what is happening here.



LeBodge.

"I know what I like and I like what I know"

 

[satpach]

You guys are great ... never knew there was so much to this !!

 

[Mekkins]

So LeBodge, will downloading a new copy do any good?

 

[LeBodge]

There are ways around this but I don't think it's wise to go into any detail so really you have two options :-

1) Find some other software that does the same job or

2) If you really have to use THIS software, re-install your PC.

LeBodge.

"I know what I like and I like what I know"

 

[LeBodge]

Mekkins,

No not at all, the key is still hidden in the registry even if you reinstall the app, doesn't matter what you do the key is hidden there and until it's removed the app WILL NOT work.

LeBodge.

"I know what I like and I like what I know"