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Best practices to uninstall a program in xp professional


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Guest Hackergrrrrl
Posted

I have this question but 2 answers. Can someone clarify this for me, please?

What is the best way to do a clean, complete uninstall of a program in

windows xp? (I need to remove a logitech mouse program because it

interferes with a kensington trackball program I need to install).

 

Here are my 2 answers:

 

--Just go to ADD/REMOVE programs and uninstall and that's it (easy!)

 

-- you must use windows uninstall program or equivalent (is this some sort

of wizard of something?

 

Thanks!

 

Hackergrrrrl

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Posted

Re: Best practices to uninstall a program in xp professional

 

Use either Add/Remove, or some applications place an uninstall shortcut in

their Program Folder

Either Or it usually makes no difference. - they are both affectively a

'windows uninstaller'

NB Uninstalling a program doesnt allways remove its Program Folder

 

"Hackergrrrrl" <Hackergrrrrl@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:73E8C5E5-9095-43A3-B7D7-4A88AF9D92EA@microsoft.com...

>I have this question but 2 answers. Can someone clarify this for me,

>please?

> What is the best way to do a clean, complete uninstall of a program in

> windows xp? (I need to remove a logitech mouse program because it

> interferes with a kensington trackball program I need to install).

>

> Here are my 2 answers:

>

> --Just go to ADD/REMOVE programs and uninstall and that's it (easy!)

>

> -- you must use windows uninstall program or equivalent (is this some sort

> of wizard of something?

>

> Thanks!

>

> Hackergrrrrl

Guest David Starr
Posted

Re: Best practices to uninstall a program in xp professional

 

Hackergrrrrl wrote:

> I have this question but 2 answers. Can someone clarify this for me, please?

> What is the best way to do a clean, complete uninstall of a program in

> windows xp? (I need to remove a logitech mouse program because it

> interferes with a kensington trackball program I need to install).

>

> Here are my 2 answers:

>

> --Just go to ADD/REMOVE programs and uninstall and that's it (easy!)

>

> -- you must use windows uninstall program or equivalent (is this some sort

> of wizard of something?

>

> Thanks!

>

> Hackergrrrrl

 

Add Remove programs ought to work. Windows install scripts are supposed

to make a disk file containing a list of all the files copied to hard

drive, all the registry keys planted, and any other changes made to the

target (victim?) computer. The un install merely reads the list and

reverses the LISTED changes. Some (many?) install scripts forget to

list all the changes (damages?) they do at install time. In these cases

the un install program will be less than successful at blowing the

program away. Sometimes it's just a matter of some files left behind on

disk. Sometimes time consuming invisible programs are left active.

If you are faced with a machine that seems to have some distructive

remanents of an uninstalled program gumming up the works, here are a few

things to try.

1. Use Regedit to search and destroy keys containing the program's

name, the program's maker's name, or pointers to the zapped program's

home directory.

2. Run taskmanager and look for active tasks that aren't part of windows

or some other installed program. You can google the names of unknown

tasks to find out what they are. You can speed this up by downloading

"process explorer", a jazzier task manager that googles the net for just

right clicking on the unknown task name.

3. Use windows explorer to zap any files or folders of the zapped

program that still exist on disk.

4. Pray a lot.

 

David Starr

Guest gilliano56
Posted

RE: Best practices to uninstall a program in xp professional

 

If the programme has it's own Uninstall then I would use that. Otherwise, use

the Add/Remove programme, then do Search, in your case "logitech", for

example, and erase any bits and pieces left over. I then like to look in Reg

Cleaner to make sure that the programme has been erased.

 

"Hackergrrrrl" wrote:

> I have this question but 2 answers. Can someone clarify this for me, please?

> What is the best way to do a clean, complete uninstall of a program in

> windows xp? (I need to remove a logitech mouse program because it

> interferes with a kensington trackball program I need to install).

>

> Here are my 2 answers:

>

> --Just go to ADD/REMOVE programs and uninstall and that's it (easy!)

>

> -- you must use windows uninstall program or equivalent (is this some sort

> of wizard of something?

>

> Thanks!

>

> Hackergrrrrl

Guest Ken Blake, MVP
Posted

Re: Best practices to uninstall a program in xp professional

 

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:37:00 -0700, gilliano56

<gilliano56@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> If the programme has it's own Uninstall then I would use that. Otherwise, use

> the Add/Remove programme,

 

 

It makes absolutely no difference. The two are identical. All the

Add/Remove Programs entry is is a pointer to the program's Uninstall.

 

--

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User

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