how to completely uninstall

8/13/2019 How to Completely Uninstall

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How to Completely Uninstall / Remove a Software Program in

Windows without using 3rd Party Software?

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Generally all computer users install various software programs regularly. Sometimes they keep them

and sometimes they decide to remove them.

To remove a program in Windows, we uninstall it from Control Panel but many times the default

uninstallation utility provided by the program doesn't remove the program completely. It lefts some

entries in Windows Registry, some files in variousfoldersin your hard disk drives.

These leftovers might slow down your system and there is no point to keep them in your system.

There are many 3rd party software like Revo uninstaller, etc are available on Internet which claim to

completely uninstall a software program in Windows but sometimes these software also fail tocompletely uninstall a software from your system.

We here at AskVG always try to do the things ourselves so today in this tutorial, we are going to

share some easy to use steps which will help you in completely uninstall a software program in

Windows.

So without wasting time lets start the tutorial. We have taken Mozilla Firefox as an example in this

tutorial:

We have divided this tutorial in 4 steps:

Uninstall Using Control Panel Delete Remaining Files and Folders of the Program Remove Software Keys from Windows Registry Empty Temp Folder

STEP 1: Uninstall Software Using Control Panel

First thing first! Uninstall the software using Windows Control Panel.

Windows XP and earlier:

Open Control Panel, double-click on "Add/Remove Programs", select the program name and click

on Uninstall button. It'll remove it.

Windows Vista and later:

Open Control Panel, click on "Programs and Features", select the program name and click on

Uninstall button.
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STEP 2: Delete Remaining Files and Folders of the Program

Even though you have uninstalled the software using Control Panel, some files of this program might

still remain in a few system folders.

To delete these leftovers, you'll need check following folders:

%programfiles%

%appdata%

If you find any folder with the name of the software program which you uninstalled using 1st step,

delete it.

NOTE:You just need to type the above mentioned text in RUN or Start Menu search box and press

Enter. It'll open the folders directly.Program Files folder:


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Application Data folder:


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NOTE 2:64-bit system users will also need to check "C:\Program Files (x86)" folder. Here we

assume your Windows is installed in C: drive. If you installed Windows in any other drive, replace C:

with that drive letter.

STEP 3: Remove Software Keys from Windows Registry

You'll have to be very careful while following this step. Follow this step only if you are comfortable

with Windows Registry and if you have usedRegistry Editorin past.

When you uninstall a software program, many times its entry in Windows Registry is not deleted by

the uninstaller. It might increase Windows Registry size.

To completely uninstall the software, you'll also need to delete its key from Windows Registry.

1.Type regeditin RUN or Start Menu search box and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.

2.Now go to following keys one by one:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software

64-bit system users will also need to check following extra key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node

Once you go to the above mentioned keys, look for a key with the name of your uninstalled

software. If you find a key, delete it.

Sometimes the key name might be based on the company name or developer name so if yoususpect a key, expand it and check whether its related to the uninstalled software program. If yes,

you can delete it.
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PS:Make sure to take a backup before deleting anything from Windows Registry so that you can

restore it later if something goes wrong. To take backup, right-click on the key which you are going

to delete and select "Export". It'll save a .REG file containing the backup of that key.

PS2:Expert users can also find all occurrence of the key with the name of uninstalled software using

"Ctrl+F" and delete them. You'll have to be very cautious for it. Delete the key only if you are

absolutely sure that the key was created by the uninstalled software.STEP 4: Empty Temp Folder

At last you can also empty Tempfolder which containstemporary filesand cleaning this folder is

absolutely safe.

To empty Temp folder, type following one by one in RUN or Start Menu search box and press Enter:

%temp%

temp

It'll open Temp folders. You can empty them. If Windows shows errors while deleting a few files,

leave them. These files might be used by some running software or Windows services.
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That's it. After following the above mentioned steps, you'll be able to completely uninstall and

remove a software program from Windows.

If you have any question or suggestion, feel free to post them in your comment...

Posted by:Vishal Gupta | Categories:Software,Troubleshooting,Windows 7,Windows 8 /

8.1,Windows Vista,Windows XP

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Comments

David S.Thanks VG!

I thought that I had seen that method elsewhere, but your tutorial on it by far passes what the other

tech said.

Thanks Again

KlemU are a Godsent for post, keep it up

Maniits really useful. Thanks a lot!

kamithanks..............it really worked

ValooYour tutorial is such an interested one, thank you for such a help you have rendered to ppl like me.

Remain blessed.

NicholeAmazing thank you !!!

AGThis absolutely, positively works. Thank you so much !! Now I can play demo games over and over !!

JaxThis helped a lot. Many thanks, VG!

KatThank you very much! I run Secunia PSI on my computer which tells me if any programs are insecure.

Even though I had uninstalled Mozilla Firefox, Secunia PSI still recognized it as being there since

pieces of the program were still in my computer. I'm not computer savvy, but your instructions were

easy enough for even me to follow. After going through all of your steps, it disappeared from

Secunia PSI. Thanks again for your help!


8/9

AlexanderHelp me, please!

I'm trying to uninstall Nero trial. I followed all of your steps but there is still a Nero folder which

cannot be deleted ( C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Nero) with files such as LBFC.dll, NB.dll,

NBBurn.dll, NBService and NeroAPIGlueLayerUnicode.dll.

I'm desperate, it's very annoying!

Thank you :)

VG^^ Most of the times these files can be deleted after a reboot. If it doesnt work, you can try

Unlocker:

http://www.askvg.com/download-unlocker-file-unlocking-utility-for-windows/

SuryaThanks a lot.Helped me to reinstall IDM :P

zenabGreat stuff thanks in lots :)

ErikTried all that (with trying to delete IE folders)-- nothing works. Can't delete folder as it is telling me

the app is open, can't delete the registry items (tells me I can't delete, probably from same reason)--

but I completely uninstalled that stupid IE, or so I think...

(PS- first I "took Control" of it as administrator with the app you noted on your other blog)

Any ideas?

ajjuthank you dude for helping me

MarianneTotally wooooooooooooooooooooooooooorked...awesome job guys

jonameechiI can no longer create playlists in WMP 12 WIN 7 x64 SP1. I just did a I Fresh Install, and I had

opened it and made a few, so I know it WAS working. But at some point, during configuration

ofWindows Explorer or WMP, or another area, it stopped allowing me to even Create Playlists.

I mean, not a single one. I can click a .mkv, .avi, mp4. , or any Music or Picture File, any Media File I

associated it to when it behaved, and it will play. But no Playlists can be created. And all it says in

error box is:
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