Chapter 3: Installing Programs

Uninstalling Programs

If you have a program on your computer that you don't use, you can uninstall it to free up space on your hard disk (unless it's one of the many un-uninstallable components of Windows). You can also uninstall older versions of programs before installing new versions. The best way to uninstall a program is by using the Add Or Remove Programs window. If it doesn't appear on the Windows list of installed programs, run the program's uninstall program; if the program doesn't have one, you'll have to delete files manually.

Uninstalling Programs Using the Add Or Remove Programs Window

When you want to uninstall a program, first try using the Add Or Remove Programs window. Follow these steps:

1. Choose Start | Control Panel and click Add Or Remove Programs. You see the Add Or Remove Programs window. If the Change Or Remove Programs button isn't selected, click it, as shown in Figure 3-7. The Add Or Remove Programs window lists many of your installed programs (not including Windows components).

Figure 3-7: Uninstalling a program

2. In the list of installed programs, click the program you want to uninstall. Windows tells you how much disk space the program occupies, how often you run the program, and when you last ran it.
3. Click the Remove button. Windows uninstalls the program, while messages appear to let you know what's happening.

If the program doesn't appear in the Add Or Remove Programs window, you have to uninstall the program another way.

Sometimes Windows can't uninstall a program, usually because it can't find the files it needs to perform the uninstallation.

Running an Uninstall Program

Many programs come with uninstall programs, usually named Uninstall.exe. Look for an uninstall program in the same folder where the program is stored. Run the uninstall program, and then follow the directions on the screen. The uninstall program may also be on the Start | All Programs menu on the same submenu as the program.

Uninstalling Programs Manually

What if a program doesn't appear in the Add Or Remove Programs window and doesn't come with an uninstall program? You can delete by hand the program files and the shortcuts to the program. You might not delete every last file connected with the program, but the remaining files usually won't do any harm. Before deleting anything, check the program's documentation for instructions. Be sure to back up your hard disk or create a System Restore checkpoint before uninstalling a program by hand, in case you delete a file your system needs.

Rather than deleting a program, you might first want to rename the folder containing the program files, adding something like "deleted" to the end of the folder name. Wait a few days. If other programs are using those files, you'll see error messages when those programs run. If no programs report errors within a week, then you know it's safe to delete the folder containing the program files.

To delete the program files, determine which folder contains them. The easiest way to find out where the program is stored is to look at the properties of a shortcut to the program. Right-click a shortcut to the program on your desktop, on the taskbar, in a folder, or in the folder that contains your Start menu items (usually C:\Documents And Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs). Choose Properties from the menu that appears and click the Shortcut tab on the Properties dialog box for the program. The Target box contains the full pathname of the executable file for the program. Click Find Target to open an Explorer window for the folder that contains the program file.

To delete the program, delete the folder that contains the program files and all the files in it. After uninstalling a program, you might see shortcuts to the program lying around on your desktop, in folders, on the taskbar, or in your Start menu. Delete these shortcuts by right-clicking the shortcut and choosing Delete from the menu that appears, or by dragging the shortcut into the Recycle Bin on the desktop.

If at all possible, use a program's uninstaller instead of just deleting all the files because the uninstaller is safer and more comprehensive. Uninstallers remove files in C:\Windows, C:\Windows\System, C:\Windows\System32, and other locations in which the program might have installed them. Uninstallers also deletethe Registry entries for the program.