Tip #4066 - The Uninstallers
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The
Uninstallers
Usually, when most
people want to uninstall a program for some reason or another, they usually
go to Windows' own Add or Remove Programs utility right within the Control
Panel. (If you're not sure how to use that, here is an article
you can read that will help you).
But, oh boy! Isn’t
it a pain?! I mean, it takes forever to load up, it doesn’t give
you a whole lot of information about what the programs are and it seems
to miss an awful lot.
So, what else can
you do?
Well, there are a
number of free programs available that do a far better and more complete
job. So, what do you say we check them out?!
Basically, they fall
in two categories:
1.) Improved versions
of the Add and Remove programs utility - These ones give you more information
and a more complete listing. Plus, they generally take a snapshot of your
system before you install a new program and they then compare it with
a snapshot afterward, just to see what has changed and what needs to be
removed.
2.) Clearly, the second
option is the more thorough choice, but it does take more time when it
comes to installing and uninstalling your programs. Also, you must remember
to make sure the program is actually running when you go to use it.
Alright, let’s
give a quick rundown of two programs (one in each category) so that we
can see what improvements over Windows you can get with them.
1.) MyUninstaller
This is obtainable
from this Web site.
But, keep in mind that the download link is a long way down toward the
bottom of the page, so be prepared to scroll down until you see the link.
Download the program
to your hard drive and then extract the file of "myunist.exe"
from the zip file and place it anywhere on your computer that you want.
(There is no installation as such. It just runs straight "out of
the box").
Once you run the program
for the first time, you will see a screen somewhat like this:
As you will see, not
only is it quicker (and I’ll tell you how to make it even quicker
in a minute), but it's also far more comprehensive in its scope. You get
a fuller description of where a program is located and a whole host of
other relevant information.
Also, note the two
icons circled at the top of the page. The first one is the one you can
use to carry out a standard uninstall, but the second is used to remove
an entry for a program that has previously been uninstalled. (Now, this
can sometimes happen with Windows and it normally means delving into your
Registry Editor to get rid of it, but don't worry, MyUninstaller does
all that for you instead).
Now, if you remember,
I mentioned a way you can list the programs even quicker when you fire
up the MyUninstaller program. To do this, first look at this screenshot:
If you go to View
and then select Quick Mode, MyUninstaller will save a
copy of the previous listings and bring them up again the next time you
use the program. Of course, if you have installed new programs since then,
they will not show. In this case, just press F5 to refresh
the list if you want to see them too.
And that’s about
all there is to that!
Now, on to the second
category of uninstallers.
2.) ZSoft
Uninstaller
The Web site for this
download can be found here.
Note:
Make sure you download from where I have circled above. The download link
above is for a beta version instead.
That will then take
you to another page on the site where you will need to click on another
link to get to the Web site of www.download.com.
Taking you here:
So, go ahead and download
it and then install it in the normal way.
The first running
of the program will give you this screen:
Then followed by this
one:
Basically, it can
be used as a "normal" uninstall program. But, note what happens
if you right click a selected item.
You then have the
option to get more information, like what's show below, about the program:
Now, let’s move
on to its "extra" feature that allows you to enable a complete
uninstall of a program.
First, click on the
Analyze button.
You'll then get the
following options:
If you are installing
a new program, you would click on the first button that says, "Analyze
an installation."
You can then indicate
which drive or drives you want to analyze (drive C: is usually sufficient).
The program will then
start to go through your files and all the registry entries you have at
that moment. By doing that, the program can then form a "before"
image of your system.
Now, still keeping
the program running, begin the installation of a new program. When that
has finished, go back to the ZSoft Uninstaller and press the After
Installation button. It will then go through the same process,
only now, it will take a snapshot of the files after the installation.
Next, you are asked
to give a name to this installation.
The program then does
a quick calculation and it will shut itself down.
That’s it! Well,
at least until it comes time to delete that program, if you ever want
to.
So, go on and fire
up the ZSoft Uninstaller. On the main screen, select the Analyzed
Programs tab.
Select the program
you wish to uninstall and then right click your mouse.
Click on the Uninstall
button to get to this screen:
You will notice that
the author has put in a lot of boxes for you to checkmark, which is just
him covering himself in the event of problems. You will have to checkmark
them if you want the program to work. Also, do make sure you click the
bottom box that says, “I don't want to confirm every delete.”
Otherwise, you will have to say "yes" to every single file it
seeks to delete, which can be a very tedious process!
Well, that should
be that. A full and compete uninstall!
By the way, the ZSoft
Uninstaller has a few other tricks up its sleeve that I don't have time
to go in to now, but read the Help file and see what
else you can do. The options are endless!
Happy deleting!
~ David Woodford
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