#233257 - 12/09/2004 21:45
uninstalling programs?
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enthusiast
Registered: 26/01/2002
Posts: 278
Loc: Massachusetts,USA
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Are there any programs that can completely remove all the garbarge that gets installed from a program?
Or is there a way to" track" what gets installed and then delete it afterwards?
When I download and install some games for my son,after uninstalling them there is always stuff left over.So I want to get rid of it all.
Anyone know or use something like this?
For windows.
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MIKE 80Gb RIO
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#233258 - 13/09/2004 02:44
Re: uninstalling programs?
[Re: newguy1]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31565
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
Are there any programs that can completely remove all the garbarge that gets installed from a program?
I wouldn't necessarily trust a program that did so unless I knew what it was deleting. I actually write installers in my day job, and I know where such things can go wrong. When they go wrong, they go pretty horribly wrong, so I'd be real careful if I found such a program.
I'd still like to see if anyone has recommendations of such a program. I'd really love to see one that went through my installed services, and especially installed drivers, and did housecleaning. I'd love to see it linked to an updated online database with a detailed description of what each driver and DLL was, where it came from, whether I need it, etc.
Quote:
Or is there a way to" track" what gets installed and then delete it afterwards?
NOW you're talking. One of my most commonly-used tools is a freeware utility that was published as part of a PC Computing magazine article several years ago, called "In Control". It does an excellent job of keeping track of exactly what was changed when you install something. Have a google.
You still have to know what you're doing, though. You have to know, for example, when to delete something that it installed, and when to leave it in place because it's an update to a critical system component. Such as, when a program updates the OLE libraries in the system32 folder, you need to know not to delete them or you need to know exactly how to roll them back. If you mess it up, other apps will stop working.
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When I download and install some games for my son,after uninstalling them there is always stuff left over.So I want to get rid of it all.
Ah, downloaded kid's games. That's a completely different issue. Most likely what you're talking about here is simple adware or spyware. In that case, you don't need any of the above, you just need to prune the program folder and then run "Lavasoft Ad-Aware" and "SpyBot Search And Destroy". Again, have a google.
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#233259 - 14/09/2004 00:27
Re: uninstalling programs?
[Re: tfabris]
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enthusiast
Registered: 26/01/2002
Posts: 278
Loc: Massachusetts,USA
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I currently do use those two spyware programs,and occasionally find some stuff that gets thru. Here is a typical scenario...I download a demo game, he plays it for a few weeks then doesn't like it or whatever the reason he doesn't play it so I uninstall it.Usually there is the program folder still there with nothing in it or some files.So I guess the question is, should I be concerned that stuff is still there or just forget about it and move on 
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MIKE 80Gb RIO
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#233260 - 14/09/2004 15:16
Re: uninstalling programs?
[Re: newguy1]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31565
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
Usually there is the program folder still there with nothing in it or some files.So I guess the question is, should I be concerned that stuff is still there or just forget about it and move on
Ah, that's simple, then. Delete the program folder. You don't need a special deinstaller or cleaner for that.
Here's why the folder is still there:
Installer and deinstaller programs are very careful about how they work. When you install a program, it keeps a careful log of everything that got changed during the installation process. When you deinstall, it uses that logfile as a guide, to delete only what it installed.
Now here's the tricky part. Let's say, for example, that you made a mistake when you installed the game. Suppose you chose to install it to "C:\Games" instead of "C:\Games\NameOfGame". Well, it would still work. But when you deinstall it, if it deleted the whole folder, it would also delete all your other games. So that's why the deinstallers are so careful to *only* remove what they installed, according to the log file.
So, what this means is... If the game has configuration files or savegames that are generated at play-time, they are not part of the installer's log file. So the deinstaller doesn't automatically remove them. The deinstaller doesn't know where they came from, so it doesn't know that they're part of the game, so it doesn't remove them.
The exception to this rule is when a company has the foresight to assign one of their programmers the task of writing a custom uninstaller. This is an extra DLL that's called by the uninstaller program, and it can be customized to prompt you: "Do you also want to remove your saved games and user profile?". This program then goes out and deletes the rest of the files in the game folder. And then you pray that the person coding it was smart enough to make sure it doesn't delete your entire c:\games folder...
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#233261 - 15/09/2004 01:06
Re: uninstalling programs?
[Re: tfabris]
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enthusiast
Registered: 26/01/2002
Posts: 278
Loc: Massachusetts,USA
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OK, thank you Tony.Well written explanation even I could understand 
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MIKE 80Gb RIO
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