Freeware uninstaller for existing programs NOT intended to be uninstalled

[Connie Davidson]

What is a truly freeware WinXP uninstaller for a stubborn applications?

I have some programs that Windows XP just won't uninstall (they show up in
the add/remove programs application but they don't have an uninstall
button). Likewise, they show up in Nirsoft's myUninstaller, but, nothing
happens when I right click to uninstall. They are stubborn.

Of course, for these stubborn applications, I could just manually delete
their "Program Files" and "Common Files" and "Application Data". And I
could stop and disable their "services". But, this is NOT elegant (and is
inviting further WinXP SP2 problems down the road due to the lack of
concommitent registry cleanup).

I diligently searched the newsgroups for freeware uninstallers but could
only find 30-day trialware "free download" uninstallers (or worse yet,
uninstallers which need to be run BEFORE the offending program is installed
in the first place).

Is there a truly freeware (not 30-day trialware) WinXP uninstaller that can
run AFTER an application has been installed but which also removes those
applications which don't have a REMOVE button in the Windows XP add remove
programs application?

 

[Connie Davidson]

Is there a truly freeware (not 30-day trialware) WinXP uninstaller that can
run AFTER an application has been installed but which also removes those
applications which don't have a REMOVE button in the Windows XP add remove
programs application?

Some programs which are recommended in these newsgroups but which FAILED
the two-part test were the following:

McAfee QuickClean Lite 2.00.1062.0 Archive Wizard (it's expireware)
NirSoft MyUninstaller 1.33 (it didn't uninstall the program)
Total Uninstall 3.5.1 (it's expireware)
e^2 Install Watch 2.5 (it's expireware)
Safarp (it works only before you install)
Remove 4.0 (it's expireware)
Cleansweep 4.0 (it's expireware)
Advanced Uninstaller Pro 2006 7.5 (it's expireware)
Add Remove Pro 2.08 (it works only before you install)
Add Remove Plus 2004 (it's expireware)
Jouni Vuoro Reg Cleaner (it's expireware)
etc.

Since I have some reluctant applications that won't remove themselves, I am
forced to ask this question.

Is there any 32-bit Windows XP software out there meeting these two tests?
1. It is truly freeware (not trialware)
2. It removes the program even after an application has been installed

Thanks in advance for your help,
Connie

 

[REM]

Some programs which are recommended in these newsgroups but which FAILED
the two-part test were the following:

McAfee QuickClean Lite 2.00.1062.0 Archive Wizard (it's expireware)
NirSoft MyUninstaller 1.33 (it didn't uninstall the program)
Total Uninstall 3.5.1 (it's expireware)
e^2 Install Watch 2.5 (it's expireware)
Safarp (it works only before you install)
Remove 4.0 (it's expireware)
Cleansweep 4.0 (it's expireware)
Advanced Uninstaller Pro 2006 7.5 (it's expireware)
Add Remove Pro 2.08 (it works only before you install)
Add Remove Plus 2004 (it's expireware)
Jouni Vuoro Reg Cleaner (it's expireware)
etc.

Since I have some reluctant applications that won't remove themselves, I am
forced to ask this question.

Is there any 32-bit Windows XP software out there meeting these two tests?
1. It is truly freeware (not trialware)
2. It removes the program even after an application has been installed

That's a toughie. The way I understand this is that the program that
you want to install provides the necessary information for
uninstalling. Without that, I don't see a way for another program to
safely and cleanly remove it.

Can you list a few of the problem programs that you have?

There are programs like Total Uninstall that are run before installing
a program. These create a log of all system changes, basically the
info needed to remove the program whether it wants to go or not.

Here is an older version of TUN that is freeware:

http://www.pricelesswarehome.org/2004/PL2004SYSTEMUTILITIES.php

Total Uninstall
(Freeware)
Windows OS: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP
Languages: English, Brazilian-Portuguese, Catalan, ChineseBig5, Czech,
Dutch, French, Galician, German, Greek, Italian, Korean, Polish,
Romanian, Russian, Spanish
Description: Total Uninstall can help you to monitor any changes that
were made to your system during installation of a new software product
and allow you to perform a complete uninstall without having to rely
on the supplied uninstall program (which may leave files or changes
behind). To use it, you simply launch the installation program from
the Total Uninstall interface and select the system areas to be
monitored. The program will then create a snapshot of your system
before it installs the new software and an additional snapshot after
install completes. It then compares the two snapshots and displays all
changes in a graphical tree view, marking all values and/or files that
have been added or changed as well as some before/after details. Total
Uninstall will save these changes and if you decide to uninstall the
application, it will reverse all changes to the previous state.
Company: -- Author: Gavrila Martau (Gabi)
Home Page:
http://www.martau.com/
download page v 2.34 (2003-08-06) (tun234.zip) (792 KB)
http://www.martau.com/tu_download.html
(desc. rev.: 2004-12-03)

Add/Remove Pro
(Freeware)
Windows OS: Windows
Languages: English
Description: Add/Remove Pro displays the entries in the Add/Remove
Programs list of Windows Registry, checks if each is valid, and
uninstalls the selected program or removes the entry from the list.
Company: -- Author: Ray Geide
Home Page:
http://superwin.com/
download v 2.08 (adrmpro2.exe) (346 KB)
http://superwin.swmirror.com/adrmpro2.exe
alternate download v 2.08 (adrmpro2.exe) (346 KB)
http://regvac.com/adrmpro2.exe
(desc. rev.: 2004-01-05)

 

[Ben]

Is there any 32-bit Windows XP software out there meeting these two tests?
1. It is truly freeware (not trialware)
2. It removes the program even after an application has been installed

Thanks in advance for your help,
Connie

If the program cannot be removed in the conventional way or by any of
the uninstallers that simply snag the uninstall information from the
registry, it usually means the uninstall information is damaged,
preventing anything - payware or freeware - from uninstalling it
cleanly. Examples would be any of the older packages that use
Installshield and create a log file on install. I've found that if
another helpful drive cleanup program has removed these logs, the
program will not uninstall.

The best solution I've found is to reinstall the program from the
original setup files and then uninstall it again. This should leave
things at least as clean as if the program had been uninstalled in the
normal way. You could also try running something like the last freeware
version of Total Uninstall before reinstalling the software to pick up
any changes made by the installer to allow you to clean them manually if
it doesn't remove them itself when uninstalled.

Not the quickest solution, but the cleanest for me...

HTH

Ben

 

[Shane]

If RegCleaner was recommended in *this* newsgroup, a freeware version was.
The last freeware version of jv16 Powertools - which includes RegCleaner -
is:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-43,GGLG:en&q=jv16+"1.3.0.195"&btnG=Search

Shane

 

[FrankV]

I use TweakAll from http://www.codeforge.co.uk/. Your request has always
worked for me when needed.

Frank

 

[John Rampling]

Is Ashampoo considered to be any good? I know it's shareware but I mention
it because it is occasionally included free of charge on magazine cover CDs.
I have not used it myself.

 

[J-Walker]

What is a truly freeware WinXP uninstaller for a stubborn applications?

Haven't used it yet myself, but you can give 'er a try.

ZSoft Uninstaller.

http://www.zsoft.dk/?goto=software_details&prog_id=4

 

[dadiOH]

I diligently searched the newsgroups for freeware uninstallers but
could only find 30-day trialware "free download" uninstallers (or
worse yet, uninstallers which need to be run BEFORE the offending
program is installed in the first place).

A 3rd party uninstaller *has* to be run before installing an install.
How else could it track changes made when a program is installed?
__________________

Is there a truly freeware (not 30-day trialware) WinXP uninstaller
that can run AFTER an application has been installed

No. Freeware or not
________________

but which also
removes those applications which don't have a REMOVE button in the
Windows XP add remove programs application?

If there is no "remove button" there may be nothing to uninstall (other
than dumping the program folder). The only way you can know for sure is
to have monitored the "install" with a 3rd party app.

Even if there *is* a "remove button" what is removed is determined by
the uninstall program and that was written by whoever wrote the program
you are trying to uninstall...the author determines what elements are
dumped or kept. IOW, Windows has nothing to do with it other than run a
program included with the program being uninstalled.

I don't have XP but understand there is a way of setting system restore
points. You could use that before each install but it would be world's
easier and more efficient to use a 3rd party app such as TotalUninstall.
There is an older, easily obtained free version of that, BTW, though the
paid one is much nicer.

Also BTW, you might want to cut down your cross posting.

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

 

[dsmey]

Incidentally, I have these kinds of problems, too, upon ugrading from
ME to XP. Basically a certain percentage of existing software migrated
to XP in a half-assed way, doesn't work, and cannot be uninstalled.

I assume I can do pretty well by
1) deleting the program folder
2) cleaning the registry

anything else that should be done? Is there a way to clean out its
DLLs?

 

[dadiOH]

Incidentally, I have these kinds of problems, too, upon ugrading from
ME to XP. Basically a certain percentage of existing software
migrated to XP in a half-assed way, doesn't work, and cannot be
uninstalled.

I assume I can do pretty well by
1) deleting the program folder
2) cleaning the registry

anything else that should be done? Is there a way to clean out its
DLLs?

Leaving them won't hurt anything, just uses HD space. If you want to
dump them you need a way of determining dependencies. Try DLLArchive...
http://www.analogx.com/welcome.htm

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

 

[Sandra Forst]

A 3rd party uninstaller *has* to be run before installing an install.
How else could it track changes made when a program is installed?

This is not true.

For exmaple, the $30 "free download" McAfee Uninstaller 6.50.1018 does not
need to even exist at the time the original programs were installed.

This McAfee Uninstaller will build a system snapshot (taking about twenty
minutes to complete) and then uninstall anything you point it to. You have
to rebuild the system snapshot every time to add new software to your
system if you don't use the McAfee Uninstaller to add the application.

The caveat here is that the McAfee Uninstaller is 30-day trialware (don't
let the words "free download" fool you) and hence it does not meet the
second of the OP's requirements.

You can pick up the 30-day McAfee Uninstaller trialware here:
http://www.soft32.com/download_124366.html

And, I suspect, at the Network Associates web site (I didn't check).

 

[dadiOH]

This is not true.

For exmaple, the $30 "free download" McAfee Uninstaller 6.50.1018
does not need to even exist at the time the original programs were
installed.

This McAfee Uninstaller will build a system snapshot (taking about
twenty minutes to complete) and then uninstall anything you point it
to. You have to rebuild the system snapshot every time to add new
software to your system if you don't use the McAfee Uninstaller to
add the application.

Yeah, I had forgotten about McAfee's even though I have it. I keep it
around because it provides a way to quickly check dependencies via a
shell extension. It will also monitor installs ala TotalUninstall and
back out everything if you wish.

As you say, it also has a function to "Completely and safely remove any
application from your computer"; trouble is, I don't trust that
function. Unless it has monitored the install, the only way it has to
know what to remove is what the system tells it - dependencies, dll
counts, etc. - and much of that depends on what the program told the
system when it was installed. All would be fine if all programs were
written by skilled pros who faithfully followed MS guidelines but they
aren't. YMMV.

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

 

[Nancy Forst]

Yeah, I had forgotten about McAfee's even though I have it.
As you say, it also has a function to "Completely and safely remove
any application from your computer"; trouble is, I don't trust that
function. Unless it has monitored the install, the only way it has to
know what to remove is what the system tells it - dependencies, dll
counts, etc. - and much of that depends on what the program told the
system when it was installed.

I was wondering HOW it the McAfee Uninstall (formerly Cybermedia)
actually worked since all the other uninstall programs I looked at
needed to be preemptive.

The $20 McAfee Uninstall program
(http://tucows.a5.com/preview/195895.html) also seems to "package" a
program (for example, Microsoft Outlook or Adobe Photoshop, etc.) for
use in another system. I can only wonder how all those registry keys can
possibly work in the second computer system once an installation is
packaged that way.

I tried the McAfee Uninstall option to "move" a program from one place
on my system to another. This seemed to work but as always time and
users experiences posted here will be the deciding factor as to whether
that really works or not.

I tried to find a URL for the download of the McAfee Uninstaller program
on the Network Associates & McAfee (http://www.mcafee.com/us) web sites
but could not. Strange. Is this program from the same company that makes
the anti virus program?

All I found were oblique references such as
http://www.tucows.com/preview/195895 on the uninstallers

http://www.tucows.com/downloads/Windows/IS-
IT/OSManagement/UninstallUtili
ties/

But I found nothing on the www.nai.com network associates site.
Strange.

 

[jacaranda]

I was wondering HOW it the McAfee Uninstall (formerly Cybermedia)
actually worked since all the other uninstall programs I looked at
needed to be preemptive.

That was the first...and last...program I ever bought. It did some pretty
hefty damage to my system. I would recommend staying clear of that program.

Since that time I've religiously used Total Uninstall or InCtrl before
installing. For the already-installed programs, I mainly just leave them
alone. It can be tricky trying to uninstall programs that haven't been
monitored. I've had some success that way, but I also had one major
failure...tryng to uninstall AOL (which came with my system). I wish I had
just left it alone.

 

[Al Klein]

The caveat here is that the McAfee Uninstaller is 30-day trialware (don't
let the words "free download" fool you) and hence it does not meet the
second of the OP's requirements.

I've never used the program, but I wonder ...

Will it totally remove all traces of itself? If so, the 30 day limit
is merely a tiny inconvenience.

 

[Karen Simon]

That was the first...and last...program I ever bought. It did some pretty
hefty damage to my system. I would recommend staying clear of that program.

Since that time I've religiously used Total Uninstall or InCtrl before
installing. For the already-installed programs, I mainly just leave them
alone. It can be tricky trying to uninstall programs that haven't been
monitored. I've had some success that way, but I also had one major
failure...tryng to uninstall AOL (which came with my system). I wish I had
just left it alone.

Is InCtrl5 not a freeware program?
If it is freeware, where is the correct proper place to obtain it?

Mmy googling for "InCtrl5 download" found many download sites. Yet, the first
site listed by Google, PC Magazine December 5, 2000
(http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1653326,00.asp), clearly says "PC
Magazine programs are copyrighted and cannot be distributed". The download
button asked for money.

Is InCtrl5 not a freeware program?

If InCtrl5 is freeware (the PC Magazine article is, after all, 5 years old so
things may have changed in the interim), of the many other download sites,
which is the "correct" site to download InCtrl5 from?

Is there any way to tell without having to ask?

 

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=BBQ=AB?=]

(e-mail address removed) (Karen Simon) wrote in

Is InCtrl5 not a freeware program?
If it is freeware, where is the correct proper place to obtain it?

Mmy googling for "InCtrl5 download" found many download sites.
Yet, the first site listed by Google, PC Magazine December 5, 2000
(http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1653326,00.asp), clearly
says "PC Magazine programs are copyrighted and cannot be
distributed". The download button asked for money.

Is InCtrl5 not a freeware program?

If InCtrl5 is freeware (the PC Magazine article is, after all, 5
years old so things may have changed in the interim), of the many
other download sites, which is the "correct" site to download
InCtrl5 from?

Is there any way to tell without having to ask?

There may not be a way to tell even after asking. Here's one account.

<http://garbo.uwasa.fi/pub/pub/pc/pcmagvol/pcmagvol.txt>

 

[jacaranda]

(e-mail address removed) (Karen Simon) wrote in

Is InCtrl5 not a freeware program?
If it is freeware, where is the correct proper place to obtain it?

I always preferred InCtrl4 and it uses the older EULA, which I interpret as
meaning it's always freeware.

I think InCtrl5 uses the newer EULA, which I think makes it
subscriptionware.

You can probably find one or both still available for download on the net.

But Total Uninstall is just as good. If I recall, the latest version went
shareware, but there's still a freeware version available.

 

[Karen Simon]

I always preferred InCtrl4 and it uses the older EULA, which I interpret as
meaning it's always freeware.

I think InCtrl5 uses the newer EULA, which I think makes it
subscriptionware.

You can probably find one or both still available for download on the net.

But Total Uninstall is just as good. If I recall, the latest version went
shareware, but there's still a freeware version available.

Does InCtrl4 work with Windows XP?

This 1999 PC Magazine In Control article implies not.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1654748,00.asp

If not, where is the correct place to get InCtrl5?