Remove old device files from Autoplay and elsewhere

[Nelli0]

I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right section but I'm sure someone will soon tell me!
I used to have a Canon camera which I sold last year. However, it is still listed in Autoplay with no option there to delete. How can I do this please?

Also, although I have uninstalled (using Revo) old antivirus programs then used CCCleaner I keep finding odd files of AVG, Avast and MalwareBytes. Where do I go so that I can clear them completely from the computer?

These are not problems but petty irritations and I suspect that both will have the same solution if there is one. Thanks for any help forthcoming.

 

[nivrip]

Also, although I have uninstalled (using Revo) old antivirus programs then used CCCleaner I keep finding odd files of AVG, Avast and MalwareBytes. Where do I go so that I can clear them completely from the computer?

These are not problems but petty irritations and I suspect that both will have the same solution if there is one. Thanks for any help forthcoming.

Have you been into Search and typed in AVG. This will often show bits left behind which can sometimes be deleted easily. I often find that CCleaner Registry Cleaner brings up lots of leftover files which can be deleted too (or have you tried that?).

 

[Nelli0]

I've done both the above. The search did bring up two AVG files that were supposed to be in downloads but when I looked I couldn't find them. So I tried right clicking/delete on each one in the Search box but got the message that the files could not be deleted because they couldn't be found. The Search in Windows is very poor I've found. Thank you for the suggestions though.

 

[nivrip]

Another thing to try is Unlocker, a free programme you can download, which often picks up bits and pieces that CCleaner misses.

 

[Nelli0]

I downloaded Unlocker but couldn't get it to work. It didn't show up as it should have done and when I clicked on one of its files nothing happened so I assume the download didn't work properly. In any case it wouldn't work on the Canon file in Autoplay because when I search for Canon the only results I get are 4 pix which I don't want to delete. All I want to do is to remove it from the Autoplay list.
Plus getting rid of the old files of AVG etc.

 

[nivrip]

Sorry to hear that it won't download. I have used it in the past to remove old bits and pieces and found it very effective. Is it worth downloading again?

Don't think it will work for your Autoplay problem however.

 

[Nelli0]

I went to the Registry and found AVG there so deleted it. Thought that had solved the problem but when I searched for AVG up came the same two files!
Couldn't find any reference to Canon in the Reg though.

 

[nivrip]

I believe that Avast and AVG acknowledge that uninstallation is often not complete when removing them through Control Panel > Add/Remove Programmes (or CCleaner)so they have their own dedicated removal systems which you can find on their websites.

I think Avast is free but AVG may be a paid for service although you may be able to have a free trial run.

http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility

http://www.avg.com/eu-en/avg-pctuneup

 

[alow]

If you're using Windows 7 or Windows XP with Windows search installed, it could also be a corrupted search index. You can rebuild the index from Control Panel in Indexing options, but it takes from hours to days to complete. A corrupt index can cause previously deleted files to continue to show in a search or files that are known to be there to not show up in search results.

 

[Nelli0]

Can you tell me more about the indexing? Do I need to keep my pc on, for instance, if I go ahead with that option? It certainly sounds like a corrupted search index. I looked at Properties for the AVG files and they are Application.exe but Search didn't bring anything up that seemed relevant.

 

[alow]

Yeah, you would go to Start | Control Panel | Indexing Options. Click on Advanced and then Rebuild. Your computer will need to be on for the index to rebuild, but, as mentioned earlier, it will take a long time to rebuild.

 

[muckshifter]

http://www.avg.com/us-en/utilities

use the correct version, 32 or 64 bit OS

then, follow the Manual uninstal at ...

http://www.mytechguide.org/7871/how-to-completely-remove-avg-antivirus/


unless you have a real registry "problem", don't bother visiting it.

a computer cannot do anything, if it ain't on.

oh, and what OS you running?

 

[nivrip]

Giveawayoftheday have an offer of a program called Full Uninstaller, available free for today only.

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/full-uninstall-2-10/

No idea what it's like but the reviews are reasoable.

 

[Nelli0]

I downloaded the trial run of AVG tuneup and ran it yesterday. After that my old Word problem re-surfaced (see other thread re blank doc opening). Also the old AVG files are still there. My OS is Win7. I run FF as my default browser though Chrome is also installed and my antivirus is Microsoft Essentials. Using a different Uninstall prog probably won't do the trick because AVG isn't listed in programs. They only come up when I do a Search.
Does any of this help with a solution?

 

[alow]

Have you rebuilt the search index yet?

 

[Nelli0]

No, I haven't. I must confess I'm a bit wary of doing it because I don't really know what I'm doing - and the length of time you said it takes.Can I do other things whilst the machine is doing its thing?

 

[alow]

It takes time, but it's usually worth it if it is the cause of the problem. Usually if you start rebuilding the index at the end of the day and let it run overnight with the computer on, it will be done (or close to it) in the morning. You can do things normally while this is happening, the index actually runs all the time anyway, but it can get stuck and cause these kinds of problems, which leads to needing to rebuild it from scratch.

 

[Nelli0]

How do I know that the problem is caused by the index? I'm not even sure what an index is in this context.

 

[alow]

The index (in Windows Vista and 7, and Windows XP with Windows Search installed) is what is used by Windows Search to locate files on your hard drive. It keeps basically a database of filenames and locations (among other things) to allow Windows to find items more quickly. When it becomes corrupt, it causes problems as I mentioned earlier.

 

[Nelli0]

Could it also cause the Word blank page problems?