Uninstall Vista U

[Guest]

I have attempted to uninstall two programs both times uninstall shows they
have been removed. The icons are still on the desktop when I double click on
the icons the programs load up and are fully functionable.

My Question: How is a proper uninstall done that will remove the program?

 

[Chad Harris]

The appropriate uninstall depends on the program but:

1) What programs
2) How did you "attempt to uninstall" them? Did you use Programs and
Features>Select Program From List>ClickUnintall?

If you type uninstall program into the Start Menu's "Help and Support" you
get:

Uninstall or change a program

You can uninstall a program from your computer if you no longer use it or if
you want to free up space on your hard disk. You can use Programs and
Features to uninstall programs or to change the program's configuration by
adding or removing certain options.

Click to open Programs and Features.

Select a program, and then click Uninstall. Some programs include the option
to change or repair the program in addition to uninstalling it. but many
simply offer the option to uninstall. To change a program, click Change or
Repair. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation,
type the password or provide confirmation.


Note
If the program that you want to uninstall is not listed, it might not have
been written for this version of Windows. To uninstall the program, check
the information that came with the program.

There is also a Troubleshooting Topic you can click.

CH

 

[Guest]

Thank you Chad for responding.... I had uninstalled the program exactly as
you described and even attempted to uninstall it again however it does not
work even for programs that are written for Vista. Do you have any other
ideas?

 

[Chad Harris]

Again--if you tell us the program I might be able to go after uninstalls for
it other than what is the standard best practics Vista uninstall I gave you
available at Help and Support.

Anytime I have a problem with uninstalling a program on XP or Vista, or I am
going to uninstall Office any version, I use something I learned from the
MSFT Setup teams and Sloan Craighton MSFT who writes a lot of the MSKBs for
Office:

It's the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility--it's a simple box that list
programs or many associated programs with the main one in the case say of
Office that you aren't going to know about or find on your own. It does not
uninstall any programs,b ut gets rid of corrupt .dlls, or files, or registry
strings *in the way of a clean uninstall or a future install of the program
you're targeting.

Think "kids leave toys in entrance hall and you get them out of there so
people won't trip."

Download it at the bottom of this MSKB from MSFT:

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

It looks like this:
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/images/msi7.png

To select the listing for the target program and get rid of the clutter
associated you simply highlight it and click OK.

Try it. Again it would have made sense for you to name the problem
programs. Sometimes a problematic uninstall is cured by reinstalling the
program if you can--paradoxical and ironic as that sounds.

Good luck,

CH

 

[Guest]

The program was "usenext" I manually deleted the file through
"regedit"...Nvidia vista x32 drivers do not uninstall properly either when
using vista's built in uninstall. Thank you for your assistance and help.

 

[Chad Harris]

Most of the time when you attempt to "manually delete a file via the
registry, you don't begin to delete the program." A majority of programs
don't just install reg subkeys or values; they install into a number of
folders as well. It's the last way I'd attempt to delete anything, unless
you have a reliable manual uninstall.

I've yet to see the program that is cleanly uninstalled via the registry;
and often that bodes trouble down the road.

You rarely if ever would have to "uninstall an Nvidia driver"; you would
simply install the one you choose. I've not seen Nvidia drivers with or any
video drivers with entries in Add/Remove in any version of Windows, and I
have one for a new video card now and it's driver has no Add/Remove entry.

Whether you get the driver for an Nvidia chipset whoever made the video
card, via the Vista DVD, MSFT Update, or the Nvidia website, it's not going
to put an entry in add/remove in XP or Vista's version which is "Programs
and Features" reached via the Control Panel or typing the word programs into
Vista Search.

The driver files for my card are actually located in C:\Windows\system32

Good luck,

CH

 

[Guest]

When I run the file you suggested I get the following error. MS VBScript
runtime error line 17 char 1 error permission denied code 800A0046