TechnoHolics

Why can’t I uninstall certain softwares ?

I’ve seen in many forums that users ask for a solution on how to uninstall certain softwares. Many of my friends too call me and ask what should I do if I cannot uninstall a software ? First, we must know why it cannot be uninstalled using the bundled Uninstaller or from Control Panel using Add/Remove Programs. The reason might be that, the software files might have been corrupt OR the PC could be infected with virus OR the software installed is a rogue software OR even the OS files could have been corrupt OR the registry keys belonging to the software might be corrupt.

What should I do ?

The first thing, you must do is try uninstalling the software using the ‘usual way’. By usual way, I mean using the Add/Remove Programs option or using the Uninstaller that came with the software. One thing that you require is patience. It might take long time or your system might be non-responding for a few seconds. The uninstaller might ask you to restart your PC too. Do it as it says.

If you have tried uninstalling the usual way patiently without any results, then the first thing for you to do is search for specific special uninstallers. Many popular softwares offer specific uninstall utilities. Some specific third-party tools are also available. All you have to do is just fucking google it. Do remember that these tools are made for a specific software and sometimes work on a specific version only. Some examples :

• Norton Removal Tool – Remove Norton Products
• Adobe CS3 Clean Scripts – Remove Adobe CS3 Products
• Adobe CS4 Clean Scripts – Remove Adobe CS3 Products
• Remove MS Office 2007 – Remove Microsoft Office 2007
• Uninstall MSN or Windows Live Messenger – Forcefully remove Windows Live Messenger
• NET Framework Setup Cleanup Utility – Remove all versions of .NET Framework
• Uninstall DirectX – Remove or Repair DirectX
• Windows Installer CleanUp Utility – Clean MSI Configuration Data
• F-Secure Uninstaller – Uninstaller for F-Secure Products
• Toolbar Uninstaller – Uninstall various unwanted toolbars
• Nero Clean Tool – Uninstalls Nero Suite
• Avast Uninstall Utility – Uninstalls avast Antivirus
• XPS Removal Tool – Uninstalls Microsoft XPS Utility
• AV Uninstaller – Uninstall many Antiviruses
• PC De-Crapifier – Uninstall unwanted trial softwares.

Important :
You can also try uninstalling the softwares using the famous Revo Uninstaller which can completely remove softwares, clean the left-over files and registry entries etc. I highly recommend you to have Revo Uninstaller. Along with that, CCleaner is a must-have utility to cleanup registry entries. It can also remove any software entry from Add/Remove Program List. However it does not uninstall softwares.

For many softwares like Adobe ones, the software manufacturer provides a way to manually uninstall softwares by manually deleting the files and registry entries made by the software. If everything fails, here is the General Way To Manually Uninstall Software. This must be your last resort. Modifying registry without knowing what you are doing can cause serious consequences. Windows may end up not booting. Be careful while playing around with the registry.