Question

Following the directions in the chapter, what are the steps one could take to manually remove installed software from their computer? (Think about the manual steps here, rather than the uninstall routines provided by the software manufacturer).

What kinds of errors might one get when uninstalling a program? What resources are available to help with these errors? Have you ever run into errors when uninstalling programs?

Summarize your experience and share your resources with the class in a minimum of 175 words.  

Answer 1

Yes, I have run into errors when manually uninstalling programs.

* One of the steps one could take to manually remove installed software from their computer is by manually deleting the installed files, supporting files, and especially the executables or execution files, in the case of Microsoft Windows, the software's files would be installed in the "Program Files" folder of "Windows" main folder in the "C:" drive of the computer.

* Another powerful, effective, and the guaranteed solution is deleting the software by navigating to the folder where the software files are installed and running the delete command recursively to delete all the related, executable, and supporting files of the software.

* Yet another solution, is using a third party software whose main function is to uninstall any desired software and remove its files, folders, supporting files, executable files, etc. This third party software could be CCleaner (for Windows) or another software available in the market.

* One could navigate to "Add/Remove Programs" on a Windows computer, identify the registry key representing the program or software to be uninstalled, right-click the key, and click "Delete".

* Navigate to the application of the software folder for uninstalling files to invoke the uninstall process. These files could UNINSTALLER.EXE or UNINSTALL.EXE. In case, these files are found, double click on them and it will execute the uninstall process.

Errors:
* One of the errors one might get when uninstalling a program is an error related to the "The file/s you are trying to delete is/are used by another program".
* Another related and similar error would be something like "The file/s you are trying to delete is/are being used by the software which is currently running".
* The user (standard) who is trying to delete the files of the software to be uninstalled may not be the administrator of the computer and might need the administrator privileges or the admin password to delete the files and folder of the software.

Resources that are available to help with these errors:
* Stop using the software or make sure you have closed or shut down, or even exited from the software and try deleting the files manually.
* Look for the other software that is using the software whose files you are trying to manually delete. Close or shut down the other software and try deleting the files and folders of the software you are trying to manually uninstall.
* The user may have to request the administrator or with proper authorization and authentication, will have to work with the administrator to delete the files and folders of the software to be manually uninstalled.
* If you are unable to delete the files or folders of a software, restart the computer and try deleting. It should delete the files or the folder of the software.
* Navigate to the registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
* As a precautionary step, take a backup or export the "Registry File".
* Click the "Uninstall" registry key.
* Each key found under "Uninstall" is meant for and represents a software appearing in "Add/Remove Programs".
* Identify the registry key for the software and click "Delete", in case the software still shows up in "Add/Remove Programs".