How to Correctly Uninstall a Program

Although the front-end or the part of the Windows system you see is quite simple and user-friendly, the operating system is quite complicated behind the scenes. And, a simple error or mistake can cause severe damage to your PC. Therefore, it is important that in the process of enjoying the computing experience on your Windows computer, you take proper care of it. For instance, one of the most important tasks that many computer users fail to do is to use legitimate procedures to uninstall programs from their computers. This is a very important task, because whenever you install programs on your computer several files and registry entries are added. And if you fail to uninstall your application using the correct method, many orphan files, registry entries, and programs shortcuts may be left behind. This orphaned data unnecessarily clutters your computer, and eventually leads it toward frequent system errors, freezes, and crashes.

In this article, we are going to introduce you to the proper methods that you may use to uninstall programs from your computer and prevent uninstall errorsthat occur due to incorrect removal processes.

Method #1: Use Add or Remove Programs

Most of the programs, especially the ones installed using the Windows Installer utility, add an entry in the Add or Remove programs list. Therefore, when trying to uninstall programs, this is the first method that you must opt for.

For example, if you want to uninstall office 2007 or remove a Norton productfrom your computer, you may perform the following steps:

1. Open Start menu, and then select Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel window, select the Add or Remove Programs link.
3. Scroll down the Currently installed programs list and select the option to uninstall Office 2007 or the Norton product you want to remove.
4. Next, select the Change/Remove button to uninstall the selected program.
5. Restart your system after the uninstallation process is complete to ensure that all registry entries and related programs are removed from the system.

Method# 2: Use Program Uninstaller

Although Add or Remove Programs is usually the most commonly used utility to uninstall programs, it is usually not efficient in performing a complete uninstallation, especially when you are trying to uninstall large applications such as Norton and Office 2007. This is the reason why separate uninstaller programs are available for these programs. For instance, you can download theWindows Installer CleanUp Utility and Norton removal tool on your computer to remove Office 2007 and Norton products from your computer.

Method #3: Use the Program Uninstall Option

Many programs do not add their uninstall option in Add or Remove Programs. The uninstall option for these programs is usually available in their program folder and a shortcut to it is usually added in the Start menu as UninstallProgram_Name. For instance, if you want to uninstall WinZip from your computer, open Start menu, point to All Programs, select WinZip and then select the Uninstall WinZip option.

Because programs add a number of files and registry entries, it is recommended that after you have uninstalled your program, you scan your registry and the hard disk for any left over information and remove it from the system. To remove unwanted and orphan entries from the registry, you may use a reliable registry cleaner tool to scan and remove these entries. Also, use the Disk Cleanup tool included in your Windows XP or Windows Vista computer to remove unwanted program files from the system.