I trying to free up a little space by uninstalling programs that I never use. How do you uninstall programs that are not listed in control panal, add/remove programs? They are listed in "Start,programs" list. The programs were installed by the manufacturor. They are programs such as 3D landscape, family tree, and so on. I know you can right-click and delete, but doesn't that just send them to the recycle bin? What about Astro Rock and Minesweeper? Can they be uninstalled?
Ken
Uninstalling programs
Moderator: Wiz Feinberg
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Jack Stoner
- Posts: 22146
- Joined: 3 Dec 1999 1:01 am
- Location: Kansas City, MO
Programs that do not have an uninstaller routine, will have to be uninstalled manually. That will probably leave some fragments around and depending on the program may leave the registry entry. However, that's about what you will have to do. There are some uninstall programs that will do that for you, like "Cleansweep" but they will still leave some stuff on the system. However, Cleansweep has an "orphan" finder that will seek out a lot of the program fragments that are still left. They aren't 100% but if you are concerned, programs such as Cleansweep are an option.
As far as what goes to the recycle bin, the amount of disk space that the recycle bin uses is controlled by windows and is based on the size of your hard drive and a percentage of the hard drive space. Once it gets to it's maximum, is will automatically delete the oldest files as anything new is deleted and sent to the recycle bin. You can delete all the files in the recycle bin but it's not really going to free up any disk space.
As far as what goes to the recycle bin, the amount of disk space that the recycle bin uses is controlled by windows and is based on the size of your hard drive and a percentage of the hard drive space. Once it gets to it's maximum, is will automatically delete the oldest files as anything new is deleted and sent to the recycle bin. You can delete all the files in the recycle bin but it's not really going to free up any disk space.
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André Sommer
- Posts: 173
- Joined: 24 Nov 2000 1:01 am
Hi Ken,
I'm using Cleansweep and it does a very good job. If there are any files or registry entries left behind after an uninstall you could try any of the following freeware programs:
CleanDisk: http://www.haysoft.com/
EasyCleaner: http://www.saunalahti.fi/tonihele/
RegCleaner (also has un uninstall menu): http://www.jv16.org/
Use a program like InCtrl5 (freeware): http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,,001CV2,.html
to monitor software installations. It will track all changes made to your system and report those. Excellent for cleaning up manually. Make sure you backup your registry before you start deleting !
HTH,
André.
I'm using Cleansweep and it does a very good job. If there are any files or registry entries left behind after an uninstall you could try any of the following freeware programs:
CleanDisk: http://www.haysoft.com/
EasyCleaner: http://www.saunalahti.fi/tonihele/
RegCleaner (also has un uninstall menu): http://www.jv16.org/
Use a program like InCtrl5 (freeware): http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,,001CV2,.html
to monitor software installations. It will track all changes made to your system and report those. Excellent for cleaning up manually. Make sure you backup your registry before you start deleting !
HTH,
André.
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Donny Hinson
- Posts: 21752
- Joined: 16 Feb 1999 1:01 am
- Location: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Ken, most of the small Microsoft programs (such as minesweeper, solitaire, tri-peaks, ect.) can just be deleted, but they don't take up a lot of space anyway. Keep the number of screensavers to a minimum. Some screensavers that people load eat up 2-5 mb ea., and with 20 or 30 of them on the average computer, they use lots of valuable space. Check the ".doc" and ".txt" files you have, and delete the ones you don't need.
Graphic files (ESPECIALLY Adobe) and ".wav" files are big memory hogs...keep them to a minimum. So are graphic centered application files like Excel and Corel. Keep all files in these apps to a minimum. Also, clear out all the "Temporary Internet Files" (usually found in "C:\Windows") periodically, as well as as the "Cache" folder in "C:\Program Files\Netscape\Navigator" if you use Netscape. This will make the computer run better.
Lastly, clean out the "Temp" folder occasionally in the "C:\Windows" directory. That one can really fill up too, I wiped mine two weeks ago, and it already has 20 mb in it!
Remember, the more files that are on a computer, the slower it runs. Many people who keep a computer more than a couple of years would do well to reformat the hard disk and start over (reload everything). Files you are not even aware of (and some even "sweeper" programs can't find) can build up and really bog things down.
Graphic files (ESPECIALLY Adobe) and ".wav" files are big memory hogs...keep them to a minimum. So are graphic centered application files like Excel and Corel. Keep all files in these apps to a minimum. Also, clear out all the "Temporary Internet Files" (usually found in "C:\Windows") periodically, as well as as the "Cache" folder in "C:\Program Files\Netscape\Navigator" if you use Netscape. This will make the computer run better.
Lastly, clean out the "Temp" folder occasionally in the "C:\Windows" directory. That one can really fill up too, I wiped mine two weeks ago, and it already has 20 mb in it!
Remember, the more files that are on a computer, the slower it runs. Many people who keep a computer more than a couple of years would do well to reformat the hard disk and start over (reload everything). Files you are not even aware of (and some even "sweeper" programs can't find) can build up and really bog things down.