Reference number: CH000347

Uninstalling Windows software.

Issue:

Uninstalling Windows software.

Solution:

If a software program or game is no longer being used or played or additional space is required it may be necessary to uninstall or delete software. Below is a listing of different methods of uninstalling software from a computer running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, or Windows Vista.

Install/Uninstall option

Pro: Will remove all or the majority of all files copied to the computer during installation.
Con: Not all programs support this feature.

If available, it is highly recommended that software be uninstalled through this option of Windows. To view a list of currently installed programs in your computer click Start, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click Add/Remove Programs. Within Add/Remove programs click the "Install/Uninstall" tab or click the "Change or Remove Programs" button.

Within this section you will see a listing of programs that are currently installed that support this feature. If the program or game you wish to uninstall is listed within this list, highlight it and click the Add/Remove or uninstall option or button.

If the program or game is not listed within this list, continue reading this document for alternative methods of uninstalling or removing programs.

• Users who are having issues removing programs from the Add/Remove programs should refer to document CH000568.

Unwise Wizard

Pro: Generally created or programmed by the developer of the program that will allow the program to delete any files that were originally installed.
Con: May cause errors with other software because it installs related files.

Unwise is a file that is installed with most software today. The file UNWISE.EXE is used to uninstall the program and is generally always located in the main directory where the program is located.

It is important to note that if you do a search for UNWISE.EXE that you may find several of these files, as each program or game installed into the computer may have installed this file. Ensure that you run the UNWISE.EXE associated with the program you wish to uninstall.

To use this method of uninstalling your program or game open the folder where the program or game has been installed, locate UNWISE.EXE and double-click the file to execute.

If the program or game you have does not have this option, continue reading this document for alternative methods of uninstalling or removing programs.

Third-party software

Pro: Will generally remove files and registry settings associated with the program, which manually deleting the program will not.
Con: More likely to cause issues with Windows or other program or games installed on the computer.

There are various utilities and programs available capable of uninstalling software from the computer. Such programs are available from Symantec, Mcafee and other computer software developers. It is important to know that when purchasing or downloading any uninstall wizard or program that you ensure it is designed for your operating system to help prevent possible issues.

Manually delete

Pro: Manually deleting the software from the computer will help save space when no other options are available.
Con: May cause additional errors if the operating system or other programs require files that are deleted.

Before manually deleting any software from the computer we recommend that you:

1. Ensure that your recycle bin is empty and that files that are deleted are sent to the recycle bin. This will help allow you to restore those files if they are required.

2. Ensure backups of important data have been made in case you cannot make the backups later.

3. Ensure that you are only deleting the program or game folder and not the directory where the program or game is located.

Once you are ready to manually delete the program or game, open Windows Explorer. Select the folder that you wish to delete from the hard disk drive. Once highlighted, press the delete key on the keyboard and the computer will ask you if you are sure; if yes, click the Yes button.

Once the program or game has been deleted from your computer, reboot the computer to ensure that no errors occur upon reboot; once you feel that deleting the program or game from the computer has not caused issues you can empty the recycle bin.

Additional information:

• See uninstall dictionary definition for information and related links to the term uninstall.
• Users who are having issues removing programs from the Add/Remove programs should refer to document CH000568.