image taken from blackbaud.com

Ever been to “that guy’s house?”  You know, the guy who collects everything and never throws any of it out.  If you have, you probably remember that it was hard to maneuver through the house and you got that feeling of claustrophobia from all of the clutter and disorganization.  You really wanted to get out as quickly as possible without making it apparent that you were uncomfortable and in need of some fresh air.

Over years of computer ownership, your computer can become “that guy’s house.”  You install program after program, thinking things like “I’ll use this all the time” and “I just need it for this one little project.”  You might have thought about going back to remove those old programs, but did you ever really get around to it?  Probably not.  Unfortunately, you are draining the resources of your computer and the more junk you build up, the harder it is for the programs you DO use to move around.

Uninstall Example from Start/Programs

If you haven’t done this before, it is really a very easy process.  Many software programs come with an uninstaller program (easily accessible from Start/All Programs) or, if an uninstaller is not provided, Windows has a program under Control Panel called “Add or Remove Programs” that will help you take care of removing a particular piece of software.

Both of these options are a step in the right direction, but there are some additional things to consider when uninstalling an unused program.  Specifically, there are files left behind that the uninstaller will not delete.  Typically, these files are in the registry, but sometimes spread out through other areas of your computer that you might not think to look at.  Thanks to a few code writers, there are some special tools out there that will help you remove every bit of those old programs.  Here are our top suggestions for getting rid of those old installs:

• Option 1: Use the uninstaller provided by the program OR Add/Remove programs under Control Panel, THEN clean your registry using a program like Abexo Registry Cleaner or CCleaner
• Option 2: Revo Uninstaller (available here or on JumpstartMyPC.com) is a FREE program that will “remove unwanted programs and traces easily.”  ** I have personally used and like the results of this program
• Option 3: Easy Uninstaller (available here) is another FREE program that I saw recommended on several sites and forums.  I have no experience with this software.

• BONUS OPTION: For some “intense” programs, like the anti-virus installs from Norton or McAfee, these programs will not take care of everything.  The makers of these products have instructions on how to uninstall their software posted on the company web site.  Follow these instructions carefully to remove ALL of the traces that would be left behind otherwise.

Now it is just time to pull the trigger.  Take a few minutes and uninstall the programs you haven’t used in a while.  We recommend that you back your computer up before taking on this task (just in case) and restart your PC after each uninstall.  When you are all done, run the registry cleaner and defrag program again, just to “shake things down” a bit.  If your computer was running slow before and you uninstall a few programs, you will probably see a speed improvement right away.

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Tags: Abexo Registry Cleaner, Add/Remove Programs, CCleaner, Easy Uninstaller, iTunes, Revo Uninstaller, Unused Programs

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 9:14 am and is filed under Free Programs, Tips and Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.