Uninstalling: Program vs Control Panel

[ninethreeeleven]

Okay what do all of you guys recommend for uninstalling a program. Please clarify your answer if you find there should be more than the above choices.

 

[larryBird44]

I go the program files directory and delete the folder...i then goto the windows system directory and delete .dll's that sound like they might come along with the program.

 

[arkamw]

Program first, CP second, and then, god forbid, deleting the directory and clearing the registry by hand.

Cheers.

 

[Direwolf20]

I go the program files directory and delete the folder...i then goto the windows system directory and delete .dll's that sound like they might come along with the program.

Joking....right?

 

[Pilky]

I'v always used the control panel.

 

[oldpablo]

Surprise, surprise, the control panel simply calls the programs uninstall. There is no "windows uninstaller." We all win!

 

[vinnie]

Usually program, unless the program is hiding it (aka there's no obvious shortcut or uninstall program). Then windows.

 

[Ice Czar]

depends, first I check for its own uninstall
then either the control panel or Add Remove Pro
(a former featured freeware)

Add/Remove Pro v. 2.08
this is one of those rare exceptions, there is a small ad on the GUI of this ap, for the software developer, but its not spyware

displays the entries in the Add/Remove Programs list of Windows Registry, checks if each is valid, and uninstalls the selected program or removes the entry from the list. < Official description

Well thats pretty straight forward, and so is this ap for the most part, however it also has a few nice advanced features, like:

Finder Tab, select a program with a broken link and use the finder to see if a file in the uninstall string, this is here because, some aps dont report correctly, so its a good idea to check to see if the uninstall string is actually there or not before you delete the link.

Change Uninstall String
"Sometimes a link is bad because the program has changed locations or because a tempoary directory with the uninstall information was deleted. This will keep the program from being uninstalled." If the uninstall information exisits in another loaction on your compter you can use this to change the uninstall string.

Backup & Restore
automatically backups before you delete and gives you the option to restore

Displays all Uninstall Strings,
even those that windows doesnt want you to see

Maybe no one is like me, but you should see my Windows Add/Remove Programs list. It is full of
broken links. The only way to remove them is to open up the Registry and try to figure out where the
Uninstall entries are. I'm too lazy to do this more than once a year, so I wrote Add/Remove Pro.
Just run Add/Remove Pro and it will show you which links are bad. Press the Remove Entry button to
remove the entry. If you would like to uninstall a program, press the Uninstall Program button.

- Ray Geide, author of Add/Remove Pro

 

[mosin]

I'm in the small percentage group because I use the program uninstall option inside jv16 Power Tools. That way I can quickly make certain that I get rid of every trace of the program that was uninstalled. I don't like leaving keys behind.

 

[odoe]

I should get that.
I always try to use the programs uninstaller directly because the cp has a history of leaving stuff in there that's already been uninstalled.

 

[stevewm]

The CP simply calls the program's uninstaller. Same as if you had run it directly.

If a program is not removed from the CP list after uninstallation, its the uninstallers fault. The uninstaller is supposed to remove its entry from the CP after its finished. If it doesn't do this it will stay in the list until you remove it manually.