Over time, unnecessary programs inevitably accumulate on your computer. This is mainly due to the fact that many programs are installed to solve one specific problem. And after solving this problem, they are no longer needed.
How to remove unnecessary programs from your computer using the Control Panel
The easiest way to remove unnecessary programs is to remove them through a special utility in the Control Panel. In order to use this method and go to the "Remove Programs" section.
You can also open this utility using search. Open the Start menu and enter the phrase "Uninstall programs" in the search form, then run the found program.
After opening the "Remove Programs" utility, you will see a list of all programs installed on your computer. In order to remove unnecessary programs, you need to find them in this list. After that, the found program must be selected with the mouse and click on the "Delete" button, which will appear above the list.
This will open the program's installer, which will offer you to uninstall it.
How to remove unnecessary programs from your computer using MyUninstaller
You can also remove unnecessary programs from your computer using special ones. There are quite a few such programs. For example: Revo Uninstaller, ZSoft Uninstaller, MyUninstaller and many more.
In this article, we will demonstrate the process of uninstalling programs using the example of MyUninstaller. This program is completely free, does not require installation and is very easy to use. You can download this program from.
After launching this program, it will analyze your computer and find all installed programs. The analysis may take 1-2 minutes.
After that, a list of all programs installed on your computer will appear in the program window. Here you need to select the unnecessary program that you want to uninstall, and click on the button with the image of the trash can.
After that, the program installer will open and offer you to uninstall it.
Order in the computer is a guarantee of user well-being - no glitches, maximum performance. And it is clear visually where which file is located, what programs are installed, what they are for.
But if, on the contrary, chaos reigns on PC disks ... - this is definitely a problem. But, fortunately, fixable. Any obscenity (files and folders, unnecessary programs) from the computer can be removed manually and using special utilities. Read about how to properly and quickly "clean up" hard drive disks in this article.
All in one fell swoop out of sight ...
Before globally deleting everything that is on the computer, clean up, of course, you must first look through all the sections one more time. Suddenly, somewhere in the folder, there was something useful: photos, videos, text files with passwords and logins, reports, or some other valuable documents.
When you are 100% sure that you do not regret anything from the existing data in the directories, proceed with cleaning.
Option number 1: if the disk is not system
If you need to quickly "unload" a disk partition on which there is no system, that is, delete everything from it completely, do not bother yourself with painstaking drag and drop of files into the trash, but just take and perform formatting.
1. Right-click on the drive you want to delete all files from.
2. In the appeared system menu, click the "Format" item.
3. In the formatting settings panel, in the "File system" option, set the value "NTFS", in the "Cluster size" - 4096 bytes.
4. Click the "Start" button.
5. In the additional window “Attention! … ”Confirm the start of the formatting function: click“ ok ”.
That's all! Now the disc is, as they say, from a "blank slate". No files, no folders - nothing.
Alternatively, this procedure can be performed on the command line:
1. Open your console.
- Windows 7: open the "Start" menu; type cmd in the line and press "Enter".
- Windows 8: right-click on the "Windows" icon (the very first icon in the taskbar).
2. At the command prompt, enter the command:
format:
(for example, to format drive D, you need to enter - format d :)
3. Press Enter.
4. In the "Start formatting ..." prompt, type the letter Y (Yes) and press "Enter" again.
Option # 2: formatting the C drive (system partition)
The partition on which Windows is stored cannot be deleted using the method described above. Drive C is formatted using a special utility from the operating system's installation disk and then, accordingly, the OS is installed.
1. Insert the Windows installation disc into the DVD drive.
2. In the "Start" panel, in the "Shutdown" menu, start the "Restart" function.
3. While restarting the computer, hold down the "F8" key.
4. Select the option to boot from DVD from the menu that opens.
Note. The boot setting on your PC can be activated by another key (for example, "F2" or "F11").
5. In the "Windows Setup" window, select the interface language "Russian". Click Next.
6. Select with a mouse click in the list the disk on which the system is installed.
7. In the control panel, click "Disk Setup".
8. Select the "Format" command.
Upon completion of the operation, all files, programs and other elements from the C drive will be deleted, and you can immediately proceed with the installation of the OS cleanly.
How to remove all unnecessary from the C drive?
Selective cleaning of the system partition should be done regularly. This requirement is primarily related to the specifics of Windows operation. (During its operation, unnecessary files in separate directories are accumulated arbitrarily, without user intervention). And besides, you run less risk of losing useful content and valuable data (that is, deleting something very necessary from the C drive during the formatting process).
Method number 1: using the standard function
1. Run the computer cleaning system utility.
- Windows 7: open "Start"; in the search box, enter "disk cleanup"; select the C drive in the drop-down menu; click "ok";
- Windows 8: right-click on the "Windows" shortcut (in the taskbar); click "Find"; in the panel that opens, type "disk cleanup"; in the menu, click "Free up disk space ...".
2. Wait for the directory analysis to complete (in the average utility, this task takes 2-3 minutes to complete).
3. In the settings window, on the "Disk Cleanup" tab, check the boxes by clicking the mouse next to the items that need to be deleted or cleaned.
4. In the window that opens, click "Delete files".
Advice! It is possible to get rid of OS restore checkpoints (if you don't plan on using them!). Go to the "Advanced" tab and in the "Recovery ..." block, click the "Clear" button. Confirm the start of the function in the additional window.
Method number 2: cleaning the disk with cleaning utilities
There are a huge number of programs that free the C drive from "digital junk" in automatic and semi-automatic modes. In this quick tutorial, we'll take a look at the most popular solutions.
(https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download)
1. In the vertical menu of the program, click the mouse to activate the "Cleaning" section.
2. On the Windows and Applications tabs, specify which items you want to remove or clean up.
3. Click the Analyze button.
4. At the end of scanning, click to start the "Cleanup" command.
(http://www.chemtable.com/ru/organizer.htm)
1. Select "Disk Cleanup" from the vertical menu.
2. In the adjacent panel, click the Scan button.
3. Wait a bit: the utility will analyze the partition directories.
4. When finished, click Run Clean.
We destroy useless media content
Remember Plyushkin from the book "Dead Souls" by N.V. Gogol? Well, mountains, or rather tens and hundreds of gigabytes of seemingly useful, but seemingly useless content on your PC's disks clearly indicate that you are very similar to this literary hero ...
Books, movies, TV shows, huge software distributions, games that don't really need to take up precious free disk space. And they also burden the user with the need to constantly increase it when you need to download something else.
1. Right-click the file or folder you want to destroy. And then in the context menu, click "Delete".
2. When finished, do not forget to empty the Trash. Also hover over it, right-click and select "Empty Trash".
Getting rid of unnecessary programs
Standard uninstall
1. Open the system start menu. Go to "Control Panel".
2. Click on the "Uninstall a program" section.
3. In the list of software available in the system, right-click the unnecessary program.
4. Click the "Delete" option that appears.
5. Follow the instructions of the uninstaller.
Removing software with special utilities
(instructions for using Soft Organizer)
If for some reason a useless application cannot be removed from the PC in a standard way, or you want to perform a more thorough cleaning of disk directories, it is more advisable to use uninstaller programs (for example, Revo Uninstaller, Uninstall Tool). They not only remove software elements, but also neutralize their remnants in other folders, in the system registry.
Let's consider the option of uninstalling using the Soft Organizer utility:
1. Select the application to be removed by clicking in the software catalog.
2. Click the "Uninstall a program" button.
3. Perform standard uninstallation, and then remove the remnants of the application (follow the prompts of Soft Organizer).
Happy cleaning! Do not be lazy, your diligence and efforts will pay off handsomely. The computer will work faster, you will spend a minimum of time looking for useful data in the directories of disk partitions.
There are different programs - useful and useless, simple, complex and dangerous. And users will find out which of these qualities belongs to this or that software product, unfortunately, in most cases, only after its installation in Windows. The buttons are banging, the settings sliders are moved, and then the picture becomes clearer. What you need to do with the software: execute, that is, uninstall, or pardon, leave it in the bowels of a computer or laptop.
This guide will show you how to completely remove the program from your computer using utilities and manually.
Method number 1: manual cleaning
Launching the uninstaller
Almost every program has an uninstaller in its directory (folder) - a file usually named "uninstall", "uninstaller", etc. It is designed to remove elements of the application from the operating system (file directories and registry).
To run the uninstaller of the program, follow this instruction:
1. In the taskbar (strip with buttons at the bottom of the display), click on the "Windows" icon.
2. In the exit menu "Start" click "Control Panel".
3. Set the "View" setting to the "Category" view.
4. Click on the "Uninstall a program" section.
5. In the installed software directory, click the left button to select the application to be removed.
6. Follow the instructions of the uninstaller that opens (if necessary, click the "OK", "Next", "Delete", etc. buttons).
You can also run the Uninstall module directly from the Start menu (without going to the Control Panel):
1. Click: button "Windows" → "All programs".
2. Click to open the folder of the required program.
3. Click an item in the list with the name "Uninstall ...", "Uninstall ..." or "Uninstall".
If the uninstaller cannot be found either in the "Uninstall a program" section or in the "Start" menu, do this:
1. Right-click on the application shortcut on the desktop.
2. Select Properties from the context menu.
3. On the property bar, click the File Location button.
4. In the opened program directory, find and run the uninstaller.
Well, if there is no shortcut on the desktop, look at the "Program Files" and "Program Files (x86)" folders. Often, by default, applications are installed in these directories.
Removing entries from the registry
To remove the remaining software keys from the registry after uninstallation, perform the following operations:
1. Open the "Run" panel by pressing the key combination "Win + R".
2. Type in the line the command - regedit (Registry Editor).
3. Click OK.
4. In the menu, click: Edit → Find.
5. In the "Search" window, type the name of the remote program and click "Find Next".
6. Delete the found key here (via the registry editor): right-click on the key → in the list, click "Delete".
7. Resume search for entries in directories by pressing the "F3" key. Or go to the menu: Edit → Find Next.
8. Carry out the scan until a message appears stating that the entire registry has been scanned.
Deleting files
To get rid of the remaining folders and files of the remote program:
1. Press the key combination "Win + E".
2. Go to the "Drive C" section.
3. In the upper right corner of the window, in the "Search" field, type the name of the application that was uninstalled from the system.
4. Press Enter.
5. Get rid of the detected elements via the context menu: right mouse button → Delete.
If any object is not removed, try to get rid of it using the iObit Unlocker program.
After installing it, also open the context menu, select the utility icon in the list. And then in the window that opens, set in the drop-down list "Unblock and remove" and run the selected command.
Disable system programs
Programs installed with Windows - Internet Explorer, a package of games (Solitaire, Spider), etc., cannot be removed using the standard function. But you can disable it: they will be present in the system, but they will not be displayed in the interface, they will be launched.
1. Click: Start → Control Panel → Uninstall a program → Enable or disable components.
2. Uncheck the checkboxes next to the applications you want to disable by clicking the mouse.
3. Click OK.
4. Wait for the procedure to complete, close the window.
Method number 2: cleaning with uninstaller utilities
The algorithm for automatic uninstallation and removal of application leftovers using uninstaller utilities is as follows:
1. Launching the built-in uninstaller.
2. Standard uninstallation provided by the program.
3. Search for elements (files, registry keys) left after uninstallation and delete them.
The most popular among PC users are the following solutions:
An easy-to-use yet powerful tool for cleaning Windows from unnecessary software. Finds all remnants of the remote software quickly and accurately. Has the function "Forced deletion".
Supports batch uninstallation: automatic sequential uninstallation of multiple programs.
A paid product with a large number of functions for cleaning the hard drive partitions and system directories from useless elements, and optimizing the registry. Starts uninstalling the program with one click. Has the most user-friendly interface.
A faithful assistant in the most difficult cases of cleaning the OS from unnecessary applications. Distributed shareware (test version - 30 days). Endowed with advanced and lightning-fast algorithms for finding the remaining objects of uninstalled programs. Performs cleaning efficiently and scrupulously.
Attention! Antivirus
If you are faced with the task of removing an antivirus, first of all, ask the official website of the developers if there is a special utility to remove it. It will greatly simplify the uninstallation process and will significantly save your time.
Successful Windows cleaning!
Working on a computer involves installing a variety of programs. Some of them are used permanently, while others are installed for one-time use. But do not forget that any program takes up a certain place in the computer's memory, and the device, filled with many unnecessary programs, works slower. Therefore, it is important to periodically clean your computer of unnecessary programs.
What programs need to be removed
First, you need to decide which programs can and should be removed:- Apps installed automatically with really useful programs - browsers, file managers. These applications often not only take up disk space, but are also configured to start automatically. This significantly slows down the boot of the computer and its work.
- Programs that have run out of license ... Most of the specialized programs are licensed for a limited period or have a free trial period. After a certain period of time, the program will no longer work, therefore, you need to either purchase a license again, or uninstall the program. In case you are not going to use it in the next few months, the second option is preferable.
- Unused programs previously loaded to perform one or two tasks ... Often this file converters, various photo editors, players... In some cases, curricula and applications.
Try to check your computer every 2-3 months for unnecessary programs and remove them.
Quite an easy and quick way to clean your computer. To remove programs in this way, follow these steps:
- Open the "Start" menu using a special icon in the lower left corner or using the "Win" button (sometimes the Windows logo is depicted instead of the inscription on the button).
- Find and run "Control Panel".
- Select "Programs" - "Uninstall programs" when viewing in the "Categories" view. In the view mode "Large icons" or "Small icons" - "Programs and Features".
- Select the required program from the list and click on the "Delete / Change" button located at the top of the table.
- Next, you will be asked to confirm the removal of the program. In some cases, a reboot will be required to complete the process. You can confirm the deletion or and postpone.
Removing with special shortcuts
A more complex method, which involves opening the working folder of the program. Each program places its executable files and other documentation in special folders on hard drives. Often this folder contains the "Uninstall" executable file. By running it, you can remove this or that program.There are two ways to find this file:
- Open "Start" and find the folder of the required program. Open it, find and run the "Uninstall" file. Confirm the deletion and, if necessary, restart the computer.
- Click on the shortcut and open the context menu using the right button. Select "Properties" from the menu. Then go to the "Shortcut" tab and look at the "Working folder" item. Open the folder at the specified address where the "Uninstall" file is located.
Cleaning with uninstallers
Today there are a lot of free applications that not only completely remove the program, but also clean the computer registry from the changes it has made.CCleaner
One of the most popular utilities is CCleaner. With its help, you can not only delete unnecessary files and applications, but also temporary files, clean the cache and system registry.To work, you need to launch CCleaner and select "Service" from the menu on the left. Then you just have to view the list of programs installed on your computer and select the required one. In the menu on the right, select "Uninstall" and then confirm the removal of the program.
CCleaner is free and does not take up much space on your computer.
Revo Uninstaller
Another free file removal program is Revo Uninstaller. Its peculiarity is that it allows you to remove even hard-to-remove programs that contain errors in the code or are infected with viruses. The application is distributed free of charge.
Working with this application involves the following actions:
- Open the Revo Uninstaller program.
- In the proposed dialog box, find the program you want to uninstall and right-click on it.
- Then select "Delete".
- The program will start analyzing the program, at the end of which it will launch the application's uninstaller.
- In the "Uninstall a program" dialog select the required actions with the application. If you are prompted to restart your computer, cancel it by clicking on the "Restart later" button. Why reject a reboot? In order for Revo Uninstaller to be able to check the system and find the files remaining after uninstalling the program.
- After deleting, select the scanning mode, preferably in the "Advanced" mode.
- Wait for the scan to finish. It can take from 5 minutes to half an hour, depending on the amount of memory on your computer.
- When the check is complete, look at the results displayed in the "Found Remaining Registry Entries" window.
- Check all entries and click Delete.
- Check and delete entries in the "Found Remaining Files" window.
Other popular apps
You can also uninstall unnecessary programs using the following applications:- IObit Uninstaller;
- Uninstall Tool;
- ZSoft Uninstaller;
- Absolute Uninstaller;
- Advanced Uninstaller PRO.
How do I uninstall programs correctly? (video)
Find out where the programs installed on your computer are located and how to properly uninstall them using the Control Panel, as well as using the working folders of the programs in the following video:
From time to time, users encounter a problem when, after removing a program, its remnants interfere with the work of other programs or even the operating system.
This problem can manifest itself in different ways. For example, when installing a new version or program from another manufacturer, a message may appear that an old version of it has been found on the computer (or a product from another manufacturer), after which the installation process is interrupted. There are also cases when, after removing a program, the context menu items of the remote program remain in the Explorer context menu. Trying to run them results in an error.
This is due to the fact that there are traces (remnants) of the deleted program in the system, which interfere with the work. They can be found both in the system registry and on disks.
This is most often encountered by antivirus users when, when switching from one antivirus package to another, a message appears stating that a version from another manufacturer is already installed on the computer. After such a message, the installation process is interrupted.
How to fix the situation and remove the incorrectly removed program?
1. Checking the list of installed programs
First, we need to make sure that we have actually uninstalled the program. While this is an obvious step, there are times when an app next to it is deleted by mistake. To rule out this misunderstanding, you just need to check the list again.
To do this, run the uninstaller tool and try to find there the name of the application that we want to remove. If it is not there, then move on.
2. We are looking for special removal utilities from manufacturers
If we are talking about antiviruses or protection tools, then the developers of such programs often create specialized utilities to completely remove their own products. As a rule, they are called something like this:% AntivirusName% Removal Tool. Instead of% AntivirusName%, you must substitute the name of the antivirus product.
Such utilities are just created in order to completely remove the product from the system. And antivirus developers try to keep such products up to date, because users often need them. It is recommended to use them in the first place if you want to remove the antivirus solution completely.
Below is a list of links to such utilities for several popular antivirus solutions.
3. Removing remnants of deleted programs in the Reg Organizer uninstaller
If we are not talking about antiviruses, but about a simple application program, then there is a chance that the data on traces (residues) are available in the database of the uninstall tool in Reg Organizer.
To do this, launch Reg Organizer and go to the uninstaller tool. On the left side panel there will be an item "Traces of already deleted programs".
If after the name of the item you see a non-zero value in brackets, then the Reg Organizer utility was able to find the remnants of some programs. Check if there is a program among them that you want to remove.
If the removal of leftovers through Reg Organizer did not help or the leftovers for the program you need were not found, then go to the next item.
4. Manual search for residuals on the disk
Now let's move on to manual methods for finding residuals. First, let's check the disks for traces of the program that we want to completely remove from the system. To do this, we will use the usual Explorer (or any other file manager convenient for you).
C: \ Program Files \ and C: \ Program Files (x86) \
These folders contain the main working files of the applications.
We need to find and delete the folder with the name of the program. You just sequentially go through the folders in Program Files and, if you find the one you need, delete it.
In doing so, you need to remember the name of the manufacturer of the product, because sometimes they place the program folders in a shared folder with the manufacturer's name.
% AppData% and% LocalAppData%
These folders are used to store files that are created while the application is running. These can be configuration files for your system, logs, and more.
To open them, just enter% appdata% or% localappdata% in the address bar of the Explorer and press Enter. The operating system will automatically redirect you to the appropriate folder on disk in your user profile.
We open consecutively the folders% appdata% and% localappdata% in Explorer and look inside these folders for the name of the manufacturer or directly the name of the product whose remnants we want to delete.
Most often, in AppData / LocalAppData, first there is a folder with the name of the manufacturer, and already in it there is a folder with the name of the product itself.
Some programs are installed entirely in% AppData% instead of Program Files.
After you find the folders with the product name in AppData / LocalAppData, just delete them.
5. Manual search for traces in the registry using Reg Organizer
In the system registry, you can also find many traces of programs that were removed a long time ago. To find them, run Reg Organizer and select the Registry Editor tool.
In the upper right corner there is a line for entering a search query. There we will enter the name of the program or the name of the manufacturer. But first, we need to set up the search so as not to get a mountain of unnecessary keys, among which it will be problematic to find anything.
Open the search settings and leave a tick only opposite the "Key names" item in the "Where to search" block. This will instruct the program to search for matches only in the names of the keys, which will significantly reduce the number of entries in the search results and simplify work with them.
As soon as the settings are changed, enter a search query in the form of the name of the manufacturer or the name of the program (it is better to start with the first one) and start the search.
As a result, you will receive a small list of registry keys, the names of which contain the name of the manufacturer's company or the name of the program itself. You need to find those that satisfy the following construction:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ %The name of the company%\%The name of the program%
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ WOW6432Node \ %The name of the company%\%The name of the program%
HKEY_USERS \% DEPTH-NUMBER% \ Software \ %The name of the company%\%The name of the program%
HKEY_USERS \% DEPTH-NUMBER% \ Software \ WOW6432Node \ %The name of the company%\%The name of the program%
Legend:
%The name of the company%- the name of the manufacturer of the program, the remnants of which must be removed. Doesn't always exist. Instead, there may be a field% Program name%.
%The name of the program%- the name of the program, the remnants of which must be removed.
% NUMBER-WITH-DEPHISES%- user ID in the HKEY_USERS key.
Those keys that satisfy the above constructions should be ticked off and deleted using the context menu (invoked by the right mouse button).
You can also check and, if detected, delete references to the remote program in the keys located at the following addresses:
\ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Uninstall \
\ SOFTWARE \ WOW6432Node \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Uninstall \
Data deletion through the Reg Organizer registry editor is performed with the obligatory creation of a backup copy, which, if necessary, can be restored through the "Undo Changes Center", which is launched in the lower right corner of the main window.
6. Automatic registry cleaning in Reg Organizer
The last step in the search for traces of the deleted program in the registry is automatic cleaning using Reg Organizer. The utility analyzes key registry keys and looks for links to non-existent / deleted files, so that they can then be correctly deleted.
This is useful in cases where the remote program is recorded in the startup, context menu, file extension associations, and other similar sections.
Registry cleaning is carried out completely automatically, therefore it does not require user intervention. You just need to be patient while the utility conducts a deep analysis of the system registry in search of links to deleted files and folders.
When you delete keys while cleaning the registry, Reg Organizer automatically creates a backup copy of the deleted data, which can be restored if necessary via the "Undo Changes Center" (opens in the lower right corner of the main program window).
This procedure is performed last. This is due to the fact that it searches for links to deleted files. If you first clean the registry, and only then delete the files, then traces in the menu, startup and other places will remain, since at the time of cleaning the registry files were present on the disk.
