On 7 Dec 98 at 16:54, Jim Meagher wrote:
> DO NOT use the Windows ADD/REMOVE programs option.
>
> The Windows built-in uninstaller (ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS) is a very
> poorly executed piece of software. It will only remove .about 30% a
> program, leaving behind bits and pieces scattered all over your PC
> and in the REGISTRY.
>
> Even the "custom" uninstall routines that come with a program
> won't remove everything.
I've been seeing advice like this a lot lately, and frankly, I'm
mystified.
HOW DO PEOPLE THINK THAT "ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS" WORKS????
I'll tell you how it works. The list that you see under Add/Remove
programs is a list of registry entries, pointing at the Uninstall
routines for the various pieces of software. [Microsoft won't allow
use of the Win95 logo on programs that do not install such an entry.]
These are just pointers TO the ""custom" uninstall routines" of the
various software packages. If such a custom routine, launched
through the package, removes anything more than gets removed when you
select it through Add/Remove Programs, that's at *best* a bug, and at
worst could be grounds for legal action by Microsoft.
If you want to "fully" uninstall a product, there should never be
any difference whether you invoke the uninstall from the product
itself or through Add/Remove Programs.
Jim goes on to tout a couple of third-party uninstallers; these
have pros and cons. On the pro side, they can get rid of stuff that
the product's developers didn't think was worth the effort it would
take to do properly. On the con side, these third-party uninstallers
have to infer information that the product developers decided was too
complicated to bother tracking -- and, every now and then, they may
infer WRONG. I'm sure that this happens much less often now than it
did when these products were introduced, but I'm not yet comfortable
recommending them.
David G
Curious about the people moderating your
messages? Visit our staff web site:
http://nospin.com/pc/staff.html
|
