Uninstallers - 2015 Edition

[Terry Ganzi]

https://singularlabs.com/uninstallers/

Uninstallers
Having trouble uninstalling programs from your computer?
Sometimes uninstalling programs can be rather troublesome. Some may even defy the normal uninstall process altogether, while others do seem to work properly but may leave a host of data behind.

The companies themselves surely know about these issues and – instead of creating better programs – they often have made an uninstall tool or cleanup tool to help you do a proper job. The problem is that these specific tools are usually not readily found on the websites of these vendors.

Therefore we have created a series of webpages to list these tools. Just choose the program you want to uninstall or cleanup from the lists below and download the appropriate tool to your desktop. Then double-click the new icon and simply follow the instructions of the program.

Uninstallers Sections

• List of Security Software uninstallers

• List of Driver uninstallers

• List of Pre-Installed Software uninstallers

• List of Other Software uninstallers

Notes:
[01] This site will be constantly updated. Remember to visit frequently and bookmark this site as one of your favorites.
[02] ‘Info’ will give you a link to a page that gives you the best information about the ‘Tool’ that you are about to download.
[03] (non-vendor) indicates that the tool is not created by the vendor that published the program it tries to uninstall.
[04] Remember that questions about any problem you might experience as a result of using a tool should be directed at the creator of the tool itself. We cannot not accept any responsibility for any damage whatsoever caused by the use of these programs.

Didn't no where to post it,so if admin what to correct it much obliged.

 

[Terry Ganzi]

http://www.ghacks.net/2015/04/18/which-program-is-the-most-thorough-software-uninstaller-on-windows/

Which program is the most thorough software uninstaller on Windows?
by Martin Brinkmann on April 18, 2015 in Windows - Last Update: April 18, 2015 12


Whenever you want to uninstall software on Windows, you have two core options to do so. You may install it using Windows' remove a program control panel applet or use third-party tools for the job.

The native option in Windows gets the job done most of the time but lacks advanced features such as cleaning up leftovers.

If you have removed software in the past from your computer you may have noticed empty Start Menu folders for instance which were not removed with the program.

These leftovers are not a problem usually. They may take up a bit of space on the hard drive or clutter the system but they usually do not cause any functionality issues on the system.

When it comes to advanced uninstallers, the following three are mentioned the most: Geek Uninstaller, IOBit Uninstaller and Revo Uninstaller.

Which of the three is best at cleaning programs and leftovers on Windows PCs? Lets find out.

Geek Uninstaller, available as a portable version.



IOBit Uninstaller, needs to be installed.



Revo Uninstaller, available as a portable version.



All three programs are compatible with all supported versions of the Windows operating system.

Programs listed

First test: how many installed programs are recognized by the three uninstaller programs.

1. Geek Uninstaller listed 125 programs
2. IOBit Uninstaller listed 118 programs
3. Revo Uninstaller listed 84 programs

The free version of Revo Uninstaller does not offer full 64-bit compatibility which means that it won't list 64-bit programs in its interface.

That's a serious issue right there as it limits program functionality on 64-bit systems.

The difference in the program count between Geek Uninstaller and IOBit Uninstaller is not as easy to explain. IOBit did not pick up some programs, Boxcryptor or Apple Software Update for instance, which Geek Uninstaller did list in its interface.

Removal

How thorough is the removal process of each program? To find out, I installed the three random programs Tomahawk, Telegram Desktop and SlimBrowser, and ran uninstall operations on each in each of the three removal programs.

I ran each program once and accepted all suggestions before I closed it and ran the uninstaller. The moderate uninstallation mode was selected in Revo Uninstaller as it is the program's default mode that is likely used by the majority of its users.

Tomahawk
Geek Uninstaller

Listed Tomahawk with a size of 115 Megabyte and today's installation date. The selection of uninstall ran the native uninstaller of the program first and then the leftover scan.

The scan found 78 Registry items that it linked to Tomahawk.



IOBit Uninstaller

The program listed Tomahawk with a size of 115.65 Megabytes and today's installation date. It ran the uninstaller of the program first and found 39 Registry items in its own leftover scan.



Revo Uninstaller

Listed Tomahawk with a size of 115.65 Megabyte and today's installation date. It ran the regular uninstaller first before it ran its own scan for left over files.

Revo Uninstaller found 303 different Registry items that it associated with Tomahawk.

Revo was the only program to list leftover files in a local directory. It found 24 files in the directory.



Result

Both Geek Uninstaller and IOBit Uninstaller missed the data directory with 24 files that Revo Uninstaller did pick up. Revo did find additional Registry items that the two other programs did not find.

Telegram Desktop
Geek Uninstaller

Geek Uninstaller listed the program with a size of 25 Megabyte in its interface. It found no leftover traces.



IOBit Uninstaller

Listed Telegram with 25.08 Megabyte and today's installation date. Found nine Registry items associated with Telegram Desktop.



Revo Uninstaller

Listed Telegram Desktop with a size of 25.08 Megabyte in its interface. It found 9 leftover Registry items that the regular uninstaller did not delete on the system.



Result

Geek Uninstaller failed to find the nine Registry items that Revo and IOBit found.

SlimBrowser
Geek Uninstaller

The leftover scan found three Registry items and no files.



IOBit Uninstaller

IOBit's program found 66 leftover items in the Registry but no files on the system.



Revo Uninstaller

The program found 69 Registry items and three leftover files.



Result

Revo Uninstaller picked up 69 Registry items and three local files, more than the other two programs.

Final Results

Tomahawk Telegram SlimBrowser
Registry Files Registry Files Registry Files
Geek Uninstaller 78 0 0 0 3 0
IOBit Uninstaller 39 0 9 0 66 0
Revo Uninstaller 303 24 9 0 69 3
Closing Words

Revo Uninstaller turns out to be the most thorough uninstaller of the three tested ones. It is held back however by its lack of 64-bit program support which will become more and more of an issue in the future as programs shift to 64-bit.

The test was not run under scientific conditions and results may vary if you run it using different programs.

Still, it is interesting to see that there is a huge difference when it comes to leftover files and Registry items found by program uninstallers.

Now You: Do you care about program leftovers?

 

[roger_m]

You need to uninstall a lot of software, not just they three programs to get a valid comparison of how effective different uninstallers are. But, having said that Revo is the best, which I have confirmed by installing many programs, not just three.

IObit Uninstaller and Free Uninstall It perform well too and are completely free. They are not as effective is Revo, but only the 32 bit version of Revo is free.

 

[Moose]

Portable but not free! http://www.crystalidea.com/uninstall-tool
Then geek for forcing software that will NOT uninstall!

Remember to close the software before trying to uninstall it.

Then RegSeeker to find the registry's leftover's.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Registry-Tweak/RegSeeker.shtml

IObit Uninstall si very hrd to completely remover it registry leftovers and take a speical
removal/uninstall tool to completely remove the registry leftovers from IObit in the background.

 

[hjlbx]

Total Uninstaller by Martau is another one.

It is even more thorough than Revo Uninstaller.

However, with everything that it finds it can drive you nuts going through the "tree" view of items.

 

[Vasudev]

Revo is good hands down, but free version only sees x32 files . I use advanced uninstaller pro which started adding adwares but I came up with a solution:
1. Avoid installing programs offered by AU pro.
2. Delete checker.exe from program files.
3. Delete Health Check schedule using ccleaner.
By doing this, you get clean & safe program.

 

[LabZero]

Your Uninstaller! 7 is developed by URsoft but is shareware software.
SoftOrganizer useful uninstaller by Chemtable soft. (shareware)

 

[Vasudev]

I've ditched Advanced Uninstaller Pro since latest version contains adwares and moved to Bulk Crap Uninstaller.

 

[Rolo]

Nothing can touch SoftOrganizer: Right-click your installer file, "Install with tracing" and every. single. change. to your system is logged and can be viewed, pruned, undone later. The benefit is that it traces until you tell it to stop, even through restarts--this is to include changes made by a program's first run after installation.

I've used Advanced Uninstaller, Your Uninstaller!, Revo, and a few others going back to "Total Uninstall" by that company that was bought by Mijenix (for Windows 3.0 heh).

 

[roger_m]

@Rolo I just installed Soft Organizer to try it, since I don't believe I've ever actually used it to trace an install. I don't like that the before and after scans add about a minute to the install time or traced applications. Because of this, I'm going to uninstall it.

 

[frogboy]

IObit Uninstaller 5.0 Beta 1.0

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/iobit_uninstaller_88fa.html

 

[roger_m]

@frogboy Thanks for the link, I've been visitng IObit's forums several times a day to find out when the beta was released.

 

[Moose]

Salutations,

Does IObit's add Adware? In it newer version?

 

[Kent]

Currently using Smarty Unistaller,it is helpful in removing software traces and registry entries,and system restore points while uninstalling.....

 

[frogboy]

Currently using Smarty Unistaller,it is helpful in removing software traces and registry entries,and system restore points while uninstalling.....

I am also using this thanks to @Sr. Normal

 

[Sr. Normal]

I am also using this thanks to @Sr. Normal

Thanks my friend!

Despite being a Uninstaller, it has options like "Snapshot Instant" . It creates an image of how is your system previous to an installation, to ensure that if you uninstall the program, leave no trace on your computer. A very similar way to Soft Uninstaller, which I love

 

[MalwareT]

Anyone mentions Your Uninstaller ? I have all preactivated giveaway software on my OneDrive

 

[Rolo]

Hrmmm....$36 for two-PC lifetime for Smarty Uninstaller is looking to be hard to pass up should my SoftOrganizer version stop working (it is an old version but still works, even on Win10).

 

[Rolo]

Soft Organizer 4.11 (current version) is being given away for free:
http://www.mostiwant.com/soft-organizer-free-full-version-download/

Additionally, I tested Smarty Uninstaller (SU) 4.1.2 and doesn't work as well as Soft Organizer (3.51 or 4.11):

• SU does not have a shell extension (right-click, "Install with..."); one has to launch SU first and then tell it to make a snapshot
• SU failed to detect one installation, no changes were logged
• SU does show a list of all file and registry changes but it isn't editable
• SU's UI is cumbersome compared to Soft Organizer

I've been using Soft Organizer for a few of years and the only hiccup I've come across is that, on occasion, a "Run with tracing..." action may abort on a fault when using it on a UNC share or when another program hooks into the install and halts it (like your AV) until you whitelist it. Re-"Run with tracing..." always worked the second time. Otherwise, every system change on every install has been captured.

Finally, it does offer to install Autorun Organizer (same author, not really adware) but you don't have to. If you decide not to read a dialog box before clicking a button, don't complain about the consequences. Autorun Organizer is a nifty program and really helps computers boot faster (basically, it's an easy UI that lets you move programs that run on boot to run at a time interval after boot by moving them to Task Scheduler; i.e. Google Drive synching during boot will slow things down but scheduling it to run 3 minutes after boot eliminates that).

 

[roger_m]

@Rolo I just tried Soft Organizer again as, I just got it via the same giveaway (listed at a different giveaway site). I monitored a few installs, and looked at the monitored changes form one of the installs. It appeared to be monitor registry changes not made my the application being installed. However, once I worked out how to interpret the results, I realised this was not the case, and the actual keys monitored are shown in dark green. When I looked at the files monitored, I saw that some files not realted to the install were monitored. I noticed that files I was downloading at the same time as installing the monitored software were listed amongst the monitored files.

Until the monitoring of installs is improved, I'll give this a miss, and I will keep looking for a better uninstaller.