Windows Tools, Help & Guides

In this guest post, James Ricketts discusses how deal with computer uninstall errors. Find out more about James at the end of this post.

Uninstalling applications is never as seamless a process as installing them. Although Windows PCs come with a built-in utility, the Add or Remove Programs utility, that allows users to easily uninstall various applications and software, it usually fails to do the required job when you need to uninstall certain applications, such as McAfee Antivirus suite or DirectX.

Incomplete uninstallation may cause errors and complications on the system. Leftover processes of a previously installed program may interfere with other running processes and cause application errors, as well as performance related issues, such as frequent software crashes and system slow downs. This is why it is absolutely essential that when you remove a program you ensure that all its associated processes, files, and registry entries are also permanently deleted.

With the help of two examples, McAfee antivirus suite and DirectX we discuss how to uninstall programs that may not get completely removed using the Add or Remove Programs utility.

Before we discuss this, let’s see how to use the Add or Remove Programs utility to uninstall applications, such as Microsoft Office 2007.

Uninstall Office 2007 using Add or Remove Programs

Uninstalling programs using the Add or Remove Programs utility is simple, as this example shows.

1. Click Start and then click Control Panel to open its corresponding window.
2. Double-click Add or Remove Programs.
3. Locate and select Office 2007.
4. Click Uninstall.

In the following section, we discuss how to completely uninstall applications, such as McAfee Antivirus and DirectX that the Add or Remove Programs utility may fail to remove.

Uninstall McAfee

When it comes to removing antivirus suites, the Add or Remove Programs utility is often found to be wanting. This may be because of the fact that such programs place their files and entries deep into the system and the Add or Remove Programs utility fails to remove them completely.

Most Antivirus software manufacturers, therefore, release an uninstaller tool for their line of products. It is best to use such uninstaller tools – these tools are typically distributed from the software manufacturer’s website for free – to remove antivirus software. In case the software manufacturer does not provide an uninstaller tool, you may use a reliable professional uninstaller tool.

To remove McAfee, first remove the software using the Add or Remove Programs utility – the same way as you uninstall any other application. Next, visit McAfee’s official website and download MCPR.exe, which is the uninstaller tool for McAfee products. After you have downloaded the MCPR.exe file on to your desktop, double-click it to run the uninstaller tool.

Uninstall DirectX

DirectX is an application that is built-in to your Windows system. An attribute peculiar to DirectX is that it cannot be uninstalled using the Add or Remove Programs utility, as the application does not appear in your installed programs list.

If for some reason you need to remove the version of DirectX installed on your computer then simply remove the DirectX entry from the registry and Delete the DirectX folder.

Important: Before making any changes to the registry, always back up the registry first. You can make registry backups either manually or by using a reliable registry maintenance software.

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\DirectX
3. Delete all the keys for DirectX.
4. Right-click the Directx folder in left-pane and click Delete.
5. Restart Windows.

Note: It is not possible to completely remove DirectX from the PC as it is an integral part of the operating system. The above steps uninstall the upgraded version of DirectX from the PC and reinstall the default DirectX version for your Windows operating system when the PC is restarted.

James Ricketts is a writer whose work can be seen at Instant-Registry-Fixes.org. To find out more about his work or to contact him, please visit Instant-Registry-Fixes.org.

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