There are so many programs that run on your computer, often you don’t even notice them until something goes wrong. This is exactly the case with Java. Normally, you’d have no need to ever mess with or uninstall the software, until something messes up.

In fact, Java is essential to run certain programs and the Java Runtime Environment is necessary to make many of your favorite websites even work correctly. So why would we bother writing about how to remove a critical program like Java? Simple. Sometimes you have to break an egg to make an omelet, and sometimes you have to uninstall Java to get it installed properly again.

The Java Update

Most of the problems with Java seem to happen during updates. Your software goes to update to the latest  version and you’re told that the new version of Java can’t be loaded because the old version is already in place. So then you’re stuck with a half-installed new version of the software. The obvious solution is to simply remove the old version and finish installing the new version.

Except sometimes you can’t. Normally to uninstall software, you’d go to Start and then Control Panel and then Programs and Features. This is where you can find the Add/Remove Programs dialog. But when you get there, you may not see any Java software at all or you may see quite a few different programs and it’s tricky to try and figure out which one you’re supposed to be working with.

Few things will frustrate you faster than having problems with software and trying to uninstall it to no avail. The cause of the uninstall program freezing can be anything from a virus to a missing or corrupted file and many times the author’s program simply doesn’t work. You may also encounter this issue if you’ve performed an update that caused a conflict with the previous version if the correct registry changes aren’t included with the update.

If you’re lucky the uninstall fails quickly but more often than not, you are sitting there just watching the computer hang and trying to decide if you should end the program or if the computer fairy is going to make it suddenly work and the files begin to neatly fly across your screen to the trash bin. We’re going to help you relive this frustration by giving you a number of ways to uninstall your program and the order in which you should attempt these operations.

“This program cannot be found.”

“The application is still in use.”

“The application is protected and cannot be removed.”

Whatever the uninstall error you’re getting, there are ways to resolve the issue and get that program off your machine without breaking it or your fists in frustration. Even the most seasoned computer users (who are far more experienced and tech-savvy than I am) have problem like this from time to time. The difference it, they don’t have to dig around and try to decipher the wisdom of other experts who can tell them how to fix the problem. While lacking expert status, I do happen to have a solution for this particular problem that hopefully doesn’t requiring deciphering. Resolving the uninstall error:

When you are installing and uninstalling software on a Windows computer, you are using the Windows Installer Package. This is a specialized software platform that accommodates moving programs in and out of a PC. Microsoft takes pains to make sure their installer can handle most programs. On the flip side, hundreds of software manufacturers customize their applications to work with Windows.