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.

Before making any system changes ALWAYS back up your system.

If you are having issues you most likely have tried the first couple of steps but just pick up where you left off. DO NOT just delete the program folder as this can cause a number of unwanted problems and may damage the function of additional programs.

Step by Step

1.Use the software uninstall program. Locate the uninstall file from the software directory folder or the disc provided with your purchase and attempt to remove the program this way first.

2.Remove the program through the Uninstall feature found in the Add/Remove section of the Control Panel.

3.Re-install the program to replace any missing files or repair corrupt files. Repeat Steps One and Two of this list after re-installing the program.

4.Remove it from the registry manually. This step should only be attempted if you are familiar with making registry changes.

Do not start before you have backed up your system! You can search the following registry folders, find the application files/services and delete them. DO NOT remove anything you are unsure of as you can cause further damage to other programs.

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE.

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE.

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES.

5.If you are not comfortable changing registry settings and cannot remove the remnants of the program, you can stop it from functioning and causing computer hang-up by renaming the folder and executable file. By renaming the file to ‘old’ or another name will break any links to the program and stop it from operating. You can then remove the shortcuts, start and start menu items.

After making changes, restart your computer and test your system. Any hang-ups caused by the offending program should now be gone.