There are times when you need to clean your computer and remove the programs you aren’t using anymore. Or maybe you just installed something which you can’t remove the normal way. Luckily for us, Windows includes a number of straightforward options for removing programs. However, there are some programs that just won’t uninstall the normal way. Therefor I have included some some useful tools that you can download to help you out as well (they are one page 2).
Using the Control Panel
Every time you install something on your Windows machine, the program will get added to the build in Control Panel. You can find the Uninstall A Program listed under “Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features”. You can either right click and select Remove program or double click on one to start the uninstaller. Microsoft advices you to try again if it doesn’t work to remove the program the first time.
Use System Restore
You can start the Windows System Restore by typing ‘restore’ into the Search tool in the Start Menu or the Windows 8 Start Screen. Every time Windows install’s a new program or some critical changes have been made to the system, it will create an restore point. Using this restore point you can easily get back to before you installed the program.
Searching for the uninstaller
Most legit programs will come with it’s own uninstaller. While they normally should be removed using the control panel, you can also make use of the search function build within Windows to manually locate the uninstaller and use it to remove the program. Click on the Search button and then type the name of the program you want to remove. If the program shows up in the search list you can right-click on it and you’ll see a menu with an Uninstall command that you can use. You might also locate the uninstaller this way. Clicking on that will do the same.
[section_title title=Using specialized software for removing programs]
Using specialized software for it
If playing nicely won’t do the trick, you can always use some more extreme option to finally remove that program for once and for all.
Revo Uninstaller – Free /Pro $20,-
Revo Uninstaller Pro helps you to uninstall software and remove unwanted programs installed on your computer easily! Even if you have problems uninstalling and cannot uninstall them from “Windows Programs and Features (Add or Remove Programs)” control panel applet.
IObit Uninstaller 4 – Free
Integrated with up to date uninstall technology, IObit Uninstaller 4 helps you remove unwanted programs and browser plug-ins/toolbars easily even when Windows “Add or Remove Programs” fails. The newly added Win8 Apps Module even helps you uninstall the pre-installed Win8 apps. Not only just remove applications by the programs’ build-in uninstall, it also scans and removes all leftovers easily and thoroughly with Powerful Scan. What’s more, even uninstallation not performed by IObit Uninstaller can automatically call Powerful Scan to delete leftovers in this version. For system stability, IObit Uninstaller 4 still creates a system restore point before every uninstallation and provides a better management of system restore point.
In conclusion
In the end there are way more options for removing software from your PC that the one we listed here. But in the end, Revo’s easily the best there is, so we highly recommend it. If you however have another one you prefer, please let us know what it is and why you like it in the comments. Also, make sure to get to our help-ask forum if you need personal help with your PC problems.