Number 263 - April 2005

What Is The Difference Between Deleting And Uninstalling A Windows Application?
by Carol Theodore, User Friendly LACS Journal Feb. 2003
The best way to understand this is to explain what happens when you install a program in Windows. Let's use Windows 98 as an example. In the "good old days" of DOS, you installed a program by creating a directory and copying files into that directory.You then ran the executable files connected with the program. Some programs installed lines into your autoexec.bat and config.sys files. Essentially that was it.    Windows 98 is different. When you install a program the "installer" (a special program included on the CD which usually runs automatically) may put files in a number of directories (now called Folders) and make entries into the Registry. The Windows Registry is a special file that keeps track of the settings and all the programs installed in your particular Windows installation. The application install program also may make other changes to your Windows installation for example installing Startup files such as taskbar items that stay in memory when you are running your computer.    Now that I've explained what commonly happens when you install an application in Windows 98, you may see that you can cause yourself a host of problems by simply deleting a Program Folder or even some of the files associated with that program. If you just delete the application folder for the application you want to be rid of, there are still lines in the Windows Registry relating to that program. In addition, there may be Startup files set to load with Windows that may be missing causing you to receive an error message at startup. How Do I Uninstall An Application?    Now that you know that it's not a good idea to simply delete an application, you may want to know how to properly uninstall a program. There are a couple of easy ways to do this. The first that may be available for most applications is to use the program's uninstaller. If you go to Start, Programs and find the application, check for an uninstaller utility. If there	is one, click on it and follow the prompts. If the program is an anti-virus program then you must first disable auto-protection. This is usually in the Taskbar and if you right-click on the icon there should be a Disable feature. This may vary from program to program, so read your manual or help file before you begin.    The other option is to use the Add/Remove programs utility in Windows. Click Start, Programs, Settings, Control panel, Add/Remove Programs. Find the application you wish to uninstall on the list of applications and highlight it. Then click the Add/Remove button. Follow the onscreen instructions. As with the other method, you should remove any startup files (related to the program you're uninstalling) from memory before uninstalling the application. Transferring Applications To A New Computer    Considering the explanation above, consider how you would transfer applications to that new computer you got for Christmas or Hanukkah. Just as you need to uninstall an application not delete it, you can't simply copy or move an application folder to your new system. One of the easiest methods is to use PC relocation software (for instance Aloha Bob's PC Relocater). One caveat: this is an all or nothing proposition. It transfers all of your applications and settings to your new PC. You cannot transfer selected applications and settings. The only other way to do a selected transfer properly is to copy your DATA to an external medium such as a ZIP disk or CDR/CDRW disk and then, using the program disk reinstall the application on your new system. Then you can copy your data onto the new computer.    Carol Theodoreis an LACS member and owner of Mycroft Consulting specializing in computer consulting for businesses and individuals, solving an array of hardware and software problems. Her e-mail address is: cgtheodore@earthlink.net.
Number 263 - April 2005