How to uninstal a prg in Win98se

[Eaglefeather]

A few months ago I asked about how to solve a problem with a window that keeps opening on boot up with the link to one of my programs in it. Nothing worked on stopping this window from opening. I have searched through the registry and everything else I can find, but no clue to this thing came up anywhere.

But I think I know the answer. When I installed the program that comes up in this window I inadvertantly typed in, PROGRAMS for the folder to put it in, instead of letting it go into "Program Files". This created a new folder called, "PROGRAMS" and that is the title of the window that opens. It just dawned on me that, that could be the problem. However.........

Because I installed the program into this new folder it is not listed in the list of programs Windows can uninstal. Nor does the program have an uninstaller. I tried writing to the creator of the program to get direction on how to uninstal but the program was made in 97 and his address is no longer valid.

Ok, enough BS, the program is called, The Thinking Man's Thesaurus. Any suggestions on how I go about removing it safely? As usual any and all help is appreciated. And if you want to call me a :o ninny :o for making this mistake in the first place, go right ahead, I deserve it.

Oh, almost forgot. I am running Win98se.

[Alfie]

One approach is to remove all entries from Windows and the registry.
You would do this by simply deleting the program files in Windows,you would then search the registry and remove all entries for the specific program.
The other option is to stop it from starting at boot,you can do this in msconfig.

[Marke522]

I agree, just delete everything. I've done that before for other programs, works just fine.

Then be sure to reinstall it the correct way. :D

[Eaglefeather]

Thanks for the replies. Will give it a try.

Oh, and Alfie, it does not show in MSconfig, that was one of the very first things I tried when the problem first developed.

[GaryRouth]

It can be tricky, removing Registry entries by hand, especially if you have any other programs from the same vendor (because the entries are often under that vendors name). So be as careful as you can with your editing.

Another thing you can try is to use a Registry Cleaning program to help out. A Registry Cleaning program might also solve your other problem (the window opening at startup), because once you've deleted the unwanted programs files and folders, the link to it in a startup file will be a broken link = and this is just the thing that Registry Cleaning software is good at fixing. There's a free cleaner that's recommended a lot called CCleaner - it's available at places like download.com Another freebe that works (as long as you don't have MS Office 2000 installed = there's an incompatibility) is Microsoft's old utility RegClean 4.1 - it was updated to work with Win98 and Win98se - but it isn't supported by Microsoft anymore. It's also widely available at download sites.

Another nice thing about most Registry Cleaning programs - they usually make an "UnDo" file, to guard against the possibility that they clean a bit too much.

Good luck with your project
. . . Gary

[Eaglefeather]

Thank you for the info Gary, I will go look for Ccleaner.

I searched and searched and then searched even more through the registry, even tried using the built in search, but there is no sign anywhere of this program. I did find one entry for the folder, "PROGRAMS" which I inadvertantly created when installing the program. But the other parts of the entry do not coinside with any of the files in the program I want to delete so I left it alone.

So I guess I am left with only the one alternative and that is to try just deleting the program and let CCleaner find the debris.

Again thanks gentlemen for the help, it is appreciated.

[Eaglefeather]

Thank you for the info, Gary. I will go out and find a copy of CCleaner.

I searched the registry for hours trying to find any reference to the program I want to delete and had no luck at all. I even tried using the search in registry and that turned up nothing.

I did find one registry entry for the folder, "PROGRAMS", which I inadvertantly created when installing the program. But nothing in the entry came even close to any of the name of any of the files in the program I want to delete so I left it alone.

As a last resort I will just try deleting the program and let CCleaner clean up the debris, then try reinstalling, the right way this time.

Again thank you gentlemen for the help and info, it is truly appreciated.

[edfair]

Granted that I am into S&M and abuse myself regularly by deleting important stuff, but that folder would be gone. I tend to be on the aggressive side when manual cleaning the registry.

[glc]

If you are antsy about editing the registry, boot into DOS mode and type SCANREG /BACKUP . If you boo boo, you can boot into DOS again and do a SCANREG /RESTORE . I'd personally remove the "PROGRAMS" entry. I'd also run SYSEDIT and examine the system.ini and win.ini for references to "PROGRAMS" and the program you installed.

[Eaglefeather]

IT'S GONE!

I followed the suggestions given here and downloaded CCleaner. Then I did a clean-up, backed up the registry first. Then I deleted the offending folder and ran CCleaner again. Walla, all of the problem keys were found and then fixed.

Not only did it remove that annoying window on boot up it also fixed some other problems I have been having. For example, for months ZoneAlarm would not boot-up automatically when I went on the net, I had to do it manually, well it booted this time. As I only just got it fixed I don't yet know how many of the other little annoyances have also been fixed.

But my deepsest thanks to you all.

Oh, and GLC I did check sysedit, system.ini and win.ini, but could not find any references to that program or the folder, PROGRAMS, that is what was so baffling about this thing. I don't know how many hours I have spent over the last month or so trying to find any reference at all, but always came up empty. CCleaner found it in only a few seconds. Thanks for your input.