Knowing how to uninstall a program the right way in Windows is a fundamental skill. Just dragging a program you no longer want to the Recycle Bin can cause all kinds of problems, including system instability, as little bits of the program are often left behind.
Why would you want to uninstall a program? The most commonn reason is that the program doesn't work right; it may have caused problems from the moment you installed it, or it used to work properly, but it's become corrupted over time. You may also want to free up space on your hard drive because you've got too much stuff on it, or perhaps you just don't use the program any more and don't want it hanging around. Whatever your reason, it's important to note that uninstalling a program in Windows 7 is different than it was under Windows Vista or Windows XP. Here's a step-by-step guide for uninstalling a program in Windows 7.
First, click the Start button, then click "Control Panel" on the right-hand side of the menu. This will bring up the Control Panel, which looks different than previous Windows OSs. Find the menu item "Programs and Features", shown above. It used to be called "Add or Remove Programs"; this may be the main thing that confuses you. Click to open.
Find your program. Don't accidentally click the wrong one!Once "Programs and Features" is active, it will build a list of your installed programs. Be patient, as it may take some time to do this, depending on the speed of your system. In this case, I want to delete "TrackIR5". Click the program name, then click "Uninstall" from the menu at the top.
Your program may have a more complicated uninstall routine than this. If it does, simply confirm that you want to remove all traces of the program.This is where things can start to get different. Some programs will have their own uninstall routine, while others will use the built-in Windows 7 routine. If it uses the Windows method, a pop-up will ask you to confirm the file deletion and "all of its components." Click OK (you don't want those components hanging around).
If it uses its own, built-in uninstaller, it will probably take you through a series of steps here. Just remember that in most cases, you want the entire program and all components removed.
Make sure the program you removed is really gone for good. Don't skip this step, as the program may sometimes leave junk behind on your computer.After the uninstall is finished, go back to "Programs and Features" and make sure that the program is, indeed, gone.
If you deleted a program because it suddenly started behaving badly, you can reinstall it and see if the problem is resolved.
