How to tell what Programs can be Removed?

[tomtomg59]

Hello, How can a person tell which Programs can be removed when they don't know what the programs are, i have no idea what alot of them are and there is one (would you believe called PIG PEN) Is there a way of removing them but backing them up before incase there is a mistake and I need to put them back?

[Randy_tx]

The best way to remove a program is to go to "Start"/Programs/ and look up the program on the list it provides.....many programs will have a "uninstall" applet right there and it will remove the program safely. The second best way to remove programs is to go to Start/Settings/ Control Panel/ Add/Remove programs and find it in the first list provided. As far as backing up the programs before removing....maybe someone can give you help on that....hang on for a bit.

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XP didn't save Me !

[CM]

Hi,

With regards to working out what the programs are and whether you want to keep them the obvious thing to do is to run the program.

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Cody

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Cody Morgan

[tomtomg59]

Not so obvious, when you only have to words as a name for the program and you can not run them from the add/remove program! How do you run them when the program is called Atomic Pop OR Pig Pen?

[Whyzman]

Sometimes your best resource for finding out what a lot of this "extra stuff" you get on a software CD is found at GOOGLE (http://www.google.com).

After doing so myself, it appears that PIG PEN is perhaps a plug-in for Mp3 software.

I've found it can be helpful when you are getting ready to load a driver from a CD to RUN>Browse the CD first and find out what you will also be potentially getting besides the driver software.
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Oh, sometimes they plant this stuff in your registry. HERE'S (http://www.jv16.org/) a wonderful tool for getting rid of the unwanted!

It gets really irritating when you're not asked and you get a bunch of "extras" at no charge! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/mad.gif


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May all your dealings in life be win/win!

Whyzman

[This message has been edited by Whyzman (edited 01-20-2002).]

[pentachris]

The safest thing I know to do is create a temporary directory and move a program or file that you're not sure about into it. Wait a few weeks or a month - do all the things you want to do with your computer. If you haven't had a problem by then, it's prolly safe to delete.

Ad-aware (available at www.lavasoft.com, (http://www.lavasoft.com,) I believe) is a good resource. If you're online a lot, especially if you're downloading programs or "browsing enhancers," you should run it to make sure you don't have anything on your computer you don't want.

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...
If my computer were the eighth dwarf, it would be Dumpy.
-Chris

[Birnster]

I second that pentachris! Ad-aware is a great program. It's unbelievable how much "extra" crap can get loaded onto your system when downloading from the internet. "Limewire" is a classic example. I also check on file properties to see when the program was installed. If I can't remember conciously downloading it then I delete it. Just have to be careful because some apps will cease to run if you get rid of thier "spyware". Personally, if they include spyware I don't want them anyway.

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Birnster

[Vic 970]

I now always try to create a folder for everything that I install, this way makes it easier to trace extra progs back to, & to identify.

I do the same with d/l files. I keep a temporary folder on my 'F' partition, then when I d/l a prog I put it in a new folder, eg: I have one called 630wc.exe which in 6 months I wont have a clue what it is, so I have put it in its own folder called 'brother printer driver'

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for every question there's an answer. Then a load more questions.
Definition of Upgrade "A means of introducing new bugs to a program to replace the ones that you have eventually found fixes for"

Regards..,
Vic.

[This message has been edited by Vic 970 (edited 01-22-2002).]