deleting from registry

[ESPplayer7]

i was wondering how i can delete programs through registry, i am running windows xp

[Whyzman]

Pretty risky endeavor...Once a program is installed it has "tentacles" stretched all over the registry. Uninstall programs are designed to search out all the registry entries created during the install and remove them in one fell swoop.

So, to just be able to delete a program is not quite as simple as it sounds...

Perhaps a good example would be when someone takes a program file and dumps it into the Recycle Bin...they wind up with fragments of the program all over the place. Usually, the only way to remove it then is to reinstall the program and follow up with the uninstall program...

[ErnieK]

If you have (tried to) uninstall(ed) a program by using the un-install facility built in, or by using the ADD REMOVE from windows and you have files/folders left behind you should be able to delete these with out problems. Try deleting them but leave them sitting in the recycle bin for a few days for safety.

Working in the registry can be dangerous. Before doing anything here ALWAYS make a full back-up of the registry. Have you ever worked there before?

[ESPplayer7]

no i havnt, i installed kazaa and it wont let me delete it through add remove programs, i get an illegal operation each time. So what should i do, how do i back up the registry

[Whyzman]

Kazaa is considered malware. There are specific removal tools for it...

I'll PM Budfred as he's probably aware of the process...

[pop pop]

Actually, believe it or not, it is a breach of the Kazaa EULA to uninstall it once you have agreed to the EULA and installed it. So, it digs in and protects itself. Ya gotta love the jewels on those guys :mad:

Of course, if you didn't read the ridiculously large, impossible to understand, multiple documents included by reference EULA (and who would, that's the plan), you wouldn't know that.

[Budfred]

Try using KazaaBegone... From here:

http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/kazaabegone.zip

or here:

http://computercops.biz/zx/Merijn/kazaabegone.zip

Before using it download LSPfix and use it if your internet connection is broken... Basically you just run it, say you know what you are doing, say to finish and you should be okay...

http://www.downloads.subratam.org/lspfix.zip

or here:

http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm

Once you complete this, it would be a very good idea to post a HijackThis log so we can see what other garbage Kazaa put on your system and help you remove it...

To run HJT, extract it to a permanent folder such as one
you create like C:\HJT. Close all open windows and
browsers and make sure that all programs are enabled if
you use msconfig. Run it and Scan, then Save the log.
When the log window appears, Right click to Copy it, open
your browser and come here to Paste the entire log. Do
not make any changes until it is checked since most items
are either benign or essential to the computer.

http://www.downloads.subratam.org/hijackthis.zip