GadgetFAQs.com - Computer FAQs

Uninstalling software is not hard, but it involves more than dragging files to the Recycle Bin and deleting them. In fact, you should never delete programs this way. Not only does it leave little bits and pieces of the program in various parts of your hard drive, those parts can sometimes cause your computer to crash if they try to operate.

So, how do you get rid of those programs you no longer use? Use an Uninstaller, of course. Some programs include their own, but Windows also has an uninstaller.

To see if a program has its own uninstaller, first check in the "Start" menu. Look in the folder for the program. If there's an option to uninstall in that folder, go ahead and click on it. This will start the process of deleting the program.

Another place to look is in the folder where the actual program is located. This is usually in the "Program Files" folder located on your "C" drive.

If you do not find an uninstaller for that particular program, you can use the built-in Windows uninstaller. To do this, go to the "Start" menu and choose, "Settings" then "Control Panel." Once in the control panel, choose "Add/Remove" software. Find your program in the list and click "Remove."

It's a good idea to uninstall programs you don't need or no longer use. Not only do these unnessissary programs take up valuable space on your hard drive, keeping them increases the chance they will conflict with other programs you do use

Deleting Files

Unlike programs. most files and documents can simply be deleted. Drag them to the recycle bin or right-click on them and choose delete. Once the files are there, right-click on the recycle bin and choose "Empty Recycle Bin". This will allow the file to be overwritten by new information.

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