We install programs on our computer that we use every day and without which we cannot live. But there are also others that we simply need for a couple of uses and for nothing else. Some of us don’t want to see them again because they don’t meet our expectations and we decided to eliminate them forever. In that case, you can erase all traces of uninstalled programs in the Windows registry.
You may simply want to erase all evidence that you have had that program installed but also, and what is more likely, is that we are worried that we will continually have remains of applications that we have been uninstalling but not completely. We are dirtying the memory of our computer and they are taking up space on our hard drive without being of any use to us. Luckily, there are ways to uninstall the application by removing all traces. You can take it into account for the future, for the programs that you are going to uninstall, or to eliminate the remains that you still have on the computer of others that you have already deleted.
Uninstall programs
Uninstalling programs is very simple and surely we have done it sometime. We always have something that we have used a couple of times and it no longer works or that we can do without when it comes time to free up space on the computer. If you are a Windows beginner you may think that it is enough to remove the program icon from the desktop, for example, or the shortcut. But no, nothing could be further from the truth. In case you still don’t know how to uninstall, the steps are as follows:
- Open Windows settings
- Go to the Applications section
Here you will see all the applications installed or available on your computer. You can sort them by name, by size or by installation date. You can also filter to search for them on all drives or on a specific disk. Once you are in front of the list, you just have to find the program you want to uninstall and click on it. With a single click, you will see that the “Uninstall” option appears that will allow us to eliminate it from our computer.
But, as we have explained in previous paragraphs, this will not remove any trace of the program from your computer. Yes, it is what you have been doing for years but it is not the most advisable thing if what you want is to erase absolutely everything. This does not erase the remains of the hard drive and there are some additional steps we have to follow.
Delete possible related folders
Even if you have uninstalled the program there may be remains in related folders. For example, if you uninstall Caliber you will see that your library folder full of eBooks or PDF documents is still on your computer. In that case, it is best if we first delete the files and then delete the registry. Find all the folders that you can find in Program Files and delete them. Many times we will know what is related but other times we will have to resort to Local disk> Program files> Folder of the program that you want to remove from your computer. It is enough to throw away or eliminate everything that is no longer useful.
Clear the record
You can delete information from the Windows registry manually. To erase traces of programs that are on your computer and that you have already deleted. To do this, we have to clean the Windows registry. We have to open, first, a window with the system registry and then we will delete.
- Tap Windows + R on your keyboard
- Type regedit in the window that will appear on your computer
- This will open the Windows system registry
In the registry editor we will have to look for the program that we want to eliminate any trace of it that was left when uninstalling it. Once you have opened the window as you see in the screenshot, tap on “Edit” in the top menu and open the “Search” section. Here you will have to fill in the data with the name of the program from which we want to delete the information. Write the name of the program in the box, as you can see in the image below, and tap on “Find next” to start the analysis of the information record.
Here you will find all the values, data or keys that are related to the program or application in question. Just select them from the list and touch the Delete key on your keyboard to make them disappear from the Windows registry.
Use specific programs
Although what we really wanted to teach you here is how to remove uninstalled programs from the Windows registry, you can also use specific applications to get rid of residual garbage. There are specific programs that help get rid of all the garbage that you may accumulate on your computer. When you delete a program or application, the trace remains and you can make it disappear thanks to those plugins, add-ons or programs commissioned and usually called “Cleaners”. There are many that you can download for free and they work in a very similar way to an antivirus: they remove all the tools, programs, files or folders that we do not use and that are not useful.
CCleaner is possibly one of the most popular that we can have installed on our computer. It is free and eliminates temporary files, cookies or browser garbage that we accumulate without realizing it. You can download it from its website and it automatically does the standard cleaning without you having to pay anything. You just have to click a button and wait for it to delete the files. It is a good complement to clean your computer in case of uninstalling programs.
Although CCleaner is one of the most popular, it is also embroiled in controversy for collecting user data and putting privacy at risk. But, luckily, he is not the only one who fulfills this task.
Wise Disk Cleaner is another alternative and free option that we can use on our computer to find any residual or junk files. We can clean Windows and it has all kinds of functions that are easy to handle, without complications. In addition, it allows you to defragment the hard disk if you need it.
