uninstall left over files

partian

New Member
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Location
England
Hello everyone,
haven't posted in a while and I hope you's are all doing well today.

I have a cleanout software and hardware wise once a fortnight, I tend to uninstall any programs that I haven't used for a while or don't longer need however I am sure there are files that are left behind from installations,
I am wondering if there is a program (paid or free) out there that will find all the left behind files from all installations,
I had a program (Revo Uninstaller I think) that when you uninstall a program through Revo you get an option to remove all of the left over files.

However I haven't used it in a while and I have already uninstalled a fair few programs,
is there a program that will find the files that are no longer needed and I can delete them?

Thanks for the help
smile.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core 5
    Memory
    16GB
    Internet Speed
    120Mbit/s Down
    Browser
    Chrome // Mozilla
Revo Uninstaller Pro can removed leftover files, click on the "Traced Programs" and type the name for the programs you uninstalled and it will scan for leftover files and registry entries and you can delete them. I would recommend you to uninstall programs from Revo directly next time.

Note: You will only see "Traced Programs" in the Pro versions.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, Windows 10 64-bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Revo Uninstaller/Ashampoo Uninstaller
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Build 9600 32-bits
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Sempron 3400+ 1.8 ghz
    Motherboard
    BIOSTAR- Group N61PA-M2S
    Memory
    3 GB RAM DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 7300 SE / 7200 GS 512mb
    Browser
    Mozilla
    Antivirus
    Avast
There's no such uninstaller that can completely remove all the left over including Revo Uninstaller, Ashampoo etc.... The obvious proof is if you install a 30 day trial application. After the trial has expired, try to uninstall then re-install to see if you get another 30 trial.

The only people that can remove the left over are the people who actually wrote the software. And they put hidden entries with special permission in the registry that no uninstaller software can detect.

So just in case you are trying to use a 30 day trial software and hope to use one of those uninstallers to get another 30 day trial then you are out of luck. The only way it would work is before installing the trial software, make a backup image then after 30 days, restore the image then re-install it. However, there's no such thing as 100% fool proof. Smart hacker can use Process Explorer from MS Sys Internals to trace every move of registry Read/Write and delete them.

NOTE: I am not saying that this is what you are trying to do, just one of the scenerio. Personally, I use revo uninstaller and it's pretty good to clean the left over compare to the native Windows installer but not all.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
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    PC/Desktop
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    Home Brewed
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    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
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    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
To purge a system of a program, you need a desktop search tool like UltraSearch that scans the MFT for everything. Deleting stuff using this tool can be dangerous and cause errors if you are not an advanced user, because it will show .dll and .ocx files that must be unregistered first or you start getting errors or you can break your system if they are part of Windows(stay away from the WinSxS folder too). For the registry there is a Find & Find next(F3) only remove the main program folders under HKEY LOCAL MACHINE software.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome; IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
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