Unable to uninstall programs after system restore

I'm not sure why this was different than doing it in the control panel, but doing it via a freshly downloaded. This worked even after deleting the directories and presumably cleaned the extra registry keys.

Tritium21 Tritium21 2, 17 17 silver badges 27 27 bronze badges. Worked a treat! Sorry for slow reply. For some reason I didn't receive notice of your helpful answer. The Overflow Blog. Stack Gives Back Safety in numbers: crowdsourcing data on nefarious IP addresses. Featured on Meta. New post summary designs on greatest hits now, everywhere else eventually.

Linked 0. Related Hot Network Questions. This issue has been lessened somewhat by User Account Control, thankfully, but it still happens.

Unlocker is a handy solution to locked files — install it dodging the automatic toolbar shenanigans in the installer , dig up the file you're trying to delete, right-click it, and find Unlocker in the context menu.

It'll tell you what programs are currently accessing that file, and allow you either to kill the offending processes risky or remove the locks less so. There's a portable version available too, which lets you browse through current file locks on the system, but do bear in mind that forcing actions like this can affect the stability of your system, so only use something like Unlocker as a last resort. Programs that put locks on your system are often the same programs which start with your computer and sit in the background.

So, inadvertent or problematic installs can be reverted using System Restore, but only if you remember to make a restore point beforehand. System Restore is only useful if your computer is accessible enough that you can get to it. A full backup, then, could make all the difference. We tend to lean towards Macrium Reflect Free for this task. Sometimes programs leave things behind, even when they do uninstall successfully. Revo Uninstaller Free is an excellent tool both for uninstalling and for cleaning up that extra mess.

There are, in addition, a number of tools on board for getting rid of software, from straight uninstalling to forced file deletion. You can also use Revo Uninstaller to kill running programs, or stop software running on boot.

Much easier, though, to turn to a piece of software that can reliably exorcise these software spectres, and Absolute Uninstaller can do just that, and do it completely automatically to boot.

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