Answer Line: Remove Apps That Don't Uninstall Themselves

What can you do when you can't find uninstall utilities for programs you want to uninstall?

Elizabeth Saraceno, Cortland, New York

I can't guarantee that these instructions will wipe out every trace of every program you want to remove from your PC--I'm cautious and delete only the files I'm sure aren't necessary--but in most cases they'll get almost all of them.

Find the program path and file name. Right-click the program's shortcut on your Start menu and select Properties. Everything in the Target field to the last backslash is the program's path, and everything after that backslash is its file name. For instance, if the Target field says 'C:\My Programs\Bug Multiplier\Bug.exe', the path is C:\My Programs\Bug Multiplier, and the program file name is Bug.exe. Keep the Properties box open. You'll need to refer to the path and file name throughout.

Make sure nothing from the program loads automatically. Select Start, Run, type msconfig, and press Enter (if you get an error message rather than a program, see " Msconfig for Windows 2000 and 95." Click the Startup tab. In the Name or Startup Items column, look for anything related to the program that you want to uninstall. In the Command column, look for anything resembling the program path. Uncheck all the items that meet either criterion, then click OK.

Eliminate associations. In Windows Explorer, select View, Folder Options ( Tools, Folder Options in Windows 98) and click the File Types tab. Look for any file types that are associated with the program you want to uninstall. When you find one, you have two options. If you'd like to associate the file type with another program, click Change and select the other program; otherwise click Delete, then Yes. Click Close when you're done.

Clean the Registry. Select Start, Run, type regedit, and press Enter. In the left pane of the Registry Editor, navigate to the key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications. Click the plus sign next to this key, then right-click the subkey matching your program's file name. Select Delete, then Yes.

Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software and look for a subkey named for the vendor of the program. Click the plus sign by the vendor name to view the subkeys beneath it. If you see subkeys for programs you wish to keep, delete only the subkey for the program you're uninstalling. Otherwise, delete the vendor key entirely. Do the same in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE key.

Press Home to return to the top of the Registry Editor's left pane, with My Computer selected. Press Ctrl-F to open the Find dialog box. Enter the program path in the 'Find what' field, make sure all of the options under 'Look at' are checked, and click Next or Find Next, depending on your version of Windows. If a match turns up, delete the key containing it, then press F3 to search again. When it's done, close the Registry Editor. Finally, delete the program's folder and shortcuts.