Add/remove programs

The Windows uninstaller is not the most efficient. Sometimes parts of an application get left behind, registry entries are not always deleted, and it is not as fast as it could be.

Most replacements are commercial programs which offer, perhaps, a free trial, but ultimately require the payment of a fee. I did try one freebie EasyUninstaller, but it wouldn't even run on my Windows XP Pro system. Possibly, I needed to download Visual Basic runtime files to fix the problem, but I was looking for something that installed easily and worked effectively. I cannot recommend something that doesn't install and run without hassles.

I found Your Uninstaller! 2002 on a magazine disc. The 2002 edition was offered as an enticement to get people to upgrade to the latest version (2004), but I found it did all that I needed without the upgrade. My copy came from the UK magazine, PCPlus. Look out for it on local (Australian) magazines.

Your Uninstaller! 2004 sells for $USD29.95, or is available packaged with other software from http://www.ursoftware.com. A trial version is available as is a cheaper Basic version, but the Basic version lacks many of the features that make it worthwhile replacing the Windows bundled utility.