Total Uninstall NOT total

  • Thread starter Thread starter howard schwartz
  • Start date Start date
H

howard schwartz

When I first found the freeware, total uninstall, I was heartened to find what
I hoped would be a program that would accurately track changes made by
installing a new program.

Alas, it does not in several important ways: It does a good job of tracking
changes inside the registry, but NOT changes inside other important files
such as (the windows 3x holdovers) system.ini, win. ini, config.sys,
autoexec.ini --- and other ini files that can be important.

It does not inform you when a file (e.g., a dll library) is changed by an
installation, only when files are added (or deleted)?

Its changes screen does not appear to show you the regestry key values
that are new and old.


For these reasons, alas I find I must use a combination of Total Uninstall and
the PC mag utility, inctrl5, to accurately track changes for an installed
application. The latter will check for changes inside the files that sysedit
shows you, and will tell of files that have been overwritten or changed.

I have been frequently warned that the uninstall information windows stores
in its registry is inadequate. Does anyone know just what changes windows
itself tracks and what it does not?
 
Here's the bottom line- if you install a time limited trial program using
Total Uninstall or any other installation monitoring software, and the
programs time limit runs out----- if, after using TU or any other monitoring
program you then uninstall and reinstall and the time limit is still in
effect, the monitoring program has not done a complete uninstall.
 
Problems with win.ini and system.ini are bound to go away soon. Few new
applications touch those anymore. Mostly it's the old apps that put stuff
there.
 
When I use Total Uninstall to install a game for example I will run that
game while
Total Uninstall is still running then exit the game and let Total
Uninstall detect the changes
 
When I first found the freeware, total uninstall, I was heartened to find what
I hoped would be a program that would accurately track changes made by
installing a new program.

Alas, it does not in several important ways: It does a good job of tracking
changes inside the registry, but NOT changes inside other important files
such as (the windows 3x holdovers) system.ini, win. ini, config.sys,
autoexec.ini --- and other ini files that can be important.

It does not inform you when a file (e.g., a dll library) is changed by an
installation, only when files are added (or deleted)?

Its changes screen does not appear to show you the regestry key values
that are new and old.


For these reasons, alas I find I must use a combination of Total Uninstall and
the PC mag utility, inctrl5, to accurately track changes for an installed
application. The latter will check for changes inside the files that sysedit
shows you, and will tell of files that have been overwritten or changed.

I have been frequently warned that the uninstall information windows stores
in its registry is inadequate. Does anyone know just what changes windows
itself tracks and what it does not?
Click to expand...
I have always used INCTRL5 and miss it dearly in Windows XP [ Hangs,
Hangs, Hangs ] in combination with regshot and UNDOReg.

Now, INCTRL5 shows you every file that gets altered ie. Added, Deleted,
updated or size changed meaning a program has decided to add it's own
little something. INCTRL5 also shows the added text lines in the system
text files such as .ini, .bat and .sys files but only some of them by
default.

Now, even with this information in hand, you still have a problem!!
INCTRL5 has indicated a file change, now what? INCTRL5 did not make a
backup of every file on your hardrive.

Now, Regshot has indicated added keys that UNDOReg can remove, but how
about changes to other keys? Again, regshot never made a backup of the
Registry.

My point. DO NOT INSTALL ANY PROGRAM ON YOUR COMPUTER UNLESS YOU HAVE
THE OPERATING SYSTEM PARTITION BACKED UP!!

The use of the following applications, Total uninstall - INCTRL5 and
Regshot are meant to be used ONLY to note what changes have occurred so
you can decide if the program has any business being installed on your
computer and to keep a record of those changes for future use!! I am
sorry, but this is the truth. These are all monitoring programs and
nothing more!!

My Windows 98 Partition has been running for over five years and that's
only because I have always [ yes, I know it's anal but it works ]
installed on a test partition to log what changes have occurred and to
keep a record of those changes if I decide to delete the program.

With everything I just wrote, one further note [ hey, I'm a poet hehe ].
After you do all this just to keep your operating system running right
now comes along 1) A bad install 2) A not so friendly virus 3) I don't
know, power glitch, static charge, gremlins - name it, something screws
up and your dead in the water!! One answer only - USE YOUR BACK-UP!!!!

The IT professional don't bug you to back-up your data because they love
to bother you!!! No, we don't. We do it to protect your ass. We can't
do it for you because we are hired to protect the company's ass [ network
data, Managers computers and data and Web site transactions plus email
just to name a couple ]

So, now I ask you, what are you going to do next?

Regards

Wayne D
 
howard schwartz said:
I have been frequently warned that the uninstall information windows stores
in its registry is inadequate. Does anyone know just what changes windows
itself tracks and what it does not?
Click to expand...
Windows in fact doesn't track anything by itself. The software author uses
some installer program like Windows Installer, or Wise Installer, or
something like that, I use Inno Installer. The install process also installs
an uninstall program. It's the uninstall program, that the software author
creates that takes care of uninstalling the software. I personally take
extra measures to make sure that any registry keys or files I touch are
either deleted or restrored, depending. Most authors, in my experience, do
not take these measures, and prefer to use whatever the installer software
creates for them as a default. It's not that things that get left behind are
necessarily harmful, just that it's sloppy.
JM2CW
HK
 
H_Man said:
It's not that things that get left behind are necessarily harmful, just
Click to expand...
that it's sloppy.

Yes indeed...very sloppy. And thank you for your desire and efforts not to
be so.

--
dadiOH
_____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
____________________________
 
Alas, it does not in several important ways: It does a good job of tracking
changes inside the registry, but NOT changes inside other important files
such as (the windows 3x holdovers) system.ini, win. ini, config.sys,
autoexec.ini --- and other ini files that can be important.
Click to expand...

you are right, only warns the files are changed.
It does not inform you when a file (e.g., a dll library) is changed by an
installation, only when files are added (or deleted)?
Click to expand...

you are wrong, it warns the files are changed.
Its changes screen does not appear to show you the regestry key values
that are new and old.
Click to expand...

No, it does show.
 
When I first found the freeware, total uninstall, I was heartened to find what
I hoped would be a program that would accurately track changes made by
installing a new program.
Click to expand...
[snip]
My Windows 98 Partition has been running for over five years and that's
only because I have always [ yes, I know it's anal but it works ]
installed on a test partition to log what changes have occurred and to
keep a record of those changes if I decide to delete the program. [snip]
So, now I ask you, what are you going to do next?

Regards

Wayne D
Click to expand...

Either way you go, it is a lot of work. I have a backup copy of my
virgin win98 installation, but, I am too lazy to thoroughly track
everything, so I just use Total Uninstall and Test-Run by BB. Sometimes

you want to keep a program you test, sometimes you don't (feel like a
nut). I think I like reinstalling my OS every year or so cause I do
things a little different every time... and darnet... just when I was
getting the process streamlined, it's time to move on to XP cause my
win98 is starting to become a legacy OS. Crapalo. Hopefully I can skip

every other OS. Hopefully with XP I will automate the installation and
tweaks to the point I can have my system and apps back and fresh to
where I want them in an hour.

Spacey
Windows Masochist
 
When I use Total Uninstall to install a game for example I will run
that
game while
Total Uninstall is still running then exit the game and let Total
Uninstall detect the changes
Click to expand...

And that's the way you're suposed to use it. It's best to put programs like
Total Uninstall
into the background and run the program you're installing because sometimes
programs
make some changes to ini files and the registry *ONLY* when they are actually
run.


If I recall the Total Uninstall docs even mentions this.
 
Chris Lee said:
And that's the way you're suposed to use it. It's best to put programs
like Total Uninstall into the background and run the program you're
installing because sometimes programs make some changes to ini files
and the registry *ONLY* when they are actually run.
If I recall the Total Uninstall docs even mentions this.
Click to expand...

If I install Norton Antivirus 2002 via Total Uninstall would I be able
to completely remove NAV?
Would I do the first half of TI - and then apply all the NAV updates -
and then do the second half of TI?
 
If I install Norton Antivirus 2002 via Total Uninstall would I be
able
to completely remove NAV?
Would I do the first half of TI - and then apply all the NAV updates
-
and then do the second half of TI?
Click to expand...

Shrug. Best thing would be to drop a note to the author of Total Uninstall
and ask him about it.
 
Back
Top