What is the best Uninstaller software available?

July 6, 2008 5:07 AM

What is the best Uninstaller software that could remove program(s) totally without any traces (such as registry files and others) for Windows XP?

I don't care if the Uninstaller is freeware or paid base software.

posted by omaralarifi to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

The best uninstaller is the one that came with the software you're trying to uninstall. That would be the only one that would know how to uninstall the software.
posted by mpls2 at 5:33 AM on July 6, 2008

Best answer: Sounds like you want Revo Uninstaller. I've never used it, but Lifehacker readers voted it one of their top 5 Windows maintenance tools.
posted by Askr at 5:34 AM on July 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

Forgot to mention - it's free!
posted by Askr at 5:35 AM on July 6, 2008

Best answer: Revo Uninstaller performs thorough resigtry scans after uninstallation of software and removes left over files. Uninstallers that come with the software are notoriously bad at cleaning up after themselves -as is the Windows uninstaller. It's also free.
posted by Blacksun at 5:37 AM on July 6, 2008 [2 favorites]

Sorry, should've previewed.
posted by Blacksun at 5:37 AM on July 6, 2008

Another vote for Revo Uninstaller, based on this thread I just used it to uninstall some bits of the CA Security Suite that had been causing me some problems.
posted by marxchivist at 7:04 AM on July 6, 2008

Best answer: Safarp is a nice replacement for the Add/Remove programs dialogue. Might be useful alongside Revo.
posted by Happy Dave at 7:56 AM on July 6, 2008

nthing Revo -- I've had a lot of success using Revo to uninstall some particularly ill-behaved (Norton) programs that resisted all other means of removal.

The interface is quite nice, too.
posted by dmz at 1:10 PM on July 6, 2008

Yep, Revo Unistaller is the way to go.
posted by vac2003 at 2:20 PM on July 6, 2008

Ccleaner - acts as both an uninstaller and a registry cleaner. Excellent utility.
posted by Susurration at 6:00 PM on July 6, 2008

A really useful site for answering this kind of question is Lifehacker. Make sure to read the comments, as these are sometimes more useful than the original post.
posted by OlderThanTOS at 1:16 PM on July 7, 2008