Geek Program uninstaller

[hazelnut]

Just wondering if anyone has tried this

 

http://www.geekuninstaller.com/

 

 

I've been reading one or two reports which rate it quite highly, apparently it also shows the files and reg entries of the programs you are wanting to uninstall.

[Majestic]

I haven't tried the GeekIninstaller. I've been using IObit's Uninstaller since it first came out and found it works quite well. Like the GeekUninstaller, it can be run from a flash drive and performs a deep scan of registry items as well.

 

http://www.iobit.com/advanceduninstaller.html

[hazelnut]

Yes I know all about iobit uninstaller, I wasn't really asking for uninstaller recommendations I was just asking about whether anyone had used the Geek Uninstaller,

[Coffee4Joe]

I tried Geek Uninstaller.

I like the leftover file search better then Iobits. Geek showed more leftover entries, But after running Iobit a few of the files Geek showed had already been removed. Looks like Iobit automatically removes some files/entries before it does a Power Scan.

Geek lacks a setting to create a system restore point (or i couldn't find it). I normally create my own backup and restore point so it's not an issue for me.

 

Geek does leave behind an entries in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Geek Uninstaller and %APPDATA%/Geek Uninstaller

[Andavari]

It sounded and looked good until I found this via a search engine about its "free-ness" is perhaps going to disappear soon:

Near the bottom of the page there's interesting comments here a good sized discussion however what caught my eyes were comment #1 posted by Paul(us), and the supporting comment in #2 posted by: alphasurfer

 

I'll pass.

[login123]

Running windows XP sp3.

Chose to uninstall microsoft office 97, fully patched.

I would have never done this without a virtualizer app running, just in case something went blooey. <<<Technical term, blooey is.

 

When the "Uninstall" option was used, windows asked to insert the ms office CD.

When the "Force Removal" was used, got a huge list of entries, some looked wrong and a bit scary, but I let it run. Doesn't seem to have done any harm, everything still works.

 

 

I don't know if any of these leftovers would have disappeared after a restart. Don't think so, but couldn't do one. Also don't know enough about uninstallers generally to make a valid comparison. But it looks like quite a few files and registry entries were left.

Andavari has used Revo extensively, and will know if it is better.

 

Here is a partial list of what was left.

 

Afterwards, regseeker found

- 135 leftover entries for "Winword"

- 38 leftover entries for "Microsoft Word"

- 359 entries for "Excel"

I quit looking then.

 

CCleaner 3.18.1707 Registry cleaner found:

- 5 entries for "Missing Shared DLLs", maybe more, not sure what some of them are.

- A gazillion entries for "ActiveX & Class Issues"

- 13 entries for "Applications"

CCleaner 3.18.1707 Applications tab found nothing for office 97 nor for 2003, although those are still listed there.

 

Windows explorer,found leftover files & folders, about 14.5 mb, in

- C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared.

and

- C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office.

[Andavari]

But it looks like quite a few files and registry entries were left.

 

Good thing you're virtualized because most of the stuff listed has absolutely nothing to do with any Microsoft Office installation! Using any uninstaller tool that's that aggressive people will really need to know exactly what they're about to remove rather than clicking every available tick box as they'd screw up something.

 

Personally I have a good combo going when installing/uninstalling software:

1. Track the installation with Total Uninstall (Last Freeware Version).

2. If chosing to uninstall I use Revo Uninstaller in its default mode, the more aggressive mode I wouldn't touch.

3. Finalize the uninstall using the Total Uninstall logged changes.

I however never use Total Uninstall or Revo Uninstaller to remove any device drivers (Display Driver, Mouse Driver, etc.), as doing so can very easily equal a load of issues which aren't so easy to undo.

[login123]

Good thing you're virtualized because most of the stuff listed has absolutely nothing to do with any Microsoft Office installation! ...

 

Thought so. Thanks for confirming it. I have no idea why that stuff is in there about CD burning, windows media player, etc. All I clicked on in the Geek uninstaller was ms office 97, my state of the art office suite.

[Winapp2.ini]

how does this compare to something like Revo?

[login123]

Hi, winapp. Andavari answered your question, I guess, but I might add that I do a manual registry backup with ERUNT then search for leftovers and delete them. Tedious as heck, and risky, but its the only way I know to be sure that all the remnants are gone.

 

Not a good idea unless one knows a lot about the registry. Not that I know much, I've gummed it up more than once, but so far have always been able to fix it.

 

I wish Piriform made a text based registry search & delete application (maybe call it "Reggie" ) but it would drive the moderators over the edge, I guess. Can you imagine the volume of help requests?

[hazelnut]

It really just goes to show from the tests and comments you guys have made how uninstalls can be such a frustrating thing at times.

 

When a company makes a product, the developers who compiled it should know each entry and the placement of them. Thats why I find it so frustrating that they write an uninstall routine that can be sloppy and not remove sub folders etc. The worst ones are those who leave drivers after the uninstall rountine is run.

 

A few good companies make sure that all remnants are removed.

 

I always run the products own uninstaller first and know the usual places where leftovers can hide but a lot of folk don't and depend on uninstallers like Revo, Total Uninstall and GeekUninstall.

[eL_PuSHeR]

I have had my share of problems with some of them. I usually just do the leftovers remains part by myself.

[login123]

It really just goes to show from the tests and comments you guys have made how uninstalls can be such a frustrating thing at times.

...

 

I had no idea how much a computer would slow down from leftovers and "registry clutter" until I reinstalled wxp on this one a year of two ago. Made a huge differrence. Since then I have gone to extreme lengths to get rid of the leftovers.

 

Thanks for the information, Hazel & Andavari. Good topic, imho.

[Super Fast]

It sounded and looked good until I found this via a search engine about its "free-ness" is perhaps going to disappear soon:

Near the bottom of the page there's interesting comments here a good sized discussion however what caught my eyes were comment #1 posted by Paul(us), and the supporting comment in #2 posted by: alphasurfer

 

I'll pass.

 

Quite interesting, Andavari. I set my clock to Dec 2012 & it said it was expired.

 

I haven't checked with this one, but on some programs, I noted that if you hex edit them, you can change the timer. Extend it by like, 30 years or so. I hope to find a way to totally disable timers eventually. I like experimenting!

 

I do a lot of this stuff just 4 fun, & to see what can be done. I am not certain if this one can be disabled, but it is always fun to try! I just like trying things just for fun

[Andavari]

Super Fast I don't bother with programs that time-out and it really isn't worth hacking them either in my opinion. Just so you know there's NirSoft RunAsDate (probably really pisses off some commercial/paid developers), although it doesn't work with some programs.

[Super Fast]

It depends. I just do it for the fun. Sometimes, it can be permanent, depending on what your trying to achieve. Since it's freeware, anyway, I have no problem removing the trial out of it! LOL!

 

I suppose you could also use beyondo -> http://bluefive.pair.com/beyondo.htm

 

Really cool how it has the actual date & the date that you want to set it to. When your done, just click reset to actual date. I am not sure which way would work best. May have to do Nirsoft vs Beyondo!

[razz]

I have used Revo Uninstaller for years. I have always used it in the Advanced Mode and have never had any problems after removing any program. I realize a novice could get in trouble using this mode but I doubt experienced users would have any issues.

[eL_PuSHeR]

I am assuming you are using Revo's medium option, right?

[razz]

Not sure what you mean by medium. I use the advanced mode as shown below:

 

http://

[Corona]

Ah, the "shredded underwear" mode. I used that a few times on my old XP machine. I did notice some quirkiness afterwards. Too many shared files removed I guess.

[eL_PuSHeR]

Not sure what you mean by medium. I use the advanced mode as shown below:

 

http://

 

My bad. I meant the MODERATE option. Advanced seems a bit tricky. Is it safe enough to use?

[Andavari]

Advanced seems a bit tricky. Is it safe enough to use?

 

Not really "tricky" but depending upon what you're uninstalling it can show more than I'm willing to look through, and some of what it can/may/will show could have nothing to do with the software you're removing - i.e.; Advanced option digs deep, too deep for me. That's why I use the Moderate option as it will typically only show left-overs from the actual software that's being removed.

[Alan_B]

Not really "tricky" but depending upon what you're uninstalling it can show more than I'm willing to look through, and some of what it can/may/will show could have nothing to do with the software you're removing - i.e.; Advanced option digs deep, too deep for me. That's why I use the Moderate option as it will typically only show left-overs from the actual software that's being removed.

Advanced has not dug too deep for me,

but I have probably not used it more than one or two dozen times and I have a partition image backup file to fall back on before I risk it.

[eL_PuSHeR]

Thanks guys.

[DennisD]

Interesting find hazel although I've used Revo for too long to start trying to come to terms with something different.

 

Always used Advanced mode myself. (I'm hard as nails)