Best uninstaller ? does it exist ?

[Rippie_DK]

Hi guys,

Hope someone can help me, I am looking for an uninstaller or similar (virtual software manager) that can remove a program completely after i'm done testing it. I have been reading about Ashampoo Uninstaller 4 which claims to make a "snapshot" before and after installation of a program, that gives it the ability to remove a program completely from registry, file locations and services. It all sounds good, but i just dont like the interface, it looks "dodgey" as in it could be crap software but it sounds good.

These here are the ones i have found:

- http://www.revouninstaller.com/

- http://www.martau.com/

- http://www2.ashampoo.com/webcache/html/1/p..._1003___GBP.htm

Why I am looking for a perfect uninstaller or virtual software manager is because i like testing new apps out, and after a while it f***s my pc. now i know of a virtual software manager called Altiris, now owned by Symantec. but it is not always willing to work with me.

hope someone have a good advise.

Rippie

[Guest]

You could try Sandboxie. It runs anything in a sandbox so no permanent changes are done to your system.

I also tend to run Regshot 2 Unicode before and after an install. Make sure to have it scan your system drive for file changes. Easy as pie to undo the changes once you have it all logged.

Edited June 30, 2009 by -X-

[Rippie_DK]

I have heard about sandboxie, i will try it out. Any others for any good suggestions ?

[DigeratiPrime]

Vmware Thinapp can virtualize all filesystem / registry including drivers and services, but it is expensive. Microsoft App-V is similiar but I haven't started using it yet; it's part of MDOP.

Personally I run apps with limited rights so they cannot modify or "junk up" important areas of the system. Vista introducted filesystem and registry virtualization for programs that were hardcoded to write to protected folders as part of UAC. This basically isolates programs which would conflict and allows them to install and be run simultaneously. It's also easy to clean up since it's found in "%APPDATA%\Local\VirtualStore".

[XtremeFuturistic]

OK, I will help u,

This -

http://www.snapfiles.com/opinions/ShadowSu...adowSurfer.html

http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/ShadowSur...adowsurfer.html

ShadowSurfer allows you to Undo all changes made to your system during a ShadowSurfer session. Once ShadowSurfer is activated, you need to reboot your PC and whatever changes take place while the program is activated, can be completely undone, returning your system to the state it was before ShadowSurfer was activated. You can activate the session for as long as you wish, and deactivate it easily from the system tray. The session can include all or just selected drives, whichever drives are selected - all data that was created during the session will be completely eliminated. This includes any software installed, browser history, cookies etc, as well as any other changes. Beware that this also includes email and other documents that were received during the session (if they were saved to a ShadowMode drive). ShadowSurfer can be a very effective and easy to use way to temporarily use your system in a shadow mode, however you should be fully aware of the consequences, in order to avoid unwanted data loss. A bright desktop wallpaper clearly alerts you of the ShadowMode while it is activated.

Edited July 11, 2009 by XtremeFuturistic

[DigeratiPrime]

Proper link to ShadowSurfer: http://www.storagecraft.com/shadow_surfer.php

ShadowSurfer is similiar to SteadyState, DeepFreeze, FirstDefense-ISR, BufferZone, Returnil, Clean Slate, etc.

These programs are similiar to System Restore and not really a program uninstaller.

[Chrno]

I still use CCleaner it also has support for system restore backups, but since I always turn that off... I never really had the need to fiddle with it.

It's also the perfect solution for deleting obsolete register entries (beats it to manually by 10k to 1!). There is however one tool that beats it that I had covered with about 20 other small apps, but it's been since long gone around XP SP2 beta.

edit: here's the best part..... it's FREE!

Edited July 13, 2009 by Chrno

[g-force]

Because of the risk unknown software could do to my system

i perform a backup of the systemdrive with "Acronis True Image".

So can do anything I want (or maybe don`t want) to that system

and when testing is done I reset the system with the clean image.

[Jeremy]

I use Sandboxie and if the program does not work fully in Sandboxie then I use VirtualBox.

Many members of this forum may remember my older posts on registry cleaners. I no longer clean my registry. This made a difference on computers 10 years ago, but not today's computers.

However, I still do not appreciate registry data and files left behind as a result of lazy development of the application. The Windows Registry is ancient.

I prefer portability and saving all configuration files to .INI, .CFG, .DAT, etc in the same folder as the portable application you're running.

I run Firefox Sandboxed so if anything did manage to get through my firewall, browser and extensions, it wouldn't get far.

[jaclaz]

Many members of this forum may remember my older posts on registry cleaners. I no longer clean my registry. This made a difference on computers 10 years ago, but not today's computers.

Hmm, would this mean that three years ago you were outdated since seven years?

http://www.msfn.org/board/Registry-Cleaner...son-t68677.html

And one year ago since nine!

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=111078

jaclaz

[DigeratiPrime]

always count on jaclaz's research

[EDIT] I am sure we've all been guilty at some point of saying how expired something was soon after we stopped using it.

[Alpaca Portrait]

He didn't say he stopped cleaning his registry 10 years ago, he said registry cleaning made a noticeable difference 10 years ago.

[spacesurfer]

best uninstaller? try a virtual machine instead and test software in there so you don't have to uninstall.

[Jeremy]

Many members of this forum may remember my older posts on registry cleaners. I no longer clean my registry. This made a difference on computers 10 years ago, but not today's computers.

Hmm, would this mean that three years ago you were outdated since seven years?

http://www.msfn.org/board/Registry-Cleaner...son-t68677.html

And one year ago since nine!

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=111078

jaclaz

Admittedly, I was a registry cleaner fanatic a couple years ago. I believe that was obvious based on the amount of content I put into my posts back then.

System performance was only 1 of many factors behind my motive for doing such a comparison.

Sure, it gives the end user a feeling of organization and cleanliness to clean their registry, but to the hardware in front of them - it does not notice.

Anyway, my whole point is that registry cleaners and uninstallers, in my opinion, are unnecessary because of what we have available today.

We have virtualization software, portable applications run directly from flash drives, Linux gaining market share (2+% last time I read on Digg), etc.

Undeniably, there's always a majority and minority such as Windows XP users versus Windows 98 users.

The bottom line is that we have a very efficient means of preventing changes from being made to our systems which renders these programs useless.

This is fairly well known amongst savvy techs, but the average consumer at BestBuy will still buy into it due to lack of awareness of what I've mentioned above.

[beats]

The bottom line is that we have a very efficient means of preventing changes from being made to our systems which renders these programs useless.

Useless? Far from. While the speed gain might be barely noticed, most cleaners do far more than just cleaning. They also fix all kind of errors and such.