Windows Add/Remove programs replacements

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

Windows Add/Remove programs replacements

by Brad Linder Nov 19th 2007

If you spend a lot of time trying out new software, you probably also spend a lot of time uninstalling software. And the thing is, Microsoft's add/remove programs applications just don't cut it. From the earliest days of Windows, Microsoft has bundled a handy utility for removing unwanted programs. And every version right up to Windows Vista seems to have a few quirks. The add/remove programs dialog is slow to load, often leaves registry entries behind, and sometimes just misses programs altogether.

Here are a few alternate uninstallers that we've run across. They're all free, and they all claim to be better than the Windows utility in one way or another.

Revo Uninstaller is more than just an uninstaller. it also lets you adjust your autostart program, clean your Windows and browser history, and delete junk files.

Absolute Uninstaller sports a batch uninstalling option, a search function, and the ability to clean up files left behind after you're done uninstalling.

MyUninstaller lets you open an application's installation folder, find registry settings, and features a search option in case you've got a ton of programs to sift through.

Safarp loads faster than most of the other utilities we've tried. And if you don't want one more application to install, you can download a zip file containing an executable version of Safarp. No installation required.

CCleaner may be known primarily as a utility for cleaning temp files and registry settings. But it also comes with a handy little program uninstaller. It's nothing to write home about, but it loads up faster than any other utility on this list, with the possible exception of Safarp.

Tags: absolute-uninstaller, ccleaner, myuninstaller, revo-uninstaller, safarp, uninstallers

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Milan said 9:23AM on 11-19-2007

You forgot to mention Your Uninstaller! 2006. I've been using it for years and honestly couldn't imagine my pc without it.

vinkap said 10:40AM on 11-19-2007

I would beg to disagree with your statement - "From the earliest days of Windows, Microsoft has bundled a handy utility for removing unwanted programs". Add/Remove Programs was first introduced in Windows 95. Up until Windows 3.xx, there was no standard built-in Add/Remove utility and very few 3rd party applications used to provide uninstallers of their own. In fact there was a whole category of 3rd party applications that used to do just that - uninstall applictions!!

Jesse said 11:35PM on 11-19-2007

Advanced Uninstaller Pro works pretty well too - I'm surprised to see that not on the list. It gives you options to forcefully uninstall stubborn applications and has a host of browser utilities for IE and FF, and it does registry cleanup. It literally saved my computer once after I went to town on the registry (stupid me). :P

Richard Chapman said 11:36PM on 11-19-2007

Hey, just use Synaptic... Oh right, that's for Linux only. Sorry, carry on, you're sure to find a good solution some day.

John said 7:39AM on 11-20-2007

I tried to install Revo Uninstaller and Windows XP SP2 says that it is corrupted and can not be installed. I tried an earlier verson and versions from several differeent download sites and the same result for all of them.

2oonhed said 9:25AM on 11-20-2007

Great freeware list. That NirSoft guy is HIGHLY prolific. I am already using several of his items.

Advanced Uninstaller Pro and Your Uninstaller! 2006 do not fit on this list because they have a purchase price, they are not freeware uninstallers....duh....

G said 11:36AM on 11-20-2007

2 words. Altiris SVS

MV10 said 11:37AM on 11-20-2007

For the record, Microsoft has little to do with how well or how poorly "Add/Remove Programs" works. The dialog is just a list of uninstallers that has registered with the OS. The uninstaller is still supplied by the company that wrote the software and the installer.

Microsoft provides tools to help with this, but those tools are not "Add/Remove Programs" itself.

James said 6:35PM on 11-20-2007

You guys need to standardize your tags -- you have an article about Absolute Uninstaller with the tag "uninstaller", and this one has the tag "uninstallers", but there's no way to find the one article from the other.

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