Three ways to uninstall software in Windows Vista

Uninstalling the software using the Uninstall program feature

To uninstall programs and software components from your computer's hard disk in Windows Vista environments:

Click on "Start", "Control Panel", and then click "Program".

Under Programs and features, click Uninstall Program.

The Uninstall or Change Programs window opens.

Select the program you want to uninstall.

Click Uninstall at the top of the list of programs.

Read all the information that appears when uninstalling the software and do the appropriate action.

To find a program by turning on or off Windows features

If the program is not listed in the Uninstall Programs window, you need to do so. Some programs may be hidden. Locate the program you want to uninstall by doing the following:

Click "Start", "Control Panel", "program", and then click "Turn on or off Windws function".

To turn on a Windows feature, select the check box next to the feature and click OK.

Uninstalling programs in Registry Editor

The following actions are required only if you cannot find the listed software:

Tap Start, and then enter regedit in the "Start Search" field.

The Registry Editor window opens.

Note: The following actions involve editing the Windows registry. Incorrectly editing the registry can cause Windows to fail to start. First, create a backup of the registry, and then carefully perform the following actions.

After you complete the registry backup, in the left pane of Registry Editor, tap the plus sign next to the following registry key name:

HKEY Local MACHINE

SOFTWARE

MICROSOFT

Windows

Current VERSION

UNINSTALL

In Uninstall, select the name of the registry key that is consistent with the name of the software you want to uninstall.

With the software name selected, double-click the UninstallString value icon in the right pane.

The uninstallstring text should be highlighted in the open window. If you do not highlight the text, select the entire text in the Value data field.

Right-click the highlighted text and select Copy.

Click Cancel to close the Registry Editor window.

Click "Start".

In the Start Search field, right-click the mouse and select paste.

Paste the previously copied uninstallstring value data into the field.

Click "OK" to uninstall the software.