uninstalling programs...

Hi, I suck with computers and have a question. When you uninstall programs, does the program completely go away or do you need to do something else after doing this. And what is a driver?

 

theoretically, if you unstall a program from add/remove programs, or their unstaller, it is supposed to completly go away. however, with alot of programs you will find remnants of the program you uninstalled (either in the registry, folders, and sometimes even their shortcuts in the start menu, etc). some software is known for not totally uninstalling (for example norton/symantec products), so they have even a seperate program to help the removal of their products.


ccleaner is a good program for removing temp files etc, it also has a good registry tool that is very safe to use (most people around here use it), however they mostly all make a backup (it will prompt you) when making registry changes.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4191.html <-- CCleaner Slim (No Toolbar) 2.05.555

drivers are typically software to make your hardware work with your computer (something like that). - sos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Device_driver

 

It depends on how good the uninstaller is. Some apps are completely gone after uninstall. Folders are removed and registry clean of entries.
Others leave traces. There may be folders left in the Program Files folders, Program Data folders, and in your User folders (App Data folders). They can just be deleted. There also may be some traces left in the registry.
I always do a search through those places and run CCleaner, both Cleaner and Registry tools, after an uninstall.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/CCleaner_Slim_No_Yahoo_Toolbar_English_d4191.html

There are also some uninstaller tools that may do a more thorough job, but I really haven't tried them out fully. One that comes to mind is:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Revo_Uninstaller_d5706.html