As its name suggests, Ashampoo UnInstaller Platinum Suite's primary function
is to remove or uninstall applications from Windows systems. The
question is, why should this be necessary at all? Why do you need a special
program? Why can t you just delete an application in the same way you can delete
a file?
The full answer to this question could fill a book. In a nutshell, however,
modern Windows? applications are very complicated beasts .
They include large numbers of files that are often saved in many different
places, not just in the application s own program directory. In addition to this
they also have even larger numbers of settings, sometimes hundreds, which they
record in Windows central database, which is known as the Windows? Registry.
Feature List
- Easy Mode
- Expert Mode
- Internet Cleanup
- Delete Duplicate Files
- Delete Empty Folders
- Delete Temp Files
- Font Management
- UnInstall Watcher
It gets worse:
Many of the program files used by applications are often shared with other
applications. These files contain universal functions that many Windows
programs use for common tasks. Even though these files are listed as belonging
to an application, if you delete any of them when you remove one application,
another application may stop working.
Why programs own uninstallers usually aren t so good?
Nowadays almost all programs provide a facility for uninstalling
themselves again, at the very least with an entry in the Add/Remove Programs
section in the Windows? Control Panel. The trouble is, these facilities normally
only include the absolute minimum functionality. Most of them leave large
numbers of orphaned registry entries, settings and files scattered all over
your system, like tourists who leave all their garbage in the woods after a
picnic. (If you re interested you can use Ashampoo UnInstaller Suite in Expert
Mode to test the performance of other uninstallers.)
Why is this?
Let s face it, programmers don t want you to remove their programs. Also,
writing a good uninstaller is a lot of work that doesn t add to the
functionality of an application, so most programmers don t bother. They choose
to play it safe, leaving everything you don t see intact.
How Ashampoo UnInstaller Suite does the job?
Ashampoo UnInstaller Suite works by creating two snapshots of your
system, one before you install an application and another one directly
afterwards. These snapshots record the entire status of your computer system,
including all registry entries, the locations, dates, sizes and versions of all
files and the contents of all configuration files. Getting this right is
extremely complicated, and Ashampoo UnInstaller Suite does this difficult job
very, very well.
After creating the second snapshot the program then compares it with the
first and records all the differences in a special file called an installation
log file , or log file for short.
When you tell Ashampoo UnInstaller Suite to uninstall the application it
loads this log file and uses the information it contains to restore everything
on your system to the way it was before you installed the application. New
files, directories and registry entries are deleted. Changed registry entries
are restored to the values they had before you installed the program. If you use
the File Backup feature (only available in Expert Mode) you can even restore any
original files that were overwritten by the installation of the application.
What Else Can You Do with This Program?
Uninstalling Windows? applications easily and completely isn t the only thing
you can do with Ashampoo UnInstaller Suite. This powerful program includes a
whole range of other powerful integrated modules with functions that make it an
indispensable tool for any Windows? user:
Creative uses for the monitoring and compare functions:
Since Ashampoo UnInstaller Suite can compare and reverse all the changes made to
your system between two defined points in time you can do much more with the
monitoring and compare functions than just uninstall applications! For example,
you can use them to find out where and how programs store their settings - you
just need to compare the changes to the files and registry before and after the
program does its work.
Or you can use Ashampoo UnInstaller Suite as a safety net when you re
experimenting with configuration and registry settings - just save your
configuration before making changes, create a log file after making the changes
and you can then always revert to the original state if the new settings don t
work. The possibilities are endless! (This functionality is only available in
Expert Mode!)
- Finding and deleting duplicate files
- Finding and deleting temporary files
- Finding and deleting empty folders
- Managing and deleting fonts
- Deleting your Internet trail
Picture
Special featured entertainment video
