Re: removing folders from program files

ALev,
It's not a crime to remove sub-folders from the 'Program Files'
folder. It's not like the system folders within the Windows directory,
which IS fairly sacred. The 'Common Files' folder within 'Program Files'
shouldn't be touched unless you REALLY know what you're doing.
But as for the others, if you can see something you know YOU have
installed and it is not listed in the 'Add / Remove Programs' dialogue, then
you CAN delete it. The possible complications of doing this you should be
aware of, though. You may get an error message when Windows starts,
saying that a certain file cannot be found (because you deleted it!). But
this can be solved by going to the 'msconfig.exe' program and 'unchecking'
an entry that corresponds to the deleted folder.
It's a rarer occurrence that the program installed a windows 'service',
but again, this time it is a case of going into 'Services' (Admin tools) and
disabling the service that corresponds to the deleted folder. Basically,
the 'rule of thumb' is that the bigger a program is the harder it is to get
rid of. If you are deleting a sub-folder in 'Program Files' that has only
ONE program file (.exe) in it, then the only possible ramifications are
going to be that it wants to start up automatically and can't because you
deleted it, so causing windows to give you an 'I can't find it' error
message. And, as I said, that can be dealt with using the msconfig.exe
program and going to the 'Start-up' tab where you can simply de-select it.
Modifying a folder of an existing program that you enjoy (like, say,
trying to re-name it) is another matter. If you do that, the program will
most definitely fail to start. The same is true of attempting to move
program's folders to another location, it will more than likely cease to
function.
I don't mean this to be a recommendation to go trash your 'Program
Files' folder, but to give you a bit of an insight into why people say not
to modify it. And to, perhaps, give you the confidence to remove any
program that you are certain is a unwanted and a potential threat to your
system.


==


Cheers, Tim Med***, Peckham, London.


"ALev" <ALev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:CE589D26-80B2-475F-A33D-1D74EF7372CF@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello,

I just used the "Add and Remove Programs" facility to remove a program
called "Goombah Partner COM Server".

Now, I have this folder called "Emergent Music LLC" in my Program Files
directory. The only thing it contains is a folder called "Goombah Partner
COM
Server". I want to delete the "Emergent Music LLC" folder, but I want to
do
it safely.

When I go to the "Add and Remove Programs" thing, there is not program
called "Emergent Music LLC", so it seems that my only choice is to delete
it
from Program Files directly.

My question is: is it safe to delete the "Emergent Music LLC" folder from
my
Program Files? I was kind of under the impression that you should never
delete anything from the Program Files but instead you should use "Add and
Remove Programs". Please explain if that is wrong.

Andrew


.

Quantcast