Removing all Traces of Everything with Uninstall

[ChrisGreaves]

I started this topic to focus on my objective. Once posted I will track down and (edit) post links to older threads, and point those old threads to this topic.
Everything.ini Default Changes
Volume C stopped being indexed
Multiple Instances - why Administrator privileges for new shortcuts?
I believe that a squeaky-clean re-installation can come about only after a squeaky-clean Uninstallation.
At this time Uninstallation fails to remove all traces of an Installer version of Everything 1.5a

Debris, especially user-data, that carries over to a re-installation will continue to cloud attempts to resolve user problems.
I have attached a ZIPPED copy of a MSWord and PDF document. But Please see this post

Summary:
** I installed Everything 1346a less than a week ago and have made no significant changes to the installation. I noticed many personal changes from the previous installation had carried over, so I have run through the detailed Uninstallation procedures a second time and documented my steps.
** Exercise (3) complains that a folder is left in place
** Exercise (4) complains that files were left in place
** Example (7) The table contains footnotes about aberrant entries in the file list from Manual uninstall
** I have a Restore Point. I can rerun the Uninstall procedure if requested.

Comments welcomed
Thanks, Chris

[therube]

(Mozilla) used to... oh, I don't remember?
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/un ... r-computer

It was either,
UNINSTALL, removed everything - including user data
or
UNINSTALL, removed program installed files (including Registry entries & whatnot), but left user data alone (by default)
- & along with that, there was an OPTION to also uninstall user data.
(Where it is these days, no idea. I [typically] don't "install".)

I suspect, that too often people chose the ALL method (including user data), intentionally or not, & were bit by that.

So somewhere along the line, by default, user data is untouched.


So if you want to remove all traces (user data), you do that.
Though the program (& most programs these days) remove themselves, not user data.

IMO, that is how it should be.


So let Everything uninstall itself.
And, point to where the user data is.

[horst.epp]

So if you want to remove all traces (user data), you do that.
Though the program (& most programs these days) remove themselves, not user data.

IMO, that is how it should be.

So let Everything uninstall itself.
And, point to where the user data is.

Support++
Thats the way uninstaller should work.
Fortunately many do it allready.

[NotNull]

( Halfway reading through the pdf ... )

Use Everything to search for itself

Everything has a couple of Search Commands (sorry for openeing yet another can of worms ..) that can help here. For example about:exe ( + ENTER) opens the folder where Everything(64).exe is located.
But if you don't press ENTER, it will show it's location in the resultlist.

So the following search (without pressing ENTER) will bring to light the files this Everything uses [1]:

Code: Select all

about:everything.ini | about:exe | about:db | about:bookmarks.csv | about:macros.csv | about:filters.csv | about:plugins.ini | about:search-history  | about:run-history 

Next to about:everything.ini to show the ini-location, there is also about:config that does the same.
Difference: The first one opens the folder in Explorree when pressing ENTER; the other opens the INI in Notepad.



[1]
@void:
Documentation mentions about:search-run-history.
Should be about:run-history.

Both about:run-history and about:search-history don't show the matching file in the resultlist (v1346a)

2023-05-12 18_09_05-about_everything.ini _ about_exe _ about_db _ about_bookmarks.csv _ about_macros.png (42.64 KiB) Viewed 3706 times

[NotNull]

I am missing a couple of registry entries:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.efu\
HKCU\Software\Classes\Applications\Everything.exe\
HKCU\Software\Classes\Applications\Everything64.exe\


(most of the registry entries is about Windows caching mechanism and can safely be ignored.

[void]

Both about:run-history and about:search-history don't show the matching file in the resultlist (v1346a)

The next alpha update will show the matching files.
Thanks for bringing this up NotNull.

[ChrisGreaves]

Thanks for this response, the rube.

(Mozilla) used to... oh, I don't remember?

I have no doubt that Mozilla (and other programs) have, or used to have, an option for complete removal. That’s not the point. My point is that Everything would be well-served, especially in terms of time spent solving and debugging problems, for a means to eradicate all past traces; to install a version of Everything that is not cluttered with stray bits of junk.

So if you want to remove all traces (user data), you do that.

You will have read in my document the steps I went through to remove all traces, especially from page 12 onwards. Computer are good at doing boring and repetitive work, and frankly, I would not want to go through that process again. What you see in page 12 onwards is heavy labour representing time spent hunting through the registry. Do not be misled by the appearance of some notes in the forums about which files or registry entries can be removed. To the best of my knowledge there is no complete list of the files and registry items that Everything has created but neglects to tell you about!

Though the program (& most programs these days) remove themselves, not user data. IMO, that is how it should be.

Quite so. My opinion is that there are times when a user will want to eradicate all traces of Everything and with confidence, install a version into an untainted environment.

Cheers, Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

Thanks NotNull for this response

( Halfway reading through the pdf ... )

Thanks for reading the PDF; I believe it is, at this time, the best definition of how to liberate a system from Everything. I am now in discussion with RevoUninstaller to cope with registry items about Everything that were not created by Everything.
That said, that I can locate items about Everything that were not created by Everything, and remove them manually, suggests that Everything could do this automatically, once and for all, and relieve many users of repeating the same task individually on their own systems.

Use Everything to search for itself

Great Minds Think Alike, but this technique works only to the point at which Everything has been uninstalled. From that time on one is forced to do the labour of searching manually. This labour could be performed by Everything as part of its UNinstall process.

So the following search (without pressing ENTER) will bring to light the files this Everything uses [1]:
about:everything.ini | about:exe | about:db | about:bookmarks.csv | about:macros.csv | about:filters.csv | about:plugins.ini | about:search-history | about:run-history
Next to about:everything.ini to show the ini-location, there is also about:config that does the same.

I believe you, that this will bring to light the files that Everything uses, but that list will change as new versions appear. It makes more sense to store the definitions within Everything itself, so that the removal tasks can be run by Everything.
Why make users struggle with the registry?
And it does not consider the files that might govern Everything’ behaviour or environment.

I am missing a couple of registry entries:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.efu\
HKCU\Software\Classes\Applications\Everything.exe\
HKCU\Software\Classes\Applications\Everything64.exe\

What do you mean by “missing a couple of registry entries”? Are these entries that did not have, have never had, or are they entries that exist that you expected to be removed?

Thanks again, Chris

[horst.epp]

I still don't understand what the benefit of all the research about uninstalling Everything will be ?
If there would be a real need for many of your detailed steps
there should be a lot of postings about problems in this context.

[NotNull]

Use Everything to search for itself

Great Minds Think Alike

There is just One Great Mind at work here, as I was quoting/paraphrasing text in the pdf. By YOU

What do you mean by “missing a couple of registry entries”? Are these entries that did not have, have never had, or are they entries that exist that you expected to be removed?

You did a search for registry entries containing "Everything"
The registry keys I mentioned get created when you right-click an EFU file, select Open With, and choose Everything.
Not a likely scenario (don't have those keys on my system either) so just mentioning. It is how Windows handles it.

[ChrisGreaves]

There is just One Great Mind at work here, as I was quoting/paraphrasing text in the pdf. By YOU

Not so much "great" but expanded to the point where it is about to explode!

The registry keys I mentioned get created when you right-click an EFU file, select Open With, and choose Everything.
Not a likely scenario (don't have those keys on my system either) so just mentioning. It is how Windows handles it.

Aha! Thanks NotNull.
I have not yet written up EFU files, let alone played with them ("when you right-click an EFU file, select Open With, and choose Everything."), but I have noted your two entries.

This strengthens the point (I made somewhere ...) that the user cannot be expected to know what debris may be lying around.
Logic tells us that only two scenarios exist concerning debris:-
(1) Everything should know about it because Everything creates it
(2) Everything could NOT know about it because Everything DIDN'T create it

In the second case, Everything can LEARN about debris as people report debris, and thus Everything could work towards a clean re-installation as Everything is made aware of its presence being recorded by other applications and by Windows itself.

I am aware that not every user will want or need a squeaky-clean re-installation, but the more I read through topics and posts here, the more convinced I am that a clean-sweep would go a long way to letting users solve their own problems.

It's been a long week ...
Cheers, Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

I still don't understand what the benefit of all the research about uninstalling Everything will be ?

@Horst. What part of the attached document did you not understand? Thanks, Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

(most of the registry entries is about Windows caching mechanism and can safely be ignored.

NotNull, thanks for agreeing with me (in a backward sort of way)
"Windows caching mechanism" covers a multitude of sins; perhaps the easiest to recognize is the Pre-fetch beast.
Or any other registry key/data/value that mentions "Everything" and/or "Voidtools" AFTER we have run the UNinstall.

If the argument is that "these belong to Windows" (or some other 3rd party) then the argument must continue that, since we have Uninstalled Everything.exe, the retention of these Everything/Voidtools keys is meaningless - there is no longer an Everything.exe to pre-fetch, or whatever these keys do.

Right now I can't think of a reason for having registry keys that mention "Everything/Voidtools" BEFORE the first time I install Everything, and so I can't think of a reason for having registry keys that mention "Everything/Voidtools" AFTER I UNinstall Everything.

That doesn't mean that there isn't a reason, just that right now I can't come up with one.

I agree with your point that they CAN be safely ignored, but there again, that isn't an argument for NOT ignoring them; that is, for deleting them.

(signed) "Logical" of Bonavista.

[ChrisGreaves]

I believe that a squeaky-clean re-installation can come about only after a squeaky-clean Uninstallation.

I made a mistake. My mistake is caused by me confusing System Restore Point with System Backup. I should have pulled out my trusty 2TB USB drive and made a complete copy of my Boot Partition C: instead of taking the cheap way out.
This morning's restore point was ineffective for my purposes. So I am taking a hiatus and getting back to other topics in my documentation. I will rebuild my user settings, then repeat the trials after making a complete copy of my Boot Partition C:

What an amateur!

I have appended my intended method to the foot of the document and attach an updated copy here. My next attempt will use RevoUninstaller PRO with a deeper scan AND its "Forced Uninstall". Too I will develop a "Direct Search By String in the Windows Registry" tool.
Cheers, Chris