What to do if program won't uninstall from Control Panel

There is no need to explain why you may need to remove a program – you may find it of no avail or stopped using it, or you need to free some space. And for performing this task many users rely on the most straightforward solution – they go to Control Panel. And that’s a good point since for most cases it works. But what to do if the program won’t uninstall, if it is not on the list or if you receive an error during the removal? This article might help you in solving the problem – we present here methods on how to force uninstallation of stubborn programs.

Method 1

The problem of inability to remove program is common in cases of illegitimate software. Since these programs aim to stay on the system as long as possible, the developers design the application so that it wouldn’t appear in the list of installed programs. It will do anything possible to hide its files for not to be deleted manually. Moreover, if the removal wasn’t complete, the remnants of the malware may cause repetitive installations. In this situation using an anti-malware program is the best solution.

Download SpyHunter

Performing an antimalware scan with Norton would automatically search out and delete all elements related to malware. It is not only the easiest way to eliminate harmful programs, but also the safest and most assuring one.

Method 2

If the program won’t uninstall from Control Panel then you have no other choice but to remove it manually. For this, the first thing you should do is to make sure that you can access hidden files and folders.

For Windows XP

In the Start menu click My Computer
Choose Tools, then go to Folder Options
Click the View tab
Go to the Advanced Settings and check Show hidden files and folders

For Windows Vista/7

Open Control Panel
Choose Appearance and Personalization
Select Folder Options
Go to the View tab
Go to the Advanced Settings and check Show hidden files and folders

For Windows 8/8.1

Go to the Control Panel
In the search bar input ‘folder’
Click the Show hidden files and folders line
Go to the View tab
In the Advanced Settings category, choose Show hidden files and folders
Click OK

For Windows 10

Go to the Control Panel
In the search bar input ‘folder’
Click the Show hidden files and folders line
Go to the View tab
In the Advanced Settings category, choose Show hidden files and folders
Click OK

Now you need to find the components of the program and remove them. For this, you may initiate the search on local drives and in Windows Registry Editor (to launch press Win+R, then type ‘regedit’ and hit Enter).

Method 3

Sometimes program won’t uninstall when its process is running in the background. For stopping all side processes it’s better to use Safe mode. To reboot into the Safe mode do the following:

For Windows XP:

Restart the computer
While the system is loading, press the F8 button several times
Using the arrow keys choose Safe Mode and hit Enter

For Windows Vista/7:

Restart the computer
While the system is loading, press the F8 button several times
Using the arrow keys choose Safe Mode and hit Enter

For Windows 8/8.1:

In the Windows login screen click the Power button
While holding the Shift button click Restart
Choose Troubleshoot
Go to the Advanced Options and then to Startup Settings
In Startup Settings choose Enable Safe Mode

For Windows 10:

In the Windows login screen click the Power button
While holding the Shift button click Restart
Choose Troubleshoot
Go to the Advanced Options and then to Startup Settings
In Startup Settings choose Enable Safe Mode

After the system loads you may try to uninstall the program once again or to remove its files and folders.

Method 4

If the application has been installed recently, then you may try to restore your system condition to the date before the installation.

Open Control Panel
Change the view to Small icons
Click System
Choose System Protection
Click the System Restore… button
Follow the on-screen instructions

Method 5

Since some of malware use a disguise of a browser add-on, you will need to check the list of extensions/add-ons in your browser.

How to remove malware from Google Chrome

Start Google Chrome
Click on More tools, then go to the Extensions
Delete malware or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them

How to remove malware from Internet Explorer

Launch Internet Explorer
Click on the Tools/Gear icon, then select Manage Add-ons
Delete malware or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them

How to remove malware from Mozilla Firefox

Start Mozilla Firefox
Click on the right-upper corner button
Click Add-ons, then go to Extensions
Delete malware or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them

How to remove malware from Microsoft Edge

Start Microsoft Edge
Click the three-dot button in the upper right corner
Choose Extensions
Click the gear icon near malware or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them
Choose Remove

Method 6

Reset your browsers

How to reset settings in Google Chrome

Click on the icon in the right-upper corner
Choose Settings
Click Advanced settings
Click the Reset button
In “reset” window click the Reset button

How to reset settings in Mozilla Firefox

Click the icon in the upper right corner
Choose Help
Select Troubleshooting Information
Click the Refresh Firefox… button

How to reset settings in Internet Explorer

Click on the Tools button
Go to Internet options
Go to the Advanced tab
Click Reset

How to reset settings in Microsoft Edge

Start Microsoft Edge
Click the three-dot button in the upper right corner
Choose Settings
Under the Clear browsing data category select Choose what to clear
Select everything and click Clear

Method 7

Checking “hosts” file

Some viruses replace “hosts” file, writing in its version of the file strings that change your connection to the sites. As a result, when opening a popular site, you get to the scam site, made by analogy. This deceptive technique is called “phishing”. Cybercriminals use it to steal your personal data like passwords, bank information and so on.

Go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

Select and open “hosts” file via Notepad.

Delete all entries below line 127.0.0.1. Be sure to scroll the entire file down to make sure that nothing is written below this line.
Save and close file

Method 8

Check browser shortcuts

If your browser goes to suspicious sites after you launch it, and the antiviruses “say” that everything is ok – perhaps a malicious command was added to the browser shortcut. To check the shortcut, go to its properties (the screenshot below shows the google chrome browser shortcut).

Next, look at the full launch line – “Target” or “Object”. The screenshot below shows the line as it should look if everything is ok.

Method 9

Clean the Windows registry from viruses

Cleaning the registry must be done in normal (not safe) mode. To get started, go to the registry editor:

Press Win + R, enter Regedit and press Enter.
Viruses and unwanted programs create entries in the registry to download or update their files when Windows loads. These entries are located in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry keys along the path /Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version in the Run and RunOnce folders. If these branches (Run and RunOnce) have registry entries that are responsible for malicious processes, delete them. To do this, right-click on the desired file and click Delete.
After that, search for the names of malicious processes in the registry. In the Registry Editor, select Computer, and on the Edit tab, click Find. Enter the names of the malicious processes that you recorded and click on Find Next. Delete all found registry entries in which these processes occur. To do this, right-click on the file and click Delete. After each deletion, press the F3 key (re-search for malicious registry entries with the specified name). This action should be repeated until the registry editor detects any malicious entries for your search query. Be very careful, if you delete the system branch in the registry editor, the computer will stop working. After deleting all entries, close the registry editor.

If the above-mentioned methods didn’t help in eliminating the threat, then it’s better to rely on an automatic way of deleting malware.