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Utilities Total Uninstall - keep your system clean
Updated 7/24/05: The author has decided to stop offering this freeware at his website.
 
This utility is simply a "must have" for anyone who likes to download and install new applications. If you are using the Add/Remove function in Windows, the uninstaller is only as good as the guy who writes it. Sometimes they don't work very well and sometimes they don't work at all. Total Uninstall (TUN) will allow you to monitor the installation of an application and then later uninstall it with confidence that everything it installed is now gone. The author has started selling it now and the last freeware version is still available. It might be a good idea to get it now before it starts getting hard to find. (updated review, 1st review on 7/26/04)
Tips from Clif:
I've been using TUN for a long time, pay attention and I can save you some headaches.
  • You cannot uninstall something with TUN that you didn't install with TUN. Anything you installed before you started using TUN is going to have to be uninstalled the old fashioned way. TUN works by getting a "before" snapshot of you system before you installed the application. After the application is installed it will get the "after" snapshot so it can compare them.
  • Close all your running applications so nothing is showing on your task bar before launching TUN.
  • Drag the install file into the application name entry window and it will automatically keep the path to your new application. You can change the name once you've dragged it in.
  • When you decide to uninstall something, run the uninstall in Add/Remove from the Windows Control Panel and then follow up by uninstalling it with TUN.
  • If you ever need to surf to an untrustworthy website you can launch TUN before you go there and get a "before" snapshot. Once you are done at the website just use TUN to get the "after" snapshot and reverse any changes you don't want.
  • You can use TUN to monitor your kids PC time. Just fire it up before the kids play and minimize it after it get's the "before" snapshot. When the kids are done playing on your PC, you can double click TUN in the system tray and finish the monitoring by getting the "after" snapshot. If you see anything you don't like, you can uninstall it or manually remove it.
  • Just before you exit TUN after monitoring an install, export the installation record to a text file by clicking the Export button. This will leave you a permanent and easily readable copy of the install. If you ever have problems with an install, you can always consult the exported text file or send it to an expert for advice.
  • If there are left over registry entries that TUN couldn't get rid of during an uninstall, use a good registry editing tool like RegistrarLite or RegmagiK so you can copy and paste the registry location to save time and be certain you are getting the correct entries.
  • If TUN asks whether you want to remove shared DLL files, it's always safe to say "No to all". If you ever need to clean up your unused DLL files, you can use the AnalogX DLL Archive tool.
  • TUN can be very useful for analysis of adware and spyware websites and programs.
  • A word of caution. TUN cannot monitor changes to your system while it's not being used. If you used TUN to install a program a year ago, TUN cannot undo all the changes the program made to your system during that year. It's still better than most Windows uninstallers.
Author's Website  - Download last freeware version - Freeware (thanks to Freeware4u for hosting this)
Quote from the website - Total Uninstall can help you to monitor any changes that were made to your system during installation of a new software product and allow you to perform a complete uninstall without having to rely on the supplied uninstall program (which may leave files or changes behind). To use it, you simply launch the installation program from the Total Uninstall interface and select the system areas to be monitored. The program will then create a snapshot of your system before it installs the new software and an additional snapshot after install completes. it then compares the two snapshots and displays all changes n a nice, graphical tree view, marking all values and/or files that have been added or changed as well as some before/after details. Total Uninstall will save these changes and if you decide to uninstall the application, it will reverse all changes to the previous state.
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