Windows 7: Anyone Using Revo Uninstaller ?

Hello,

For anyone using the Revo Uninstaller program:

Always a bit leary with these kind of things, although this program has been around quite a while.

Am using the free version.

a. Any gotchas or things to be aware of when using the Remove Temp. Files
option ?

Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be a way to restore, or get back, anything it's "cleaned". Or an "Undo" function.
Is there ?

b. What's this Hunter Mode ? I read their help file, but still uncertain.

Any general thoughts on this program ?
Particularly, safety in using, etc. ?



Thanks,
Bob

Hello Bob,

Revo is a great tool, when used with a little caution. Generally speaking, it is a bad idea to delete files and registry entries you do not know about. It is rare, but sometimes these programs turn up false results, and if you delete everything haphazardly, eventually you will run into trouble.

The files it turns up are usually easy to identify, because they often have the product or manufacturer name in the path somewhere.

The registry entries are somewhat trickier, and for that reason, I would leave them, unless you really know what you are doing. The only way you could protect yourself is create a backup of the registry before, and labeling it clearly, in case anything goes wrong.

The Hunter Mode is for quickly locating the uninstaller for the program in question. You can just click somewhere in the program, and it will uninstall it for you.

Anything else you need to know?
~Jonathan

Bob:

I have been using it for maybe 6 weeks. No issues so far. I use it only to uninstall programs and so don't have any knowledge of the temp file cleaner. I use CCleaner if I want to do something like that. I would assume that any temp file cleaner is largely harmless.

I poked the hunter thing and looked at the help file. Doesn't seem to be anything I need and it wasn't particularly intuitive, so I am just ignoring it.

When I uninstall, I let it dig as far down into the registry as possible, but I always look at each registry entry before actually deleting the particular registry key. It is the bolded items you have to look at.

If I have any doubt at all, I don't authorize deletion--a few unnecessary items in the registry is going to be harmless, so better to be safe and not delete anything questionable.

The basic uninstall does nothing more than run the app's own uninstall program just as if you had used Windows control panel to uninstall. You have to manually ask the program to probe more deeply into the registry and I have not had any issues with that.

As far as I know, it has no "undo" function--you would have to resort to system restore, an image, or a backed up registry if you got in a major jam.

Because registry entries can be affected, I suggest that before each use you make a system image, and put it in a safe place. Personally, (and there is no right or wrong) I do not tamper with the registry. If you feel confident in using an uninstaller that does make such changes, you should back up the registry and make the system image, like I mentioned before. Its easy and the smart thing to do. I wish you the best for the New Year and many, many years of surfing the net. Take care.

I have only used this once, and do not know all of it's functions yet, but since it has a backup function, for restoring changes made by an uninstall, is not that adequate to protect against a mistake or not? It is supposed to be able to restore registry keys and creates a System Restore point before uninstalling a program.

Hi,

Guess I missed the "Backup" option in the program.

I'll look again.

Regards,
Bob

Bob, there is no Backup option in Revo. You need to create the backups manually. Go into Regedit and export the entire registry to a file stored in a safe place. Alternatively, or maybe additionally, create a restore point. Better yet, create a full system image.

Actually it has option to create restore point before each uninstall.

My personal recommendation to use it only for unistalling.
For cleaning junk files you can use another more specific program. (for example CCleaner)

True. I did not mention that because some people turn it off to save time.

On the contrary, there is a function called Backup Manager. Obviously, it is not equivalent to a true backup from an image, but it does appear to be for the purpose of reversing prior actions.