Installing/Uninstalling Programs

Transcription

1 Installing Software Store-bought Software Store-bought software often comes with instructions for how to install the software. I almost always ignore those instructions especially for DOS-based and old Windows 3.1 software. The following, in order, are the methods I use to install software. 1) Auto-load. Much of today s software comes on CD. If the software is designed for Windows, it may include a file on the CD for automatically starting the installation process when the CD is inserted in the drive. If the CD automatically starts, I use the process it guides me through to install program. Programs supplied on floppy disk do not have an auto-load option. 2) Add/Remove Programs. For all floppy-based programs and CD programs that do not auto-load, I use the Add/Remove Programs component of the Control Panel. It works fine for programs designed for Windows and ensures programs designed for DOS or Windows 3.1 install properly, placing program icons in the Programs menu of the Start menu. To install programs using Add/Remove Programs: Open the Control Panel (Start menu Settings or My Computer) Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. On the Install/Uninstall tab click the Install button A/R Programs will prompt you to insert the CD or first floppy disk of the program. Do so, then press the Next button. A/R Programs will look for a file in the root directory of the CD/disk named Setup or Install. The floppy disk is checked first, then the CD. If A/R Programs finds a file named like this it will tell you. Click the Finish button to begin the installation process. If A/R/ programs does not find a program named Setup or Install, it will let you know. Click the Browse button to look on the CD/disk for a Setup or Install file. When you find it, click it to select it, click the Open button, then the Finish button to begin the installation process. 3) Program Documentation or Readme File. When the above options fail to get the program installed (or the Setup/Install file can not be found) I consult the program s documentation and follow the instructions there. I ve rarely had to use this option. If the program does not come with printed instructions (or your kid ate the instructions) look for a file called README on the disk. It may contain the instructions you need to install the program. Windows Compatibility Programs that you purchase at the store will often say Works with Windows or Windows compatible. This does not guarantee they will install and work properly on Installing / Uninstalling: 1 of 7

2 your system. If the program contains simply the words Windows, that means the program designers have tested the program on several Windows machines and it seems to work OK. If the program package contains both the words Window and the Windows logo (wavy, flag-like window) that means the program has been certified by Microsoft as compatible with Windows. This program is much more likely to function correctly on your Windows computer. I still would purchase those without the logo, especially if the price is right. I ve found that most programs work fine even if they are not certified. If they don t work, look for a phone number to call for help either on the program package, in the program documentation or in the README file. Thanks to student Steve Berndt for sharing this information. Internet Downloads Programs downloaded from the Internet typically come in one of three formats, each of which has its own installation process. 1) Executable Files. Executable files come off the Internet ready to run. They don t require any conversion or decompression, nor do they require any support files. They are usually small utility or game programs. To install these programs simply copy them to the folder you want to store them in and either double-click the program s icon or create shortcuts to the program and double-click those. 2) Self-Extracting Zip Files. To reduce the time required to download files from the Internet, most files are compressed using special software. This compression software also allows many files to be combined into one to simplify the download process even more. This compression process is often called zipping a file because the first programs to do this compression were named Zip. After you have downloaded a zipped file, you must unzip it (decompress it) into its original form in order to use the program. This unzipping process often requires special software. Self-extracting zip files are a special type of zip file that don t require special software for unzipping. Self-extracting zip files always have the extension.exe This means the file is a program. Actually, the file is the unzip program and the zipped files combined into one file. To unzip a self-extracting zip file: Create a new folder to hold the unzipped files. Optional, but highly recommended. Some not-so-well-behaved self-extracting zip files unzip into the same location as the original zipped file. This could really clutter the folder where the zipped file resides. Move the self-extracting zip file to the new folder Double-click the self-extracting zip file. Respond to any prompts displayed by the unzip process. Installing / Uninstalling: 2 of 7

3 After the program has been unzipped, you might still have to go through a setup process. If so, use the Add/Remove Programs component of the Control Panel to properly install the program (see above). To execute the unzipped program, first look in the Start menu Programs menu. The unzip or setup process may have placed a new folder with icons here. If not, locate the program s.exe or.com file. This is the actual program itself. All the other files are support files for the program. Check the file properties of the most likely candidate files or turn the extensions on (View Options View tab) if the file is hard to find. Once you find the program file, double-click it to execute the program or create shortcuts to that file and use those. If you can t find the program file, look for the README file in the folder where you unzipped the files. It should contain instructions for executing the program. 3) Zipped Files. Zipped files have the file extension.zip. These files require a special program for unzipping. Unzip programs have come a long way over the past few years, so that now, unzipping files is relatively painless. My favorite unzip program, is WinZip. You can download a working copy of this program from the Internet (try try it for free, then send in a registration fee if you decide you can t live without it. Using WinZip. Note: WinZip downloads as a self-extracting zip file. It must be correctly installed on your computer in order for the following instructions to work. 1) Create a new folder to hold the unzipped files. 2) Move the zip file to the new folder 3) The zip file should have the special WinZip icon. If not, WinZip is not completely/correctly installed--try it again. If the correct icon appears, simply double-click the icon. Installing / Uninstalling: 3 of 7

4 4) If you have not done so previously, choose WinZip Wizard as the default method of using WinZip. This will guide you through the process of unzipping files. Read and follow the on-screen instructions to unzip your file. 5) After the file has been unzipped, you might still have to go through a setup process. If so, use the Add/Remove Programs component of the Control Panel to properly install the program (see above). 6) To execute the unzipped program, first look in the Start menu Programs menu. The unzip or setup process may have placed a new folder with icons here. If not, locate the programs.exe or.com file. This is the actual program itself. All the other files are support files for the program. Check the file properties of the most likely candidate files or turn the extensions on (View Options View tab) if the file is hard to find. Once you find the program file, doubleclick it to execute the program or create shortcuts to that file and use those. 7) If you can t find the program file, look for the README file in the folder where you unzipped the files. It should contain instructions for executing the program. Installing / Uninstalling: 4 of 7

5 Uninstalling Software Even the most used software ultimately gets replaced by the most recent, gee-whiz software. Many programs, especially some games, need to be removed from your system almost immediately, either because you don t like them, or because they don t work on your computer. Completely and correctly uninstalling programs is one of the most difficult tasks included in system maintenance. Most programs come with uninstall programs, some can be uninstalled by Windows, but others don t come with this feature and you have uninstall them manually. Manual uninstall can be very difficult, especially for programs that spread their components all over the hard drive. The following, listed in order of preference, are the techniques I use for uninstalling programs. Use Windows Programs that are licensed by Microsoft for Windows often (but not always) can be uninstalled using the Add/Remove Programs component of the Control Panel. Open the Control Panel (My Computer or Start menu, Settings) Double-click Add/Remove Programs Look for the program s name in the installed list This list includes only the program s that specifically include Windows uninstall instructions. Most programs now include this feature. If the program s name does not appear, you will not be able to use this technique to uninstall the program. If the program s name does appear, click it to select it. Click the Add/Remove button at the bottom of the dialog box Follow the on screen instructions to uninstall the program Some programs share files. The most common example of this is.dll files. These dynamic load and link files contain parts of programs that are linked together to form the entire program. However, some components are shared. This allows programs to take up less room on your hard drive. A common example is the spell checking module. Your word processor, spreadsheet, database, and presentation programs can all share the same spell checker rather than each having their own. Shared files make uninstalling programs more difficult. If an uninstall program recognizes that a file may be shared, it will ask you whether or not to delete the file, warning you that it might be shared. You have to decide whether or not the other programs that might share this file are still around. If you re not sure, don t delete the file. Shared files are relatively small (compared to complete applications), so you re better off leaving them on your hard drive. Alternatively, you could delete those files manually later, moving them to the Recycle Bin. If another program stops functioning, you can restore the file to its original location to fix the other program (hopefully). Installing / Uninstalling: 5 of 7

6 Use the program s own uninstall program Many programs come with their own uninstall program. This program is usually found in the program s folder. Open the program s folder in either the Explorer or My Computer Look for a file called Uninstall (or something close) Double-click the file and follow the on screen instructions. Like the Windows uninstall, you may run into shared files using this technique (see above) NOTE: When you use automated programs to uninstall programs, they will also uninstall any shortcuts created by the original installation of the program. If you ve created additional shortcuts, the uninstall program doesn t know about them you ll have to delete those manually. Installing / Uninstalling: 6 of 7

7 Last Resort, uninstall the program manually If no uninstall option exists, you ll have to uninstall the program manually. The biggest drawback to this technique is, chances are, you ll miss some of the files initially installed by the program. This is not a big problem, most of those files are relatively small. Locate the program s folder (in the Program Files folder?) Delete the program s folder (if the folder is very large consider removing it permanently: Shift-Delete) Locate the program s shortcuts (Programs folder in Windows/Start Menu) Delete the program s shortcuts This will delete the majority of the program s files. There may be others in the Windows folder or in the Windows\System folder. If you recognize the files (by name or part of the name), delete the file to the Recycle Bin. If other programs no longer function, restore the files as necessary. Third-party uninstall programs Because of the difficulty of managing the uninstall process, many software companies have developed uninstall programs (managers). These programs keep track of which files are installed by which programs (including file sharing). When you want to uninstall programs, you use these third-party programs and their in-depth catalogs of files. These programs have received good reviews in the literature, but the convenience comes at a price, usually $50 or more. If you aggressively uninstall files, you will ultimately affect the functionality of other programs. If, after uninstalling one program, another program no longer functions, reinstall the second program. The installation process will replace the files you accidentally deleted and the program should function properly again. After installing and uninstalling many programs, you will probably have a number (1000's) of files on your computer s hard drive that are no longer necessary--leftovers from incomplete uninstalls. The best way to get rid of these is to completely reformat your hard drive and reinstall all your programs, including Windows itself. This is not an easy undertaking. Plan on a couple of days, and plenty of headaches. Be sure to back up your personal documents before reformatting your hard drive (see next unit). Installing / Uninstalling: 7 of 7