We admit at the outset that this article is intended primarily for those users who blithely download any and every program that catches their fancy from less-than-trusted sources, and then for the life of them can’t figure out why they can’t uninstall them when the honeymoon is over. Instead, they must run the gamut of uninstall error messages that bluntly inform them that they can’t uninstall a certain program, end of story.

Tracy Plunkett, a librarian and Internet enthusiast, is a classic example of a user who loves exploring new software and regularly installs them in her system, and then can’t get rid of them because of numerous uninstall error messages. “They just will not go quietly,” she complains. “I get uninstall error messages saying the program is still in use, or that there’ some problem that will not allow me to uninstall a program that I no longer want to use.”

The basic problem is this: whenever you choose to uninstall a software program or application, you are in effect making changes to the Windows Registry (more about this later). So the program will typically look for instructions in the Registry for guidelines on how to cleanly remove itself from your computer without leaving traces and missing links all over the place. This is because when you installed the program, the uninstall instructions should have been part of the package and should have been stored in Windows Registry.

However, and this is a very big ‘however’, if the Registry is corrupt or clogged with rubbish, the program in question may not be able to find the guidelines that it is looking for, causing uninstall error messages to pop up.

For those who have never even heard of Windows Registry, let alone clean it, we have to tell you that the Registry is a vast internal database in which all programs that you use, including Windows itself, store an enormous volume of data. So whenever you make a change to the Control Panel settings, or file associations, or installed software, the Registry … erm … registers those changes, if you will forgive the clumsy phrasing. So Windows Registry basically monitors your entire system, and unless you keep the Registry clean and error-free, things like uninstall error messages will be your constant companions.

Advanced PC users – not necessarily geeks, but close – may choose to clean Windows Registry manually, using inbuilt commands, but this course of action is fraught with danger. In fact, you run the risk of damaging your entire Registry and corrupting it for the foreseeable future. So, we say, simply download a free Windows Registry cleaner from the Net, and Bob’s your uncle.

A Windows Registry cleaner will get rid of missing or broken links, unnecessary or obsolete data, and anything else that shouldn’t be there, so that you are left only with relevant data that will help your PC operate smoothly, and yes, get rid of irritating uninstall error messages.

We recommend RegCure (direct download link) as the premiere registry cleaner and error repair tool.