If you have ever uninstalled software from your computer, you might have still noticed some traces of the program. It is because some of the entries remain in the Windows Registry. Even after you have deleted all of the files associated with the software, these registry entries still remain.
Generally, these registries are not a major threat but can pile up and take valuable disk space if not removed.
In this blog post, we will show you how to remove these entries manually and by using registry cleaner tools.
Backup the Windows Registries
Before performing any modifications, it is a best practice to take a backup of all the registries so that if anything goes wrong, you can restore the backup and save your device from a potential breakdown.
Here are the steps to take a backup of registries:
- On your Windows 10/11 system, open the run command box, type Regedit, and hit the enter key to launch the Registry editor.
- On the Registry editor window, click on the File at the top-left and select Export.
- Assign a name and choose a location to save a registry backup and click on Save.
How to manually remove the Registry entries of Uninstalled Applications?
On your Windows system, you can manually remove the registry entries of uninstalled programs to eradicate all its traces. Here are the steps for that:
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On your Windows 10/11 system, open the run command box, type Regedit, and hit the enter key.
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From the left pane, reach the following path: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
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You will see many folders under the Uninstall.
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Select any of the folders and check their display name.
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If the display name matches with the program you have recently uninstalled, right-click on it and select Delete.
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On the prompt message window, click Yes to confirm the delete.
Third-Party Registry Cleaners to remove Registry Traces
If manually removing the registry entries of uninstalled programs is tedious for you, there is always an option of using a dedicated third-party tool for that purpose known as Registry Cleaners.
Registry cleaners are the PC cleaning and optimizing tools build specifically for clearing the unnecessary files and registry entries that are unnecessarily holding the hard disk space.
When you search on the internet for the Registry Cleaner application, you will get many options.
Here are the three best ones:
Advanced SystemCare
Overall Rating: 9.4/10
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Type: Freemium Price: $11.95*(On discount) |
Advanced SystemCare is a great PC optimizing and registry cleaning tool that comes with a lot of features – including a registry cleaner, disk optimizer, malware remover, etc. It also does an excellent job at removing junk files from your computer and freeing up disk space. The only downside to Advanced SystemCare is that it can be quite resource-intensive, so your system may slow down when running this program in the background. However, if you are patient enough to wait for the optimization process to finish then you will be left with a clean, optimized, and sped-up system.
The interface is easy to use, and you can configure all the settings as per your need. Advanced SystemCare also boasts of a quick scan option that scans your computer in just two minutes.
Advanced SystemCare comes with both free and paid versions – the latter offering more features, including real-time protection, disk defragmentation tool, system tuneup, etc. The pro version costs $29 one time, which seems like a small price to pay for such an excellent PC optimization program. However, you can get it at a pretty discounted price at WorthWagon.
CCleaner Professional
Overall Rating: 9.2/10
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Type: Freemium Price: $29.95 |
CCleaner is a popular PC optimization tool that comes with an excellent registry cleaner. This program scans the entire registry for invalid entries, junk files, leftover items, etc., and then fixes them with just one click of a button. It is very easy to use and allows you to customize all the settings as per your needs.
You can either run a quick or deep registry scan – depending on your requirements and time available. However, I recommend doing at least a deep scan once every week for faster and smoother system performance. There is also an auto-updater included in this software which makes sure you always have the latest version installed on your computer so that it remains clean and optimized.
One other reason why I love CCleaner is that it comes with a portable version that can be run from a removable drive, without installing anything on your computer. This means you can even take the program along with you on a USB flash drive and use it whenever you feel like cleaning up your system’s registry.
Auslogics Registry Cleaner
Overall Rating: 9.1/10
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Type: Freemium Price: $8.51 |
Auslogics Registry Cleaner is an excellent registry cleaner for Windows that comes with a fast and secure scanner. The interface of the program is easy to use and works like most other cleaners – allowing you to select what items to delete and then automatically optimize the system by making those changes.
One thing I like about Auslogics Registry Cleaner that sets it apart from others on this list is that there’s no need to reboot your computer every time you run the cleanup. It takes care of all the cleaning tasks in one go, leaving you with a faster system ready to use as soon as you’re done scanning.
This program also includes a file shredder so you can permanently destroy files beyond if necessary.
Conclusion
In this post, we have shown you how to remove Registry entries of uninstalled software manually and by using registry cleaner tools. We would recommend taking a backup of the Windows Registries before performing any modifications. If you find the manual method tedious, you can always use a Registry Cleaner tool for that purpose.
Do let us know in the comments if there are any other methods to remove Registry entries of uninstalled software that we might have missed.
Just uninstalling a program is not enough to remove it completely from the system. To completely remove all traces of a program, you have to delete the temporary files, registry entries, and all internal files of the uninstalled program.
When you uninstall a program, sometimes its entries can remain in the registry. This might be caused by a badly written program that doesn’t properly uninstall itself.
