Uninstalling Programs

[Sureshot]

Hi all,

This isn't a plea for help but more a request for technical information

Can anyone tell me what happens to a program when it is uninstalled? Where does it go? (avoiding the obvious and going for the technical here!)

What happens to the space on the hard drive? What happens to registry files for that program? When I delete a file, is it ever actually deleted?

I wonder this because I have uninstalled a few programs the proper way but come across files associated with them sometimes.

I want to fill a gap in knowledge and any posting would be appreciated.

Cheers

[Guest ellas]

uninstalled software stays on the disc till its overwritten,some files are not deleted same as registry entries thats why people use regcleaner and the like,

[madboy33]

As ellas sais

The Hard drive in effect ignores the space the programme had for it.

In time the space is overwritten, normally a defragmentation will overwrite many deleted items

The registry is somewhat different and as ellas said a cleaner will get rid of all unwanted entries

madboy33

[Guest Cookie]

This is a quick and simple programme.

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Web_Aut...s/RegScrub.html

[Prince of Calcutta]

as ellas said the files are still there well only the filenames get deleted thus allowing the space occupied but the program to be made availabe to other files.. its only after the location has been written over 3 or 4 times that the data is truly erased.. but even then there are ways of recovering that data....software normally look for files without the filenames and display them..