Remove AOL

[chickfilafan]

I'm not sure if this is in the right place but I just got a new laptop with Vista on it. It has the AOL Dialer on it and when I went into Programs and Features to uninstall it I found nothing for AOL. Are there any suggestions? Thanks before hand.

 

[eyeCpc]

Don't you love the new Programs and nightmares there. One thing you can try right from the start is disabling AOL Dialer with the msconfig utility still found in Vista. At least Microsoft left that in. Look in both the startup and services groups for the items for AOL alone there and then restart the system after you uncheck and click the apply button on those to see the change go into effect.

Manual edits of the system registry to remove any found there as well as manual deletion of files and folders is a little bit more tricky with Vista especially if the User Account Control is active. The securty features make access or deletion more difficult for the average user. Registry editing is for the more advanced user there. You do the wrong thing in there and... ut oh

 

[KSoD]

If you got any kind of system restore discs or install discs. Jsut format and reinstall Vista without any of that junk. Best bet when it comes to pre-bought PC's. Gets rid of all the installed junk and no hassles from registry edits or anything they leave behind.

 

[eyeCpc]

What you don't see in Vista now like was seen in all older versions of Windows is the add/remove Windows components and other options. In fact the entire add/remove section has been redone to make life miserable. When you click the Media Center item on the Programs menu that starts the setup for that with no way to see it removed later!

 

[krazieaznboi]

Use ccleaner. im not sure if it works on vista though.

|MG| Free Download - CCleaner Slim (No Yahoo Toolbar, English) 1.40.520

 

[eyeCpc]

CCleaner wipes browser history and removes password information stored on the drive along with removing empty folders. That would have no effect on removing the AOL Dialer or anything else installed on the system even in XP. If you don't use AOL to connect online then seeing all items disabled in the msconfig from loading up with Windows will start the removal there.

One tool that will list all programs installed even on Vista is a freeware called RegCleaner since all programs are seen in it's main window. You simply check the box next to any AOL main registry keys seen there and clcik the remove button. That's free at Regcleaner

Once you have remove the main keys the administrative priviledges have to set to allow manual deletion of the program folders. This could save a reinstall of Windows if there is no custom option there to avoid the reinstall of AOL.

 

[krazieaznboi]

CCleaner wipes browser history and removes password information stored on the drive along with removing empty folders. That would have no effect on removing the AOL Dialer or anything else installed on the system even in XP. If you don't use AOL to connect online then seeing all items disabled in the msconfig from loading up with Windows will start the removal there.

One tool that will list all programs installed even on Vista is a freeware called RegCleaner since all programs are seen in it's main window. You simply check the box next to any AOL main registry keys seen there and clcik the remove button. That's free at Regcleaner

Once you have remove the main keys the administrative priviledges have to set to allow manual deletion of the program folders. This could save a reinstall of Windows if there is no custom option there to avoid the reinstall of AOL.

ccleaner can find unistallers that windows xp can't. it doesn't just wipe registries. it can do way more than that.

 

[eyeCpc]

ccleaner can find unistallers that windows xp can't. it doesn't just wipe registries. it can do way more than that.

I'm well aware of CCleaner but found the other tool far more effective since you can also open the regedit window from there as well as manually select the plainly visible keys to remove and even run the automatic registry cleanup. CCleaner will go after files you have stored in your own folders at times on it's own.

If you create a custom folder for storing jpgs, photos, or other file types it's been seen trying to delete those as well as temp install logs and now useless temp folders. It's certainly not the tool for manual edits of the registry for certain keys and the manual removal of only a few files and folders regarding AOL.

 

[chickfilafan]

I tried using RegCleaner but the AOL dialer is still there. The two folder for AOL that are on the C drive are "AOL" and "AOD" neither of them have an uninstaller.

 

[eyeCpc]

To manually edit the registry if you didn't see the main keys for AOL in RegCleaner's main window suggests being buried a bit deeper. But that was the first step where most programs are seen. The AOL is obviously embedded deeply where you would first look through the HKEY_Local_Machine>Software branches(hives) to see if you can locate them.

With the new laptop there the alternative for removal besides risking toying around in the registry trying to manually remove items would be a little more then a reformat and fresh install but going out and buying a full version disk for a totally clean install without the prepackaged items seen there. That will of course void the software part of the warranty.