downloading erasing help?

Question

I have a dell home computer. There is a whole bunch of things that are downloaded on it that I do not know how to get off. Instead of kids erasing the programs they right clicked and deleted the name of the program but not the program itself. They are not in the add and remove in the control panel. How can I tell whats on my computer besides the control panel.

Answer 1

Did they delete the icon from the desktop? This only removes the icon which should be a shortcut, not the program.

Your installed programs should show up on Start, All Programs.

Here is a link to uninstall stubborn programs:


Hassle-Free PC: Fix Stubborn Windows Install Errors
Source: http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,122926/printable.html

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
Warning The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility is provided "as is" to help resolve installation problems for programs that use Microsoft Windows Installer. If you use this utility, you may have to reinstall other programs. Caution is advised.

Microsoft has updated the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility. With the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility, you can remove a program's Windows Installer configuration information. You may want to remove the Windows Installer configuration information for your program if you experience installation (Setup) problems. For example, you may have to remove a program's Windows Installer configuration information if you have installation problems when you try to add (or remove) a component of your program that was not included when you first installed your program.

The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility does not perform the following functions:

• Remove Windows Installer
• Remove files of any programs that are installed by Windows Installer, such as Microsoft Office 2003

The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility does perform the following functions:

• Provides a dialog box in which you can select one or more programs that were installed by Windows Installer

To do this, select the programs that you want in the Installed Products list in the Windows Installer CleanUp dialog box. After you make this selection, the utility removes only the Windows Installer configuration information that is related to those programs.

• Removes the files and registry settings that make up the Windows Installer configuration information for programs that you select

If you use this utility to remove the Windows Installer configuration information for your program and you plan to reinstall the program, you should reinstall the program in the same folder where you originally installed it. This prevents duplication of files on your hard disk or disks.

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Uninstall Programs Manually

http://www.theeldergeek.com/manually_uninstall_programs.htm

Uninstall Programs ManuallyJust because Windows XP has the Add/Remove Programs feature it doesn't mean your application will appear in the list. Furthermore, even if it does appear, it's no guarantee that the uninstall feature will work. When you run across one of these situations the items listed below will help in getting rid of the application. Be aware that these steps may not remove everything associated with the application and can impact other applications on the Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.. Have a backup or restore point and use caution.· Find the directory for the application and delete all the files in the directory. Delete the directory. · Open regedit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE and find the folder for the application. Delete the folder. · Open regedit and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE and find the folder for the application. Delete the folder. · To remove the application entry from Add/Remove Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. (if present) open regedit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall and find the folder for the application. Delete the folder. · Some applications have Services attached to them. If this is the case, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services, locate and delete the service. · In Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Explorer, navigate to the individual user settings and delete program references. Common places to check would be: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs and delete relevant entries.C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup and delete relevant entries.C:\Documents and Settings\%YourUserID%\Start Menu\Programs and delete relevant entries.[Do this for each User ID listed]C:\Documents and Settings\%YourUserID%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup and delete relevant entries.[Do this for each User ID listed]If no entries were found in the previous step and the application launches automatically, navigate toHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windowsand delete the entry.

Answer 2

you can check in "C:\program file" directory, but this step recommend only for expert (those that more familiar with computer things).