Uninstalr is a free Windows software uninstaller. You may download a portable version or installer from the developer website. It runs on Windows 7 and newer versions of Windows.
The application supports several features that are often only found in commercial uninstallers: monitor software installations, deep cleaning, batch removals of apps and support for a variety of software stores and distribution platforms.
Uninstalr: the basics
The Windows software uninstaller scans the system on start. This may take a moment, depending on the number of installed programs and the system’s performance.
The list includes installed programs but also leftovers from apps that were previously installed on the device.
Tip: open the program preferences first and uncheck the automatic system restart option after software uninstallations.
Each program is listed with its name, developer, size on disk and type. Filters at the top give you options to create custom lists. You may display only leftovers or only programs from Steam, among other options. Microsoft apps are hidden by default, but you may enable these as well.
Removing programs is easy. Select one or multiple of the listed apps with a left-click and activate the uninstall button afterwards. You may also select “show data” first. Show data lists all found locations, files, folders, and Registry, of the selected apps.
The program lists the information when you active the uninstall option. The removal deletes the programs entirely from the system. It is recommended to restart the Windows PC afterwards.
Core features of the Windows software uninstaller
Uninstalr’s core feature is the removal of one or multiple programs from Windows PCs. Additionally, it supports monitoring software installations for easier cleaning in the future.
Using the program is simple. Run it, wait for the scan to complete, and select apps to remove. This process worked well during tests.
I still recommended that you create a system backup of the main partition for safety reasons.
Besides cleaning leftovers from the Windows PC, you can also use it to find and uninstall large programs. Note that the sort options appear bugged at the time. The sort by size option did not work correctly during tests. It allows you to sort apps by size.
Select “New Software Monitoring” in the interface to monitor a software installation. The Windows software uninstaller monitors installs automatically at this point.
It lists the program when you run its installer. Note that this does not work for portable apps. Some installations were not detected by the application either while running. Still, you do benefit from the leftover scan option in any event.
Should you use Uninstalr immediately?
Should you use Uninstalr immediately to remove Windows programs, or the default Windows uninstaller first?
This depends. If you used uninstaller to monitor software installs, then you may use the program immediately for the removal. if you did not, use the Windows tool first and then Uninstalr to take care of leftovers.
You should not run into any issues removing apps with Uninstalr directly either.
Comparison to WinGetUI
WinGetUI is a user interface for winget. It allows you to install and uninstall Windows software. A core difference between the two apps is that WinGetUI does not scan for leftovers.
It is still useful, for instance for installing programs on Windows or removing bulk programs. After using it to remove apps, you may want to run Uninstalr to benefit from its leftover removal functionality.
Closing Words
Uninstalr is a powerful software uninstaller for Windows. The program is ideal for removing leftover files and Registry entries from already removed software installations or portable app installations.
I’m not fond of applications monitoring software installations. Arguable of course.
Here I use ‘GeekUninstaller’ [https://www.geekuninstaller.com/] to remove programs, reviewed, mentioned on several Ghacks articles [https://www.ghacks.net/page/1/?s=GeekUninstaller].
GeekUninstaller unfortunately phones home so be sure to have its url [geekuninstaller.com] included in your system-wide blocklists if you don’t like software phone calls 🙂
Another of GeekUninstaller’s odd behavior is that when run it deploys both 32/64BIT executables in the user’s TEMP folder and carries on from there, which seems to me an odd way of proceeding.
To bypass this oddity (Windows), assuming hereafter that you’ll be using the 64-BIT version of the application :
1- Unzip to c:\Program Files\GeekUninstaller\geek.exe
2- Run c:\Program Files\GeekUninstaller\geek.exe once then exit
3- Locate geek_64.exe in TEMP folder and move it to c:\Program Files\GeekUninstaller\geek_x64.exe
4- geek_x64 is the application to use.
For whom may be interested, because, otherwise, this uninstaller works really quite nicely.
I think that the idea to monitor installations of applications to remove them entirely from the software again at a later point is flawed. Programs may add more files or make changes after installation. These are often not covered by these software installation monitors.