Can't remove a program after deleting its files without running uninstaller

Instead of using a built in installer of a program, I went and deleted the program files of that program (used the recycle bin); it was removed from the control panel after I checked to uninstall programs.

But now, when I'm trying to reinstall this program, it says another version is already installed (despite my having checked the program files and checking the control panel for those files).

How do I go about removing those extra, seemingly hidden, files related to the program? Or how do I install this program if windows thinks this program is still installed? When I try to repair the installer file it says action is only valid for programs currently installed.

Carl Carlson

Posted 2013-01-15T21:15:21.307

Reputation: 113

It's probably in the registry somewhere.

– Jakob Weisblat – 2013-01-15T21:21:29.597

When I tried uninstalling it again it said it can't find the assembly files associated with a particular folder related to the file. – Carl Carlson – 2013-01-15T21:30:48.793

Answers

It's probably in the registry somewhere that you have this program installed. Look in the registry for a section labelled

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\[The manufacturer of your software]\The program

and delete that folder. For example, for Firefox, you might remove

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox

It's always a good idea to back up the registry before editing it.

Jakob Weisblat

Posted 2013-01-15T21:15:21.307

Reputation: 926

You can try restoring your pc to the 1 or 2 days before you did that or to the date you installed the program the first time. All should go back so you can now reinstall or uninstall the program...

AAlvz

Posted 2013-01-15T21:15:21.307

Reputation: 649