The same also applies to files in the per-user directories. You uninstall the application on TS1, now all the settings for all users are gone on TS2 because you have roaming profiles. Say you have two terminal servers running one application. A terminal server is basically one Windows machine where multiple users log-in at the same time and use applications. terminal services) and then delete all settings on uninstall, you could really mess up and delete stuff that is actually still in use. What about the other users? It could try to enumerate all users, but their registry keys might not be loaded (Windows is lazy and only loads the things it needs).īut you should not even try that. This happens if you started the uninstaller from a non-admin account and then entered the credentials of an admin account, the setup is now running under that account, not the first one.
If a program is installed per machine (which most are) and multiple users use it, what should the uninstaller do? It could safely remove the user settings of the current account, but the current account might not be your account. While keeping leftovers in LocalMachine is laziness (as pointed out by the other answers), it is not possible to clean the CurrentUser part. Normally, the setup writes values into LocalMachine, and the running program only writes into CurrentUser (actually, unless the setup messes with the permissions, the running program cannot write into LocalMachine).
The registry has multiple root nodes but only two interesting ones: LocalMachine and CurrentUser. First up, Lukas Rieger:īecause it is impossible. SuperUser contributors Lukas Rieger and Keltari have the answer for us. Why are registry values usually “left behind” after normally uninstalling software? The Answer
Why are the majority of Windows applications so intent on leaving tiny little traces of themselves in the registry? Does the fault lie with Windows or with the developers?
#How to clean registry windows 10 reddit how to#
How to Edit a Windows Registry ValueĪfter you find the target registry key in Registry Editor window, you can double-click the name of the registry key, and change the value data of the registry key to make changes to the target registry.SuperUser reader Mark Boulder wants to know why some registry values always remain after a normal software uninstall:Įxpanding on the SuperUser topic How do I remove residual traces of uninstalled software from the registry, why is it that every time I uninstall a program and then later look it up via RegEdit, it is still there? What’s more, you should only follow the reliable sources to edit registries. After you edit one registry, you should restart your computer and check if it takes effect before you make more changes to the registry. Many registry edits require restarting computer to take effect. Another tip is to edit one registry key at a time. You can also create a system restore point to make a backup of your computer OS, if needed, you can run a System Restore to bring your computer back to life. It’s highly advised that you back up the registry keys at first. Since Regedit has no Undo function, you should be careful to edit the registry to avoid causing irreversible problems to your computer. What to Pay Attention before Editing the Registry Next time you need to access Regedit Windows 10, you can click its desktop shortcut icon to quickly open it. Type a name for the shortcut like RegistryEditor and click Finish to create the shortcut.Type C:\Windows\regedit.exe in Create Shortcut window, and click Next.You can right-click the blank area on the desktop screen and click New –> Shortcut to open Create Shortcut.Check below how to create a desktop shortcut for Regedit. You can also create a keyboard shortcut or desktop shortcut for Windows Registry Editor if you need to frequently access Windows Registry. Create a Shortcut for Registry Editor for Fast Access Type regedit in Windows PowerShell window to open Registry window in Windows 10.You can press Windows + X, and choose Windows PowerShell to open it.Enter into Windows Registry Editor with PowerShell Then you can type regedit in Command Prompt window to open Registry Editor.Press Windows + R, type cmd and hit Enter to open Command Prompt on Windows 10.Open Windows Registry Editor with Command Prompt Type regedit in the search box, and click the top best-matched result regedit to open Windows Registry.You can click Start menu or the Cortana search box, or press Windows + S to open Windows search.You can also use Windows Search to enter into Windows Registry Editor.