How to remove unwanted applications, games and programs for Windows 95,98,ME,XP
In my many years as an IT support professional this question would frequently arise; "How do I remove these icons from my desktop?".
I could have just been lazy and said that you left mouse click on them and hit delete, but we all know that eventually this leads
to a very bogged down computer. In some cases this was the correct course of action as they had orphaned shortcuts, or web downloaded
application exe's. Thankfully in Windows XP you are now warned that deleting the shortcut does not remove the program (unless it's an exe file).
The common icons which people would ask to have removed would typically include:
Music Match - a jukebox media player which comes free with a number of MP3 players.
Expired anti-virus software - Usually copies of Norton Anti-Virus that expired 3 years ago when they stopped paying!
Downloaded .exe files from websites - Usually WinRAR, Adobe Acrobat Reader, or some cheesy shareware application / game.
Shortcuts to web pages, shortcuts to folders, multiple copies of My Documents folder, Recycle bins, and My Computer.
RealOne player, along with the million and one shortcuts to some 'great offers'.
Temporary files - typically unzipped files from web site application downloads / extracts.
iTunes - Usually because someone in the family got an iPod for Christmas or their birthday.
I could probably go on all day, but I won't bore you any further you get the idea. So what if you are one of those people, with icons
you wish to remove?