Windows XP Hacks, 2nd Edition

Chapter 10. Applications

Hacks 88-98

An operating system by itself is a paltry thing; applications do the real work. So, if you want to get the most out of XP, you need to hack the applications that run on top of it.

Some old programs have a hard time running under XP, so you’ll see in this chapter how to get apparently incompatible programs to run under the operating system. You’ll also find out how to remove applications and uninstall entries that you can’t seem to get rid of, even when you thought you’d uninstalled the application. And we’ll cover shortcuts for launching applications quickly and customizing them to the way you like them. There’s more as well, including how to create and open Microsoft documents without having to spend hundreds of dollars for Office.

Remove Unruly Applications and Uninstall Entries

Uninstalling programs is sometimes tougher than you expect; even when you use built-in uninstallers, programs leave bits of themselves all over your hard disk and Registry. Here’s how to remove them.

Uninstalling applications can be a tricky business. At a glance, it seems simple: choose Start → Control Panel → Add or Remove Programs, then choose the program you want to remove in the Add or Remove Programs dialog box, and click Remove.

But uninstall routines are generally only as good as the programmer who made them. And that means unruly programs commonly leave bits of themselves behind, even after you uninstall them. They might leave behind DLLs that load every time ...