Is there a quick way to remove something installed from CD?

[glomedia]

I want to remove a component (in this case, a Microsoft Office wizard). It does not appear in the Add/Remove Programs tab. (I assume this is because its setup program, Timexwiz.exe, is on the CD and not on my hard disk.)

I assume that uninstalling has something to do with inserting the original CD, but I don't know where to go from there. Does anyone have any ideas?

P.S. In the Add/Remove Control Panel, I tried pointing to the Windows Setup tab, clicking "Have Disk," and then specifying my CD-ROM drive. But it only looks for ".inf" files and I don't know if I should or can change this option. Besides, I'm not sure if clicking "Have Disk" is only for installing components instead of removing them.

[PCSolutions]

From the Start menu, Select Settings > Control Panel.
Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
In the list on the Install/Uninstall tab, find the entry Timex Data Link Wizard, and highlight it. Click Add/Remove.
When it asks for a confirmation, click Yes.
When it finishes removing the program, click OK on the confirmation dialog box.

[glomedia]

Originally posted by PCSolutions
In the list on the Install/Uninstall tab, find the entry Timex Data Link Wizard, and highlight it. Click Add/Remove.

The problem is that the Timex Data Link Wizard does not appear on the Install/Uninstall tab (which is the case with many wizards and add-ins that are part of the Office suite).

So I'll have to follow johnking's procedure, even though I was rather faint of heart to try it in the beginning. I'll make a backup first.

I do have one question: I have the documentation that shows what files the Timex Data Link installed and where they are located. I also used a program that tracked which registers and their values were modified after I installed the wizard. I suppose I can trash the installed files, but how do I get the registry in order? I've read about using regedit to delete entries relating to this wizard. I've never used regedit before. Is this a safe method?

[glomedia]

Johnking, I followed your method but the wizard I want to remove does not appear as one of the installed MS Office components.

Both Microsoft's Download site and Timex's Data Link Watch site state that --

(1) to install the wizard, download Timexwiz.exe to your hard disk then double click on it

(2) to remove the wizard, select it from the Install/Uninstall tab in the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel. It will be listed as Timex Data Link Wizard.

In my case, it doesn't appear on the Install/Uninstall tab; and I think this is because my installation was different. The Timexwiz.exe was on a CD. I double-clicked it on the CD and did not copy it to my hard disk (these were the instructions).

Is there any other tweak that could help me remove this?

[glomedia]

Johnking, you are a gem! How many other advisers would duplicate a member's scenario just so they could tinker with it and find a solution? ... and with an attached file that does all the work for me, no less.

(I feel guilty that this caused you some extra work, but I'm consoled by the fact that at least you know what you're doing.
)

I have downloaded your file and will apply it shortly. I do have a few questions, though.

(1) I took a look at the Timex.inf file and it listed 5 registry keys, while you only deleted two. Is this because of the way the registry works? (Delete the main key - "Outlook\Operations" - and all the subkeys go with it?)

(2) After you installed the Timex add-in, you mentioned in your post that you wanted to check the registry to see what was there before and what was added. "I can see most of this from within the Inf file, but want to be 100% sure..."

Does this mean the .inf file isn't always 100% accurate? I was thinking that the .inf file is the sure-fire way to tell me what keys to delete if I ever wanted to uninstall another program or add-in. But is this safe? Is it possible that I could delete keys shared by another program? Is it possible that some keys would only need their values changed instead of being deleted altogether? And would the .inf file specify this?

(BTW, besides using the .inf file, how else did you determine what changed in the registry?)

(3) I'm a little nervous about mention of a .reg file and doing a merge. From my reading, I thought a .reg file is created as a backup copy of keys before any changes are made to them. Then, if something goes wrong with the changes, double-clicking on the .reg file will restore the keys.

But in this case, I want to delete keys rather than change them or restore them. Can you tell me how your .reg file works? Is it really the equivalent of going to regedit and deleting the unneeded keys?

Thanks so much. This has certainly been a learning experience for me. Maybe I will eventually understand this registry thing after all (well, at least the easy parts )

[TE12]

JohnKing,

I have only one thing to say:


WE LOVE YA MAN!!!