Uninstalling A Programme

[thelewisgang]

I have uninstalled programmes in the past with no problems but I'm now wanting to uninstall the TomTom prog & right click to uninstall. Trouble is, I get the screen message "preparing to remove" but nothing more happens. Anyone know why this is happening? thanks.

[Buenchico]

Many programs (or, at least, small parts of them) run automatically as soon as you boot up your computer. (For example, even if your printer is turned off and you've no intention of printing anything during your current session on your computer, it's highly likely that some of the software that came with your printer is still running right now).

It's quite likely that your TomTom software has a component that runs automatically as soon as you turn your computer on. If so (since you can't uninstall an active program) any attempt to uninstall it is bound to fail.

Go to Start > All Programs (or whatever the equivalent is with your version of Windows) and look under the TomTom entry to see if there's an 'Uninstall' option there. If there is, using it should fix your problem (because you'll be running a program that turns off the TomTom application first, before seeking to remove it).

If not, open the Task Manager (via right-clicking on he Task Bar, at the foot of your screen), click on the 'Processes' tab, then on 'Show Processes from all Users' (granting permission to proceed if you're asked for it) and then look to see if there are any TomTom references there. If so, click on a relevant entry to highlight it, then on 'End Process'. (When you're told that the world will end if you proceed, go ahead anyway!). Then try uninstalling again.

If that doesn't work, restart your computer, booting into Safe Mode. (Try pressing F8 during the boot process). Then try uninstalling from there. (Don't worry if your screen looks odd in Safe Mode; that's normal because the graphics driver won't have loaded. To get out of Safe Mode, simply restart your computer).

[thelewisgang]

thank you so much for taking the time to write such an informative reply. I appreciate it