.How to Remove a program that starts and runs in the background as soon as the PC is started in Vista or XP
Have you ever had one of those annoying programs that just refuse to be removed?
Sometimes the problem is that the program does not have it's own "Uninstaller"
And using windows "Add or Remove programs" also may not completely remove it all
because some parts are still running in the back-ground.
(Such as Antivirus or Firewall programs)
This particular example is to remove the AVG Antivirus program.
(But the same principle applies to all programs of this nature)
In this example we are going to replace AVG Antivirus with "Avast Antivirus"
(Which is not only a free program but also very good)
First of all download the new "Avast Antivirus" program from here (ready for installation later)
(You can of course use any other Antivirus program that you may want to)
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.htmlNote: There "
MUST" only be ONE Antivirus program and
ONE Firewall program "actively running" on your system at any one time.
(Having more than one Antivirus and one firewall program
actively running at the same time can cause conflicts on the PC resulting in errors)
************************
How to Remove AVG Antivirus1. First you need to go to the "System Configuration" utility:
1a. Vista = Click "
Start" then at the bottom in "
Start Search" type "
msconfig" (without the quotes)
1b. XP = Use the "
Run…" box
2. From the "System Configuration" panel select the "
Startup" tab
* * If you click the bar that says "Startup Item" it will put the list in alphabetical order
* * (NO sort in XP)
…..
Remove the tick from the "AVG Anti-Virus system" check-box
3. Now select the "
Service" tab
* * If you click the bar that says "Services" it will put the list in alphabetical order
* * (Vista & XP)
.…
Remove “ALL” the ticks from the "AVG " check-box's (there may be more than what’s shown here, so check)
4. Select "
Apply"
5. Select "
OK"
6. Restart the PC when asked.
When the PC restarts you will now get this warning message to remind you that you have changed something.
If you do not place a tick in the box at the bottom left corner, this box will show each time you restart the PC.
* * * * * * * * * * *
When the PC has restarted:Go to “Control Panel”9a. Vista = select "
Program Features"
9b. XP =
Add or Remove Programs10. Find and select "
AVG" then select, (Vista = “Uninstall/Change”) (XP = “Change/Remove”)
* * Vista, If you click the bar here, it will put the list in alphabetical order
..... Then
close the window
11. When the PC is restarted the program will now be completely removed from the system.
..… So you can now either install the new Antivirus program, (or whatever) or just carry on as usual.