Computing@Rensselaer
Software: Installing and Uninstalling
Installing Software
When you purchase new software for your laptop, it may help to know that some applications will automatically start the installation setup once you insert the software CD in the DVD/CD-RW drive. Other packages, however, may require you to load the software from floppy disks. (Also, when purchasing software, make sure that the package is labeled for Windows PCs, and not for Macintosh computers.)
To install software, open the Start menu and select the Run option. Type the letter of your CD drive in the window that appears, and click on Browse. Look for the setup.exe file in the list of files that should appear.
Uninstalling Software
To uninstall a piece of software from your laptop, first open the Start menu and select the Control Panel option. In the Control Panel window that appears, double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon. An Add/Remove Programs Properties window will appear. If the software you wish to remove appears in the list at the bottom of the window, click on the software you wish to delete to select it, then left-click on the Add/Remove button. Follow the prompts that appear on the screen to finish uninstalling the software.
If the software you wish to uninstall does not appear in the list at the bottom of the Add/Remove Programs Properties window, open the Start menu and select the Programs option. From the pop-up sub-menu that appears, select the name of the software you wish to remove, and see if there's an uninstall option available for that package. If so, click on the uninstall option and follow the prompts to finish uninstalling the software.
Still other software packages require you to re-run the program's setup/installation procedure from the original media, in order to uninstall the software.