Uninstalling or deleting programs on Windows 10 is somewhat complicated if you are unfamiliar with the Operating System, and it’s a little more difficult than the old method of “dragging it to the recycle bin and hoping it goes away.”
If you have Windows apps that need to go, this article will walk you through the steps on how to uninstall programs on Windows 10, along with automated methods of ensuring everything is gone successfully.
Method 1: How To Uninstall Specific Programs
Windows operating system provides a settings option that allows users to go in and remove individual programs that they do not want on their PC or Laptop.
This method is useful if there is an app or two that are causing trouble or taking up too much space, too much time to load, or are not working, etc., and you want to delete them completely. This helps keep Windows 10 efficient and uncluttered, but it works best if you already know the program you want to uninstall.
For uninstalling many programs at once, check out the second method 2 on How to Uninstall Programs on Windows 10 below.
Step 1: Go to Start Menu in the lower left-hand corner and open it up or press the Windows key on your keyboard. It Will display a pop-up, and you should see the Settings option in the primary sidebar, with a gear icon beside it. Select it. If you can’t find Settings in the sidebar, search for it in the search box, and it should pop up.
Step 2: Look at the Settings icons and select the one that says Apps, denoted by a list-like icon. This should open up the Apps & Features Window.
How to Uninstall Programs on Windows 10
Step 3: The Apps & Features window lists all the programs currently downloaded onto your computer. The most recent versions of Windows 10 feature a search bar, a Sort By option, and a Filter By option.
These are useful tools for finding exactly what apps you want to delete. Yes, you could scroll through the whole list, but if you have downloaded many programs, this could take too long. If you know the program name, search for it with the search bar.
If you want to filter programs by how much space they take up, installing them, or by where they are located, use the filter options.
Step 4: Select the specific app or program you want to uninstall. This will show you how much space the app is taking up when downloaded and who made the app: It will also bring up a large gray button to Uninstall the program. Select Uninstall to confirm the process. Windows will then remove the program from your operating system.
Note: Sometimes, the Uninstall button will be grayed out. That means the program is a system app that is too important for Windows to delete. If you see this, double-check that you have picked the right app. If something goes wrong with this program, you need to explore updates or repairs instead of deleting the app or the program.
Method 2: Batch Uninstall Bloatware on Windows 10
Windows 10 can get bogged down sometimes with too much bloatware or too many casually downloaded apps on it: When they start creating slowdowns, sluggish, or storage issues, it’s time to remove them. The Windows 10 Tool isn’t well designed for finding and deleting multiple apps.
Fortunately, many “uninstallers” you can download online to help, such as anti-virus software, fix or delete the program or apps successfully.
You can use an uninstaller when you are unsure how many apps you want to remove or when Windows 10 fails to uninstall an app because of internal issues. If you download a lot of apps, as a matter of course, you should keep a quality uninstaller handy on Windows 10.
Below are a couple of uninstallers you can make use of:
Wise Program Uninstaller: Wise Program has a slicker, stronger interface than Geek Uninstaller and offers features like searching, scans, deleting leftover files and force uninstall.
There are a couple of advanced tools for more tinkering, such as organizing apps by review scores or the ability to enable a right-click to uninstall option on Windows. Wise Program has more to offer as a long-term uninstaller that you will repeatedly use over the life of your computer.
How to Uninstall Programs on Windows 10
MyClean PC: This works on the Windows registry, a database repository for information about a computer’s configuration. The registry keeps growing as you use Windows, and with that, it attracts obsolete and unnecessary information and gradually becomes cluttered and fragmented.
With the registry’s growth, it can degrade the performance of the whole system and cause many weird software problems. To keep your computer in good performance, it is recommended to periodically clean your Windows registry with a reliable and efficient Registry Cleaner.
Geek Uninstaller: Geek Uninstaller has precisely the features you need to delete any unwanted programs, fully compatible with Windows 10 and Windows Store apps. It will scan your computer for a particular file’s name or for bloatware that looks ripe for removal.
When you remove programs, it will also scan for “leftovers” or related files that no longer have relevance so that you can clear even more space. It also has a Force Removal option if a normal uninstall isn’t working. The interface is a little dated but shouldn’t present any problems, especially if you are looking for a quick batch uninstall option to clear things up.
If you have larger problems than the above-listed steps and uninstaller can do, you may want to think about reinstalling Windows 10 completely. And for more on apps that you don’t want to delete, check out the best starter apps for your Windows 10 machine. We hope this article, How to Uninstall Programs on Windows 10, helps.
Would you like to read more about Windows-related articles? If so, we invite you to take a look at our other tech topics before you leave!
