New Computer Users

Installing and Uninstalling Programs

When you work with computers there always seems to be an application needed to do a project, so it is important to learn how to install and uninstall software properly.

Most programs come on a compact disk (CD). Normally the CD will have a automatic setup utility that will start by itself when you put the disc into the CD reader. It will copy the files needed to your hard disk, create shortcuts, and add information to the Windows Registry. The Registry is where the settings information is stored so that when you use the software it reads the settings information stored in the Registry.

Most of the time the CD will start automatically and you just follow the prompts. The feature that does this is called Auto Play and contains a file called autorun.inf. If nothing happens you will need to look at the files on the CD and find a file called setup.exe or something like that. Sometimes it will be called install32.exe or mssetup.exe. Usually the file has an .exe extension, but you may see a .com or .bat extension.

About now you should be asking yourself why is it so complicated? It normally isn’t, but I wanted to caution you to some of the pitfall you may run into. You should also be asking yourself how do I look at the files? Here is how to do that. Left click on start, left click on My Computer and then click on the drive that you have the CD inserted into. Here is a hint it is usually a higher letter than “C.” If you don’t know just keep clicking on the next higher letter until you see some folders or files that contain something pertaining to the application you are installing. I will give you a tip most people learn about computers by just clicking on something to see what happens. You can always go to the back button in the upper left corner and return to the previous page. So don’t be afraid to click away and observe.

Removing programs is just the opposite of installing them. You want to make sure you delete the files from your hard disk, remove icons and remove the Registry settings. Some people just delete the program from the hard disk which does not remove the icons and leaves stuff in the registry which may cause problem now or later. You should click on start All Programs and the click on the application to see if it contains an uninstall file. If so click on it and follow directions. If not click on start, then Control Panel. Double click on Add or Remove Programs. A window will display a list of installed programs. Click on the the one you want to remove and then click on the remove button.

                How To Burn a CD
This procedure shows how to burn a file to a CD with the Windows XP built in burner. You may have a third party software burner installed, which will require reading the instructions for it.

Locate the folder that your file is stored in, highlight the file by left clicking on it. Now right click on the file and a window will open as shown in fig.6.
               

                  Fig 6.
After you left click Send To, the little window shown on the right will open. Now click on the drive labeled CD Drive (F:) Note; yours may be a different drive letter than (F.) Wait until you see the little balloon as shown in fig 7.
          
                     Fig. 7
When you click on the balloon shown in fig.7, the window in fig. 8 will open.          
                    Fig. 8
Highlight the file and click on Write these files to CD. This will open a window called Welcome to the CD Writing Wizard as shown in fig.9.
         
                      Fig. 9
When you click next the window as shown in fig. 10 will open indicating the computer is writing to the CD.
      
                      Fig. 10