Anti-AOL

With this post I'm beginning an ongoing series of questions and answers from my readers. This week's first question is from Melissa (and ladylynx would also like an answer).

Question

"Hey. It's been bugging me for a while. How do I uninstall AOL's uninstaller?"

Answer

Is AOL (or any program related to it) still installed? Do you still use it?

If the answer to both questions is "Yes", you'll need the AOL Uninstaller to remove AOL with someday, so it's best to leave it alone.

If you've already uninstalled or manually deleted AOL (or AIM, or OpenRide, or any number of AOL programs that can leave the AOL Uninstaller behind) you can try looking for the AOL Uninstaller in your Add & Remove Programs list and clicking Remove if you find it there.

For Windows XP users: Click your Start button and click Control Panel. In Control Panel click Add & Remove Programs, then locate the AOL Uninstaller on the Add & Remove List and click Change/Remove.

For Vista and Windows 7 users: Click your Start button and click Control Panel. In Control Panel click Programs and Features, then locate the AOL Uninstaller on the Installed Programs List and click Uninstall.

If that doesn't work, you'll need a way to edit your Add/Remove list to uninstall the AOL Uninstaller. There are several options that will help you get this done.

If you're comfortable with and knowledgeable about editing your Registry, you can follow the instructions Microsoft gives you to do this.

Alternately, you can use a free program like CCleaner to look for leftover uninstall entries that you can manually delete.

Or you can use jv16 PowerTools 2006 on a 1-month "no credit card" free trial to find and delete the AOL Uninstaller.

See my How-To section for more ways to get AOL out of your life.