Sometimes, video games can be frustrating and sometimes they just take up too much space on your computer. What do we do in this case? That's right, we delete them. However, sometimes this is not so easy to do, which may be due to certain factors: you are still an inexperienced user, the classic removal options are not available/do not work, etc.
In this article we will tell you how to remove a game from your computer, quickly and without straining your nerves. In addition to the basics, we will also look at removing the game from digital distribution stores, for example, Steam or Origin.
So, first, let's look at the most basic and classic method of removing an installed game, and other software based on the Windows operating system (examples will be given) - the uninstaller.
Usually, when you install a game on your computer, a so-called uninstaller is also installed along with it, which makes it incredibly easy to completely remove the game if the user needs it.
The uninstaller is usually stored in the folder with the installed game. Go to the folder and find the executable file called unstall.exe or something similar. Double-click on it to start the removal process. Confirm your intentions if the uninstaller asks you for confirmation to delete. Finally, wait for the uninstallation process to complete and close the uninstallation window if necessary.
That's all. It is also advisable to delete files of deleted games, which sometimes remain in the folders of their previous location. This method of removing a game from a computer is the simplest and only requires the user to know the location of the game folder. However, not all games are equipped with an uninstaller and they need to be uninstalled a little differently.
The next way to remove a game is to use a system item called “Programs and Features”, with which, as expected from its name, you can remove or update installed applications and games.
Right-click on Start and select “Programs and Features” from the context menu. Then find the desired (but apparently not very) game in the list of installed components, right-click on it and select “Uninstall”. Confirm your intentions to delete and you're done.
Users of the Windows 10 operating system can take advantage of something else, which we will now look at. Again, right-click and select Apps & Features. Find the game you want in the list of applications. Click on it once and then click on the “Delete” button. Windows 10 also has Programs and Features, which is easily accessible, but it's not really necessary.
How to delete game data on Steam or Origin? Let's look into this too. The thing is that games installed in similar services do not have classic uninstallers: they must be removed directly through the client itself, which, however, will not be difficult. As an example, let's look at deleting a game on Steam, but you'll be able to apply the following information to other digital distributor clients like Origin, Uplay or GOG as well, since they're all done the same way.
So, open your Steam client. Next, go to the “Library” tab, where all your games are located. Find the game you want to get rid of, right-click on it and select "Uninstall...". Then confirm your intentions again by clicking on the “Delete” button again. After clicking on it, the removal process will start, after which the game will be erased from your disk and the installed games tab in the library.
Now we are moving on to something more complex. How to delete a deleted game? If you are seeing this question for the first time, it may seem quite strange to you, but it is not at all. Let's say you've already tried to uninstall the game from your computer, but something went wrong during the uninstallation process, such as a power outage, the uninstallation process being forced to complete, etc. As a result, entries from the deleted game remain in your system's Registry, which may cause some problems when trying to remove the game from the entries in "Applications and Features" or "Programs and Features."
If you encounter such a problem, then you need to delete the remaining entries about the game in the Windows Registry. You can do this using these steps:
Once you have completed all the above, try again to uninstall the game using traditional methods - this time everything should work as expected.
If you do not want to use the tools built into the operating system, then you can always use third-party software. The functionality of such tools differs from each other, ranging from simple removal of installed programs/games to cleaning temporary and junk files on the computer.
It is quite difficult to advise any specific program, since, in principle, their functionality is still similar to each other. For example, you can use the Uninstall Tool. Users are more or less satisfied with its functionality.
Found a typo? Select the text and press Ctrl + Enter
Sometimes, video games can be frustrating and sometimes they just take up too much space on your computer. What do we do in this case? That's right, we delete them. However, sometimes this is not so easy to do, which may be due to certain factors: you are still an inexperienced user, the classic removal options are not available/do not work, etc.
In this article we will tell you how to remove a game from your computer, quickly and without straining your nerves. In addition to the basics, we will also look at removing the game from digital distribution stores, for example, Steam or Origin.
So, first, let's look at the most basic and classic method of removing an installed game, and other software based on the Windows operating system (examples will be given) - the uninstaller.
Usually, when you install a game on your computer, a so-called uninstaller is also installed along with it, which makes it incredibly easy to completely remove the game if the user needs it.
The uninstaller is usually stored in the folder with the installed game. Go to the folder and find the executable file called unstall.exe or something similar. Double-click on it to start the removal process. Confirm your intentions if the uninstaller asks you for confirmation to delete. Finally, wait for the uninstallation process to complete and close the uninstallation window if necessary.
That's all. It is also advisable to delete files of deleted games, which sometimes remain in the folders of their previous location. This method of removing a game from a computer is the simplest and only requires the user to know the location of the game folder. However, not all games are equipped with an uninstaller and they need to be uninstalled a little differently.
The next way to remove a game is to use a system item called “Programs and Features”, with which, as expected from its name, you can remove or update installed applications and games.
Right-click on Start and select “Programs and Features” from the context menu. Then find the desired (but apparently not very) game in the list of installed components, right-click on it and select “Uninstall”. Confirm your intentions to delete and you're done.
Users of the Windows 10 operating system can take advantage of something else, which we will now look at. Again, right-click and select Apps & Features. Find the game you want in the list of applications. Click on it once and then click on the “Delete” button. Windows 10 also has Programs and Features, which is easily accessible, but it's not really necessary.
How to delete game data on Steam or Origin? Let's look into this too. The thing is that games installed in similar services do not have classic uninstallers: they must be removed directly through the client itself, which, however, will not be difficult. As an example, let's look at deleting a game on Steam, but you'll be able to apply the following information to other digital distributor clients like Origin, Uplay or GOG as well, since they're all done the same way.
So, open your Steam client. Next, go to the “Library” tab, where all your games are located. Find the game you want to get rid of, right-click on it and select "Uninstall...". Then confirm your intentions again by clicking on the “Delete” button again. After clicking on it, the removal process will start, after which the game will be erased from your disk and the installed games tab in the library.
Now we are moving on to something more complex. How to delete a deleted game? If you are seeing this question for the first time, it may seem quite strange to you, but it is not at all. Let's say you've already tried to uninstall the game from your computer, but something went wrong during the uninstallation process, such as a power outage, the uninstallation process being forced to complete, etc. As a result, entries from the deleted game remain in your system's Registry, which may cause some problems when trying to remove the game from the entries in "Applications and Features" or "Programs and Features."
If you encounter such a problem, then you need to delete the remaining entries about the game in the Windows Registry. You can do this using these steps:
Once you have completed all the above, try again to uninstall the game using traditional methods - this time everything should work as expected.
Computer games take up quite a lot of space. 5 gigabytes is already a thing of the past, but 15 and 20 are what a modern game like Crysis 3 and Battlefield 4 can easily occupy. And if you still install them on the system drive, the space will run out very quickly. A novice user may immediately have the right question: how can I remove unnecessary games from my computer? And that's true, why would it just take up space on the PC?
To remove the game from your computer Find the shortcut on your desktop that is responsible for launching it. Right-click on it and go to “ File location».
The folder in which the toy was installed will open. You can also delete it here. Look at the very bottom for a file named “unins000”.
It could also be a folder called Uninstall and this file will already be inside. He is responsible for completely removing the game from the computer. Launch it and confirm your intention to erase the game.
Literally after 5 seconds the game will no longer be on the computer.
It happens that the file " unins000" does not exist in the folder with the installed program. How to completely remove the game in this case?
There is one great program called Revo Uninstaller. It can completely remove various programs and other software. Launch it and find the game to delete in the list, or enter its name in the search.
Right-click on it and select “Delete”.
After uninstallation, Revo Uninstaller will prompt us to scan the computer for “garbage” that the game left behind. We perform a “Moderate search”.
We find unnecessary remnants, put a tick in front of those highlighted in bold and delete them.
So we figured it out as much as possible completely remove any game from your computer. Keep your computer clean.
Edward.
And of course it cannot be installed again, utilities: Unlocker, CCleaner, Revo Uninstaller and the like may turn out to be useless, on one site I read how using one of these programs you can remove an antivirus program, I laughed for a long time, in reality everything is of course will not be so, sometimes the principles of operation of these programs turn out to be ineffective. Let's think about what we will do if all the above-mentioned programs did not help us.
Many in case of failure with they even reinstall the operating system when it comes to their favorite game. Believe me, in most cases this is not necessary. By the way, it’s also about the accumulation of garbage in Windows, because the remains of the program are somewhere and of course take up space on the hard drive, all this is quite unpleasant and of course I want to know where exactly the remaining program files are located.
It is advisable to view the entire registry or branches HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (contains information about hardware and software) and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software, where all information about installed applications is located.
And now I would like to talk about how to remove games from a Windows 7, 8, 10 computer. The difference is that garbage cleaning programs clear files that the system does not need, but games are considered personal files, so the program does not touch them. This is partly the correct way to remove programs. Therefore, this article will be useful from a beginner to an experienced user.
Firstly, correct removal is always done through programs that come with the game for removal.
This program is usually located in the game folder; to find it, go to start - all programs and find folder with the game name.
When you open it, in most cases you will see a file with the name - delete the game or uninstall, or maybe in English Uninstall. Click it and click everywhere else and you're done. All game Right deleted.
But below we will look which could remain even if you deleted the game the right way! It is possible that you did not find the required file in the start, to find it, right-click on the game and select properties.
In the window that opens, click find object or file location. After which the folder with the game will open and there we look for the file that I described above, launch it and delete it using the same system.
It is possible that these files were not even found in the game folder, so you will have to turn to the standard application uninstaller. This is certainly not the best option, because... There will still be some files in the system and registry.
Below we will look at a specialized program provided for such cases. But sometimes it may not be available, so now we’ll look at how to remove a game using the Windows add/remove programs component. It is located in my computer or launcher.
Start - Control Panel or in startup on older systems there may be an item settings. Or on my computer at the top or left is an item called Installation and removal of programms.
When launched, a window will appear with installed programs and games on your system. In this list find the game to be deleted, select and click delete/edit.
Typically, deletion occurs according to the standard system by pressing a button Further, and then delete, but it may also be that you need to select the item delete. Cases vary and not all programs are able to remove everything. Because The game save is also your personal files. Or, by chance, something was not deleted.
And in order to delete the game completely, you need to see if the folder with the game remains in my documents it is usually set to desktop or at launch. An even more reliable way to find files is through search. Enter the name of the game in one word and indicate search in hidden folders. We delete everything that is found as necessary or save the save, in case you want to play this game again :)
Windows Add/Remove Programs is not the best or most reliable application for uninstalling applications. There is always a replacement and I suggest using a professional program called Revo Uninstaller. When you open it it will look like this window.
For removing select the required game or program, the method is also good for programs. Select by right-clicking on the required game or program.
will appear window with a removal method.
1. Safe the program will remove basically everything like a regular Windows program.
3. And here is the point extended will find and delete everything possible that is associated with this file, but first it will give you the opportunity to confirm what it is deleting; this item is best used by advanced users. This item especially helped me when the drivers for one printer were installed incorrectly and the Windows program installing and uninstalling programs did not help me. Good luck with your deletions :)
The program cannot be removed from the computer through the Add/Remove Programs menu and by no means at all, deleted all folders related to the program, used all kinds of utilities that clean the registry of unnecessary keys, it’s useless. The fact is that I want to install it again, it is licensed and purchased for money, but recently it has been working with errors. The installation program says: the application is already installed and that’s where it ends. The forum suggested that you need to look in the bushes (in the registry), is this a joke? Help.
Edward.
The game is not removed from the computer Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, I want to reinstall it, but I always get an error, I just deleted the game folder, but I couldn’t delete it from the Add or Remove Programs menu, maybe you know how to delete and reinstall, please tell me.
And of course it cannot be installed again, utilities: Unlocker, CCleaner, Revo Uninstaller and the like may turn out to be useless, on one site I read how using one of these programs you can remove an antivirus program, I laughed for a long time, in reality everything is of course will not be so, sometimes the principles of operation of these programs turn out to be ineffective. Let's think about what we will do if all the above-mentioned programs did not help us.
The information in our article applies to Windows 7 and Windows 8. 1.
Many in case of failure with removing a program from your computer they even reinstall the operating system when it comes to their favorite game. Believe me, in most cases this is not necessary. By the way, it’s also about the accumulation of garbage in Windows, because the remains of the program are somewhere and of course take up space on the hard drive, all this is quite unpleasant and of course I want to know where exactly the remaining program files are located.
This kind of trouble occurs because, for some reason, the connection between the program and its keys in the registry is broken. There are many reasons for these, ranging from incorrect user actions and errors in the program itself; we will not dwell on this. To solve such problems, we will need to manually make changes to the registry and our program will be completely removed. How to do it?
Is the program you want to remove no longer in use? If you know the process related to it, you also need to end it in the device manager.
The best thing to do is disable the program service in Computer Management.
Now delete all files related to the program from your computer, start with its personal folder located in Program Files, then reboot; if the program is not deleted and it cannot be installed again, you will have to delete its entries in the registry.
It is advisable to view the entire registry or branches HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (contains information about hardware and software) and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software, where all information about installed applications is located.
What else can you do if you have problems uninstalling programs?
For clarity, let's try to reinstall the game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which my son’s comrade in arms cannot reinstall for several days in a row.
Letter from a reader:
The program cannot be removed from the computer through the Add/Remove Programs menu and by no means at all, deleted all folders related to the program, used all kinds of utilities that clean the registry of unnecessary keys, it’s useless. The fact is that I want to install it again, it is licensed and purchased for money, but recently it has been working with errors. The installation program says: the application is already installed and that’s where it ends. The forum suggested what to look for in the bushes (in the registry). It's a joke? Help.
Edward
Letter from another reader:
The game is not removed from the computer Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, I want to reinstall it, but I always get an error, I just deleted the game folder, but I couldn’t delete it from the Add or Remove Programs menu, maybe you know how to delete and reinstall, please tell me.
Basil
And of course, the program or game cannot be installed again, because the utilities Unlocker, CCleaner, Revo Uninstaller and the like may be useless. On one site I read how, using one of these programs, you can remove an antivirus program, I laughed for a long time, in reality, of course, everything will not be so, sometimes the principles of operation of these programs turn out to be ineffective. Let's think about what we will do if all the above-mentioned programs did not help us.
The information in our article applies to Windows 7 and Windows 8. 1.
Many in case of failure with removing a program from your computer they even reinstall the operating system when it comes to their favorite game. Believe me, in most cases this is not necessary. By the way, it’s also about the accumulation of garbage in Windows, because the remains of the program are somewhere and of course take up space on the hard drive, all this is quite unpleasant and of course I want to know where exactly the remaining program files are located. This kind of trouble occurs because, for some reason, the connection between the program and its keys in the registry is broken. There are many reasons for these, ranging from incorrect user actions and errors in the program itself; we will not dwell on this. To solve such problems, we will need to manually make changes to the registry and our program will be completely removed. How to do it?
Is the program you want to remove no longer in use? If you know the process related to it, you also need to end it in the device manager.
The best thing to do is disable the program service in Computer Management.
Now delete all files related to the program from your computer, start with its personal folder located in Program Files, then reboot; if the program is not deleted and it cannot be installed again, you will have to delete its entries in the registry.
It is advisable to view the entire registry or branches HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (contains information about hardware and software) and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software, where all information about installed applications is located.
What else can you do if you have problems uninstalling programs?
For clarity, let's try to reinstall the game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which my son’s comrade in arms cannot reinstall for several days in a row.
Any modern computer has a huge amount of different software installed. These could be utilities that are used almost daily, or programs that the user installed only to familiarize himself with new software.
Once a program is no longer in use, it should be uninstalled to free up disk space and improve PC performance. This article will discuss the best methods for uninstalling utilities and games, which even a novice user can handle.
Every PC user uninstalls applications from their computer, so special programs designed to help with uninstallation are very common and enjoy considerable popularity. There are many high-quality utilities that analyze programs available on a PC and completely remove all information about applications. The Windows OS even has a built-in tool that can help you uninstall software. Unfortunately, this product is not very effective in comparison with third-party specialized software.
This program is considered one of the best software removal utilities. The application provides the user with the most detailed list of all programs and games installed on the computer, and also has a very convenient filter for sorting positions. Revo Uninstaller has a fairly simple Russian-language interface.
You can find several versions of this application on the official website of the software manufacturer. Some of them are paid, while others are completely free. To clean your PC from unnecessary utilities, the free version is quite enough. It has extensive functionality, takes up a small amount of disk space, and most importantly, is regularly updated by the developers.
As mentioned earlier, Windows has a built-in tool that helps you uninstall applications. Unfortunately, this method is not as convenient as the previous one, since you have to create a restore point yourself, and you need to search for residual files after deletion manually.
Specialized software removal applications have significantly more tools than the standard Windows tool. The programs carry out high-quality software removal, remove residual garbage, clean the registry, and most importantly, do all this automatically.
By uninstalling unnecessary applications, you not only free up disk space, but also improve the performance of your entire PC. It is advisable to regularly remove unnecessary software, but before doing this, do not forget to create checkpoints to which you can rollback if something happens.
Every inveterate gamer, and just an ordinary user who sometimes likes to plunge headlong into virtual game worlds, must be able to remove the game from the computer. Yes, so that not a single trace of it remains in the operating system.
Otherwise, in the absence of this skill, things will be very difficult for them. Just imagine. Here is my favorite RPG, both up and down: for Palladin, and for the Mage, and for... God knows who else. I already want something new. And this new thing is installed in the size of, like, 20-30GB, or even more (well, for example, the same Grand Theft Auto V for 50GB). What's old? It hasn't gone anywhere. So-so it remains in the OS. But the volume of a hard drive is not dimensionless, in the sense that, like everything in this perishable world, it has boundaries and limits. And this operation is repeated many times (after all, there are a lot of games, and all very interesting!) - put on a toy, play and put on another one, and another...
As a result, the system partition - drive C - is “filled” to capacity (by default, most games are installed on it), so that poor Windows has nowhere to “turn around”. The PC begins to slow down terribly, complain and swear, displaying messages on the display like “So, they say, so, I can’t exist and function normally without free disk space.”
Also, this whole sad story can happen because of games that you simply didn’t like. (Well, if you don’t like them, the question is, why store them on disk?)
What can you do to get rid of this problem? Nothing special! Just delete the game from your computer, and then another one, etc. It feels good for both the user and the machine to “breathe easier.”
The game is excellent, not only because it is exciting and colorful, but also because it can be easily removed from Windows. Fact! That is, the developers have provided it with a convenient uninstallation mechanism. All that is required from the user, as a maximum, is to use the standard OS functions.
1. Click the “Start” icon (the system menu icon in the lower left corner) or the “Win” key.
2. In the menu bar, in the left block, click “All programs”.
3. Open the folder with the unwanted game.
4. Find the uninstaller in the list of items it contains. It can be called differently: “uninstall”, “uninstall”, “remove”.
5. Click on his name once with the left mouse button. And then carefully follow the instructions in the window that opens. Wait for the cleaning procedure to complete. It does not last long, on average from 20-30 seconds to 3 minutes.
If for some reason you cannot find the game folder in the Start menu, use the “Uninstall a program” system function:
1. Open the Start window and go to Control Panel.
2. Select “Uninstall a program” from the list of “Customize your computer settings” options.
3. Look in the list of installed software for the game you want to remove from your computer.
4. If one is found, right-click on it. And then activate the “Delete” command in the mini-menu.
5. In the uninstaller window, do everything as it “requests”. You may need to select removal items and make additional settings. Although in 90 cases out of 100, before cleaning, only confirmation of the operation is requested (are you sure...?) and its launch (“Next”, “OK”).
This option is only possible if there is a corresponding option in the game’s installation menu. Its presence is very easy to check.
1. Open the installation window using one of the options below (depending on how and where the game is saved):
2. Activate cleaning (click the “Delete” menu item).
After these steps, the installation module will automatically enable the necessary system functions and safely clean the hard drive of its folders and files.
Of course, deleting the game using standard Windows tools is correct and correct. However, this is not always convenient, especially if the user is a beginner. In addition, the built-in uninstaller does not always perform cleaning efficiently. That is, after the deletion procedure, some elements still remain in the folders and registry.
To avoid these problems, and also to save time, entrust cleaning the system to special uninstaller programs. They will cope with this task 100% guaranteed. The “toy” files and keys will disappear from Windows forever.
Choose one of the popular solutions below and take action.
Performs uninstallation three times faster than the built-in system utility. Supports batch uninstallation of applications.
It has clear, simple controls: activation of cleaning in two clicks of the mouse. It meticulously performs uninstallation without leaving any “traces” of the game on the disk.
One of the most popular “removers”. Distributed in two versions: Free - free, Pro - paid. Cleans out all file directories and registry branches.
The cleaning algorithm using uninstaller utilities is simple and almost identical to any of the above solutions:
If none of the above methods help to uninstall or the game is not in the Start menu or in the list of installed software (the “Uninstall a program” setting), or the game uninstaller is missing/does not work - in general the game is not uninstalled - follow these steps :
1. Restart Windows in Safe Mode: Hold "F8" during restart to open the mode selection menu.
2. Stop active game processes:
Note. If there are no running processes, proceed to the next cleaning step.
3. If the location of the game is unknown (that is, it is not known in which folder and on which drive it is located), view the properties of the shortcut intended for launching:
4. Delete the game folder:
Attention! If the files from the folder “don’t want” to be deleted, use the special Unlocker utility or its equivalent: run it → right-click on the file → select “Unlocker” from the context menu.
5. Search for remaining items on the disk:
Advice! Additionally, search for “Save” or “Saves” to find game saves.
6. Clean the registry:
(using the example of the game Dota 2)
Clients of online games from the Steam service and, in particular, Dota 2, cannot be completely deleted by throwing the folder and files into the trash. After the next system startup, the Steam application will refer to its entries (keys) in the registry and other remaining elements (libraries), and then begin to download the missing game elements that were deleted earlier.
In this case, cleaning the disk from the client must be performed directly while in the Steam service browser, or library:
1. Launch your browser.
2. If the game is open, exit it: in the browser, click the “Exit” icon (top right) → confirm the action (click the “Exit” button).
3. On the left, in the list, right-click on the game you want to get rid of.
4. In the context menu, activate “Delete contents...”.
5. Confirm your intention to uninstall the application.
6. Once the cleaning is complete, the game will be permanently removed from the OS.
Chess, card solitaire, Minesweeper, Solitaire, Spider and other games that are installed with the OS by default are removed a little differently, unlike games installed by users. Or rather, they are not deleted, but disabled (deactivated).
To remove built-in games, follow these steps sequentially:
1. Open “Start”, then “Control Panel”.
2. Click “Uninstall a program”.
3. In the “Programs and Features” section, select “Turn on or off...” from the vertical menu.
4. In the list of components, uncheck the box next to the “Games” object.
If you need to leave some games and disable others, uncheck them directly and leave the “Games” directory enabled.
5. Click OK. Wait a moment for the setting to take effect.
Enjoy your PC! And don’t store anything unnecessary in his memory!
