Uninstalling programming under Mac OS X is by and large a clear method – simply delete the program from the Applications organizer. Scarcely any merchants offer uninstallers on the Mac, and for the most part they’re a bit much. Most projects don’t run foundation segments or change system settings files (like the Registry on Windows), and leaving old inclinations and bolster files on the hard drive by and large doesn’t do much damage.
Be that as it may, on the off chance that you are attempting to expel an old or degenerate part, reinstall programming to change a serial number, or simply free up plate space, expelling all segments of the old application can be imperative. These incorporate the application itself, inclinations and bolster things, and infrequently shrouded files or part augmentations. Any individual who’s had issues introducing an Adobe CS application or expelling AntiVirus will appreciate how hard it can be to completely evacuate old programming.
Be default Mac OS X programming is put away in the Applications envelope on your hard drive. Most projects are single symbols (iTunes, Firefox), while others contain at least one envelopes brimming with things (Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office). You can likewise once in a while discover applications on the desktop, if dragged there amid establishment or moved from the Applications envelope.
Drag the program’s symbol or envelope to the Trash to start the uninstall procedure. In the event that you are not the client who initially introduced the product, or your are not an administrator client on your Macintosh, you should enter a manager’s name and watchword to proceed.
Note: the symbol for most projects is entirely bit of a fantasy. What you’re seeing on the hard drive is an application bundle, an organizer loaded with things including the executable program code and supporting files. At the point when a bundle is marked with the .app augmentation, it appears as a solitary, launchable symbol in the Finder. In case you’re interested whats inside, right-snap (or control-click) on the symbol and select Show Package Contents.
Restore system preferences and Application Support Files
There are two areas on your storage, both named Library, where programs store their inclinations and supporting files. The principal Library is at the best level of your hard drive, the second is inside your Home Folder. Expelling things from both these areas is important to totally uninstall programming.
Begin with the Top Level Library on your disk/Library. You are hoping to expel any files or organizers which contain the name of the program (Acrobat, Word) or the seller (Adobe, Microsoft) in their names. Inquiry the accompanying areas:
In these two areas you’re searching for non-Apple organizers brimming with things: Adobe, Microsoft, and so forth. Inside Preferences you may discover single files, organizers brimming with things – Adobe, Microsoft – alongside .plist archives generally beginning with com – com.Adobe.Acrobat.plist, com.microsoft.Word.plist
- /Library/LaunchAgents
- /Library/LaunchDaemons
- /Library/PreferencePanes
- /Library/StartupItems
Most programming does not utilize LaunchAgents, Preference Panes or Startup Items, but rather a few things do, especially things which control system conduct or keep foundation forms running
Next, expel any comparably named things you find inside the User Library inside your Home Folder ~/Library in a similar arrangement of organizers:
- ~/Library
- ~/Library/Application Support
- ~/Library/LaunchAgents
- ~/Library/Preferences
- ~/Library/PreferencePanes
- ~/Library/StartupItems
For most by far of applications that is all you have to expel. Discharge the Trash to finish the procedure. On the off chance that you get a message that a thing is “being used and can’t be deleted” reboot the Mac, at that point attempt once more.
Part Extensions and Hidden Files
On the off chance that you’ve deleted everything from the Applications and Library envelopes and a few remnants of old programming still remain, you might be managing a piece augmentation or shrouded file. These things won’t be evident to discover, doing a Google look about the parts for your particular programming circumstance is profoundly suggested.
Programming that utilizations foundation preparing – hostile to infection and security programs, printers, gadget match up programming – frequently introduce at least one part expansions. On the off chance that your old establishment of Symantec Utilities continues disclosing to you it’s outdated six years after you’ve deleted the program, odds are there’s as yet an old bit augmentation stacking up.
Cautioning: portion expansions are vital for rectify operation of your system. Try not to move or delete any things unless you can re-try changes made by booting from a moment Macintosh or drive and reestablishing changes made to the principal hard drive.
Piece augmentations are situated in/System/Library/Extensions and end with the expansion .kext. Again you are searching for things with the name of the program or merchant in the name. For instance, with old duplicates of troublesome Symantec programming you may discover SymEvent.kext and SymOSXKernelUtilities.kext hiding on your system.
Drag any likely things to the desktop initially to make a duplicate, at that point move the first to the waste. Try not to exhaust the waste yet – reboot and check whether the issue is settled. If not, restore the thing and attempt another.
Shrouded files are things whose name begins with a period (.) They don’t show in the Finder of course. Projects here and there utilize shrouded files for validation purposes, many are situated in your home organizer. You can utilize Terminal (inside Applications/Utilities) to list the substance of the registry being referred to and delete the culpable thing.
For instance, the accompanying arrangement of charges will explore to the home envelope (~), list all substance, at that point delete a concealed file named .parallels_settings:
%> compact disc ~
%> ls – al
%> sudo rm .parallels_settings
Utilizing sudo to do the erasure will expect you to enter an administrator secret word when incited.
During the time spent investigating poor application execution, the evacuation of inclination files is frequently a simple cure. In Mac OS X, inclination files are typically spared in the property list organize, which are recognized by their .plist addition. Since inclination files are reproduced by applications upon dispatch, the suggestion to expel inclination files is moderately innocuous; be that as it may, don’t confound these proposals to mean any plist might be deleted securely.
Not all plists are inclination files!
The property list organize is only a particular utilization of XML which stores a few sorts of data (strings, numbers, Boolean esteems, dates, and information exhibits), and is arranged with an identifier tag took after by an incentive for that identifier. Apple embraced this organization this for use in OS X to some degree as a trade for the missing asset forks that files used to have in the old Mac OS, and has extended its utilization to various zones of the working system.
While the property list is the default design for inclination files in OS X, the organization is additionally utilized for various other setting and setup files, incorporating asset administration in application packs and for holding application contentions for dispatch daemons. These files can’t be effectively supplanted if expelled.
For the most part, just the plist files that are in an “Inclinations” organizer are those that can be expelled without evacuating capacities to either the system or applications. Unless you know precisely what you are doing, others ought to be left where they are and overseen through utilities and summons that communicate with them.
In perusing through different gatherings, I’ve seen various proposals where individuals have been erasing system files to settle issues. A case of this will be this Apple Discussion string, where the prescribed fix for an issue was to evacuate one of the coreaudio daemon property records. While this has kept the issue, in doing as such, it additionally kept the sound subsystem from propelling appropriately, bringing about quieted applications that utilization the coreaudio innovations. Individuals have then attempted to restart their broken sound systems by running the “launchctl” director for the dispatch operators, not understanding that this utility requires the deleted property rundown to appropriately dispatch the daemon and restore sound capacity.
Rather than expelling the coreaudio dispatch daemon property list, the clients could have incapacitated it by utilizing the “launchctl” order “sudo launchctl stop com.apple.audio.coreaudiod”, or utilize comparative charges to empty the coreaudio plist for investigating. Shockingly, the regular proposal to simply evacuate a plist file appears to have imparted an idea that any plist file can be expelled. This is not the situation, and I firmly prescribe that individuals investigate the employments of a particular plist before altering it, particularly if the plist is not in an inclinations organizer.
Finder issues? Instructions to delete its inclinations
Tainted Finder inclinations may cause an assortment of issues, including the Finder slamming or stopping startlingly.
This FAQ gives a few strategies to erasing the Finder inclinations files:
- com.apple.finder.plist: the essential Finder inclinations.
- com.apple.sidebarlists.plist : the Finder Sidebar inclinations for those utilizing Mac OS X 10.3 Panther or later.
Delete Finder inclinations utilizing Finder
- Open a Finder window and explore to Home > Library > Preferences envelope.
- Waste the file com.apple.finder.plist
- On the off chance that you are utilizing Mac OS X 10.3 or later, additionally junk the Finder Sidebar inclinations file, com.apple.sidebarlists.plist
- Perform one of the accompanying assignments:
- Log out, at that point in once more.
- Relaunch the Finder by picking Force Quit from the Apple menu, choosing Finder, at that point tapping the Relaunch catch.
- Emty the Trash.