Unwanted software programs and faulty program installation files are a major cause of computer problems. At times, certain stubborn programs make their way onto your PC, and are difficult to get rid of because either they do not comprise a legitimate uninstall option or they are malicious in nature and no matter what procedure you perform to remove them, they stealthily install themselves again on the PC.

For instance, there is no official uninstaller available for DirectX 9, a technology that you need on your Windows XP PC to run the latest high-tech gaming applications. You may want to remove it, if there is some problem with the current installation and you want to remove and reinstall it to fix the error. Due to the absence of an official uninstaller, you may opt to use a third-party Windows uninstaller to uninstall DirectX 9. Or, you may open the registry editor, navigate to the registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\DirectX key and delete the DirectX key. After this, when you restart your PC, the original DirectX 8.1 that was shipped with your Windows XP will be restored on the system.

Using third-party installers also helps you in getting rid of many stubborn programs. These installers are developed in such a way that they scan your entire system for any file or registry entry related to the program you want to uninstall, and enable you to wipe it out completely when you uninstall.

Many software manufacturers, such as Adobe, Symantec, and McAfee have included uninstallers for their products on their websites. Therefore, to uninstall any of these products, it is recommended that you download their uninstallers and use them to ensure proper removal. For instance, if you want to remove the Adobe Flash Player plug-in, download Adobe uninstaller from the website and run it to ensure complete removal.

One of the most difficult programs to get rid of completely using Add or Remove Programs is spyware programs. These malicious programs add so many files and registry entries to your system that it is nearly impossible to get rid of them completely. To ensure complete removal of these programs, you either need to download and run special spyware removal tools or use a reliable and updated antispyware tool to detect and remove these programs from your system. For instance, to remove mirar toolbar, which is a common Internet Explorer spyware/adware toolbar, you either download a mirar removal tool or use your antispyware tool to run a full scan of your PC and remove all mirar files and registry entries from the system.

While removing difficult applications, it is important for you to ensure that all related registry entries are removed from the system. This is important, especially when you are trying to get rid of spyware and adware programs. These programs are known to add hidden and embedded entries in the registry. So, even if you remove the program by using Add or Remove Programs, spyware programs reinstall themselves with the help of these hidden and virtually non-removable registry entries. This makes it important for you to follow up all program uninstallation procedures including antivirus and antispyware scans, with a thorough registry scan, cleanup and repair. It is recommended that you use a reliable and advanced registry cleaner to perform this task and ensure yourself a clean error-free system.