How do I remove all traces of Calibre from my system?

alexo · 08-21-2020, 03:29 PM

"calibre-debug --default-programs unregister" still leaves tons of crud in my registry. How do I remove all of it without spending hours spelunking through the registry?

hobnail · 08-21-2020, 04:34 PM

Open a DOS box and do format c:

Obviously that's sarcasm but seriously, the Windows registry is hopeless for keeping tidy. There are probably freeware programs (or paid ones) that clean the registry of crud; hopefully they don't break things.

This is why back in the old days of Windows 95 and Windows NT that I would wipe the disk and reinstall Windows once a year. These days I just don't look and ignore it. As long as those registry entries aren't causing any problems you should learn to ignore them.

ownedbycats · 08-21-2020, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobnail

Obviously that's sarcasm but seriously, the Windows registry is hopeless for keeping tidy. There are probably freeware programs (or paid ones) that clean the registry of crud; hopefully they don't break things..

I wouldn't count on that. I have a firsthand horror story of one of those things rendering a Windows machine unbootable.

In general, the registry doesn't really need to be cleaned out unless it's causing specific issues.

kovidgoyal · 08-21-2020, 10:29 PM

The only data calibre stores in the registry is removed by unregister. The rest is put their by various windows services, principally the windows isntaller service.

alexo · 08-22-2020, 01:33 AM

It created entries for numerous file types that stayed behind after unregister and uninstall.

Steps:
1. Install Calibre
2. Uninstall Calibre
3. Realize that suddenly files don't open like they used to, search the net for solutions (this step is optional).
4. Reinstall Calibre (just to do the next step)
5. Run "calibre-debug --default-programs unregister"
6. Uninstall Calibre
7. File-type entries are still there

kovidgoyal · 08-22-2020, 02:11 AM

No, it didnt. It does not register itself for ANY filetypes. All it does is register itself as CAPABLE of handling filetypes.

alexo · 08-31-2020, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

No, it didnt. It does not register itself for ANY filetypes. All it does is register itself as CAPABLE of handling filetypes.

Fair enough.

Is it still CAPABLE of handling filetypes after it has been uninstalled?
If not, why do these registry entries remain?

kovidgoyal · 08-31-2020, 11:02 PM

Running deregister removes all registry entries calibre creates. Any left over ones are created by windows not calibre. And deregister is not run on uninstall because uninstall runs with admin privileges and registering/deregistering has to run with user privileges. Go ask Microsoft why they mae the boneheaded decision.

08-21-2020, 03:29 PM	#1
alexo Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Canada Device: none	How do I remove all traces of Calibre from my system? "calibre-debug --default-programs unregister" still leaves tons of crud in my registry. How do I remove all of it without spending hours spelunking through the registry?

08-21-2020, 04:34 PM	#2
hobnail Running with scissors Posts: 1,586 Karma: 14328510 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: none	Open a DOS box and do format c: Obviously that's sarcasm but seriously, the Windows registry is hopeless for keeping tidy. There are probably freeware programs (or paid ones) that clean the registry of crud; hopefully they don't break things. This is why back in the old days of Windows 95 and Windows NT that I would wipe the disk and reinstall Windows once a year. These days I just don't look and ignore it. As long as those registry entries aren't causing any problems you should learn to ignore them. Last edited by hobnail; 08-21-2020 at 04:38 PM.

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08-21-2020, 10:29 PM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,345 Karma: 27182818 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	The only data calibre stores in the registry is removed by unregister. The rest is put their by various windows services, principally the windows isntaller service.

08-22-2020, 01:33 AM	#5
alexo Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Canada Device: none	It created entries for numerous file types that stayed behind after unregister and uninstall. Steps: 1. Install Calibre 2. Uninstall Calibre 3. Realize that suddenly files don't open like they used to, search the net for solutions (this step is optional). 4. Reinstall Calibre (just to do the next step) 5. Run "calibre-debug --default-programs unregister" 6. Uninstall Calibre 7. File-type entries are still there

08-22-2020, 02:11 AM	#6
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,345 Karma: 27182818 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	No, it didnt. It does not register itself for ANY filetypes. All it does is register itself as CAPABLE of handling filetypes.

08-31-2020, 11:02 PM	#8
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,345 Karma: 27182818 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Running deregister removes all registry entries calibre creates. Any left over ones are created by windows not calibre. And deregister is not run on uninstall because uninstall runs with admin privileges and registering/deregistering has to run with user privileges. Go ask Microsoft why they mae the boneheaded decision.

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