While the Windows 95/NT uninstall feature may seem nice to some people, this Control Panel applet has two main disadvantages:
It only works for true 32-bit Windows 95 / NT 4.0 applications.
It leaves many traces of uninstalled programs all over your computer.
Quarterdeck realized this and published CleanSweep Deluxe.
Installation
The installation process is fairly straightforward, as with all Windows 95 applications these days. At the end of instalaltion, you're prompted to decide whether or not CleanSweep should perform a scan. Choosing 'Yes' prolongs the installation considerably, but CleanSweep will operate much faster later on. After a few minutes and a reboot, installation is complete.
Possibilities
CleanSweep is not only an uninstall program but a full solution to keep your system in tip-top shape. CleanSweep can:
Eliminate orphan DLL's
Eliminate orphan registry entries
Eliminate duplicate files
Eliminate backup files
Eliminate unused ActiveX controls, Netscape plugins and browser cache content
Move installed programs to another hard drive with more available space
Backup installed programs
Operation
All operation is accomplished by three small resident programs that sit in your system tray:
SmartSweep/InternetSweep monitors installations for easy uninstallation.
Usage Monitor keeps watch over the programs you use and will recommend you to uninstall unused programs.
ActiveX Monitor monitors ActiveX control installation for easy uninstallation.
Effectiveness
To test CleanSweep's abilities, we installed and uninstalled the following programs using their supplied install/uninstall programs:
Corel Draw 7.0, (uses its own proprieraty method)
Visio Technical 5.0 (uses InstallShield 5.0)
Diskeeper 2.0 (uses InstallShield 3.0)
After each installation/uninstallation, we fired up CleanSweep to see what it could find; the results were both encouraging and discouraging. Not a single program's own uninstallation program did a complete job. CleanSweep, on the other hand, found all remains and dealt with them swiftly and efficiently.
Conclusion
CleanSweep Deluxe does what it's supposed to do very well. No Windows 95/NT user should be without a good uninstall program, and we recommend CleanSweep Deluxe as a very decent one indeed.
