Thread: Superfluous software

I have accumulated a lot of programs on my computer that 1 do not use. As I'm relatively new to computers, I don't know whether I should get rid of some to free up some space. The items I want to ask about are: Cyberlink Power DVD, NTL Broadband Medic, Xvid, HP Photo And Imaging Software, Intervideo Windvd 4, Interactual Player, Martin Saxon Systems Quickmix and Printmaster.

Roughly speaking, it's safe to get rid of most programs on your computer, as long as you do it the right way. That means using the' Add or Remove Programs' tool in the Control Panel.

Essentially this won't allow you to delete anything important - it's true you can delete things that will make components such as your printer stop working temporarily, but if that happens, you can reinstall them from the disc that came with the printer (or whatever the component was) or download a new version from the web.

From your list, Printmaster is a greetings card maker (among other things), so as long as you don't want to make any cards or posters, you can remove it. The same applies to the HP Photo and Imaging Software. Power DVD and Windvd do the same thing, so if you use one, you can remove the other (i f you don't watch DVDs, you can remove both).

Likewise, Xvid and ]nteractual Player are used for watching internet videos and can be removed if you don't watch those. NTL Broadband Medic appears to be outdated (NTL has changed its name to Virgin Media), so can be removed. Quickmix is a little trickier - it's a utility that allows you to switch between different audio inputs and outputs, and removing it might cause other things to stop working. You can always reinstall To uninstall them safely, open the Control Panel (click Start, then Control Panel, or Start, then Settings, then Control Panel). Double-click Add or Remove Programs and wait for the full list to load. Once it's loaded, scroll down to the program in question and click Change/Remove or Uninstall, and follow any prompts that appear.

Before uninstalling software that was installed on the computer by the manufacturer, check whether there are installation discs supplied in the box in case you ever want to install the software again. If no disc is supplied, it may not be possible to reinstall the software.