How Do You Uninstall iTunes?
When to Uninstall
Apple iTunes is a very popular media player that can play music and videos. iTunes is especially popular for users who also own other Apple products, such as an iPod, iTouch or the iPad. iTunes allows for users to sync their Apple devices with their music, or even their videos with the use of QuickTime.
With a host of features to give users a rich interface and usability factor, why then would someone want to uninstall the software? There are many reasons to uninstall a program. Perhaps the user needs to make room on the hard drive, or the program may be suffering from problems that only an uninstall and reinstall will fix it. Maybe there is a compatibility issue.
So how do you uninstall iTunes?
Your iTunes Removal Options
There are a couple of different ways to uninstall iTunes from a Windows based computer. The first way, and probably the most recommended, is to go through the system’s Control Panel and then remove it with Add/Remove Programs (if running Windows XP) or Uninstall a Program (if running Windows Vista or Windows 7). This method will automatically bring up the iTunes uninstaller, which walks the user through uninstalling the components of both iTunes and QuickTime.
Sometimes this method does not work, as the program components, such as QuickTime, BonJour or some of the other Apple services may still be installed. To remove these, just go back within Add/Remove Programs and uninstall each of these programs. While this method is the preferred way to uninstall iTunes, there is another possibly more effective way, and that is with the use of third party applications.
Revo Uninstaller is a popular uninstaller program that can be used to uninstall all parts of a program, including the files within the registry. It is a free download, though there is an option to upgrade to the paid version that has more features. When Revo is first opened, it will show a list of all of the programs that are currently installed, much like the built-in Control Panel, and it has several levels for uninstalling a program.
To use Revo to uninstall iTunes, open Revo and then select iTunes from the list of applications. You will be asked which level you would like to use (from quick all the way up to high). Selecting the moderate level should be enough for uninstalling iTunes completely. The uninstall will take a few minutes and will then lead to a screen where you can remove components from the registry. Make sure to only delete those files that are highlighted (Revo will put these in bold for you).
This will uninstall iTunes, though there may be some components that will only be removed upon the restart of your computer. If you would like to restart as soon as Revo finishes, do so. If you are in the middle of something, finish your task and then restart or turn off your computer when done.
References
Image content from iTunes
