Ashampoo Strikes with a Free Uninstaller

excellent
key review info
application features
  • Automatically recognizes a retrieved SETUP.EXE or INSTALL.EXE program and records the following installation
  • (5 more, see all...)

Each day, most users strive to keep their computers healthy for a little while longer. Nobody likes reinstalling the operating system and using system drive images is not a great solution when you think of the cohort of applications you have to install because you never took the time to update the image. Not to mention the operating system updates that have to take place in order to bring your computer to a good state.

In my case, something is lost every time I engage into installing a system drive image and it takes a while for me to remember what it was. Luckily, there are ways to reduce the number of OS installations per year. One way to avoid this is to use Vista. I am still surprised at how well it hangs given the amount of applications installed and uninstalled without taking any precautions.

Other methods involve the use of the now classic registry cleaners (remember that they do a good job, but cannot take all invalid entries out), defragmentation of both disk files and the registry, anti-malware protection, junk files cleaning etc. All these methods will not guarantee the "immortality" of the operating system, but will definitely prolong its life.

Sure, you will have to pay attention to what you are installing on your computer in order to maintain it in good shape. However, there is another way to keep the PC up and running, and that is by using a software uninstaller. There is a myriad of them on the Internet and there are even some free pieces and extremely good ones.

Their purpose is to make uninstallation of a software a lot cleaner. Everybody knows that when an application is removed from the Windows environment, it will most definitely leave some traces behind. These traces are not always unimportant and they generally affect the state of the system, one way or the other.

German software developer and publisher Ashampoo is well known for the quickness of providing upgrades to their softwares, and those that are registered for their newsletter know all about the most precious offers they make?they pour their delicious offers like there was no tomorrow.

After the platinum edition of their uninstaller, they have released a free edition as well. Ashampoo Magical Uninstall is nothing but an abridged version of the paid Platinum edition. But the good thing is that it is free and does a pretty good job.

There is no interface available, and all the commands and options are sheltered in the tray icon's context menu. In fact, as you test the application, you will notice that there aren't too many of those, either. Unlike regular uninstallers, which remove an application by starting the "uninstall" executable and then performing a registry hunt for leftover registry entries, Ashampoo Magical UnInstall's principle is healthier.

The application will monitor your system for launching "install.exe" and "setup.exe" files and will intervene in the process by taking a snapshot of state before and after the installation of the respective software. The images record the entire status of the system, including registry entries, file locations, and all the content of configuration files.

When it comes to uninstalling it, Ashampoo Magical UnInstall will compare the "before" and "after" system images and remove all the items belonging to that software. This way, uninstallation of applications is 100% complete. There will no longer be leftovers to hinder your computer's performance.

The application should intervene each time you start installing an application (save when installation file is a MSI). However, there are several exceptions when the monitor window will not pop up. That is why it is recommended to use Magical UnInstall to perform software installation as well. It is not a complicated job and all you have to do is access system tray icon's context menu. The additional effort you have to input consists in browsing for the location of the installer on your computer. After that, Magical UnInstall will take care of things by taking the before and after installation system snapshots.

Uninstalling a software requires less effort, since all you have to do is select the desired program from a list. What happens next is that Ashampoo Magical UnInstall will automatically compare the two snapshots and eliminate all the modifications made by the application. This results in a 100% clean removal of the software and the performance of your computer is not affected in any way.

More than a simple installer and uninstaller, Ashampoo Magical UnInstall can also re-install an application it uninstalled. That is if you preserve the right files (you will be asked at one moment during the uninstall process if you want to create re-install files for later use). This is most unusual, but it can come in handy at certain moments. The great thing is that the process is quite fast and absolutely painless.

All the files created by Ashampoo uninstaller are deposited in Program Data folder, out of your way because this directory is hidden and generally few users attempt tampering with it. The downside is that when removing an application, all the files to be eliminated are dumped into Recycle Bin. This could be as a safety measure for cases when you create a file or folder while Magical UnInstall is taking a system snapshot; but since the process is automatic, I can't see the purpose in sending unneeded data to the Recycle Bin.

Configuring the program is not a tough job and Preferences menu will permit you to activate the monitor, create a list of installers to be ignored by the software (applications you want to install manually) and modify the list of setup files to be detected by the monitor (by default the list is composed of "Install" and "Setup"). Also, if you want the files for re-installing removed applications to be saved in a different location than the default one (Program Data folder), you can change the path from Preferences menu.

Magical UnInstall is easy to handle and, if installed in XP SP2 compatibility mode, it also works on Windows Vista. The best part is that system snapshot taking is completely automatic. But, you have to sit tight and wait for this process to finish. The only compromise you are going to make when using this software is that installing an application will take much longer.

The Good

Magical UnInstall from Ashampoo is absolutely free and does a great job with uninstalling softwares from your computer. The best part is that you can re-install previously removed applications in no time if the proper files have been created.

System snapshots is done automatically, both before installing a software and after installation is complete.

The Bad

Snapshot taking does take a while, but this happens with all applications using this principle for uninstallation.

Not all installers are picked up by Magical UnInstall and if you want a clean computer, you have to use it for both software installation and uninstallation.

For the best computer performance you have to install Magical UnInstall immediately after Windows has been setup.

The Truth

Simplicity, ease of use and smart uninstallation of software. This is what Magical UnInstall from Ashampoo has to offer.

Although there may be some glitches here and there, the application will completely uninstall all the applications you feed it. All I wish for is an option that would allow the user to cleanly uninstall the applications that are already on the system.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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user interface 3
features 4
ease of use 5
pricing / value 5


final rating 5
Editor's review
excellent
 
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