jv16 PT 2007 should be rolled back to 2006 version

marah_marie

Re the "final version" of jv16 PowerTools 2007, v1.7.0.339 (note: added a screen shot below and fixed errors in this post):

This program undoes all the good achieved with the 2006 version. It's slower to load (the "initalizing/testing" window is a waste of time), slower to use, the new pretty interface contains links that barely work (very slowly, only after repeated clicking after initializing), each Tool works much slower than it did in the past, and the Software Manager is severely flawed.

It cannot detect the AOL Uninstaller, which is the only way to remove new versions of AOL correctly. Since I write tutorials about how to remove AOL, I have to show people how to do it correctly, but with the 2007 version, I can't. However I have a tutorial for removing AOL with the 2006 version, and it works flawlessly on almost all versions of AOL (click my signature link below to see that).

The only thing jv16 2007 Software Manager finds on AOL versions 9.0 VR and 9.1 Beta is an entry called "America Online.' It cannot find the "AOL Uninstaller" and it MUST be found to remove AOL properly.

If you click the entry for "America Online," all the Software Manager does is remove a "file" for AOL. It does not run the AOL Uninstaller, nor does it remove any significant portion of the AOL program or ask you to restart the computer (all normal steps with a typical AOL uninstall).

If you check Control Panel after removing the "America Online" entry, you can see that the AOL Uninstaller is no longer listed there (so now AOL must be removed manually!), and checking Program Files and Common files on the C:\ drive shows AOL is still installed.

You can then click the AOL Icon in the Start List, on the Desktop, or in the Taskbar after removing the "America Online" entry, and AOL will start right up and run normally; whatever it removes, it's nothing crucial to AOL's performance.

So I can't write a new tutorial for removing AOL with jv16 2007 to wow my visitors with until there are some improvements. To sum up:

1) The new jv16 2007 version cannot even find the "AOL Uninstaller"

2) Removing the one entry for AOL in the Software Manager, labeled "America Online," does NOT remove AOL

3) The 2007 interface is slower and clunkier on both XP and Vista

4) Every Tool used by the jv16 2007 version is slower than it's 2006 predecessor

5) jv16 PowerTools (any version) can't remove AOL from Vista at all

Thanks for your time.

marah_marie

Maybe a screen shot of exactly what happens with jv16 2007 in XP when I try to remove AOL 9.0 VR/9.1 Beta would help.

I removed AOL Fast Start from Startup List entries before I tried to remove AOL with the Software Manager. jv16 2007 then returned the message Error: ....Access is denied."

Software Manager only lists an "America Online" entry. jv16 2006 showed an "AOL Uninstaller" entry as well. (Only the AOL Uninstaller removes AOL correctly.)

These versions of AOL are not missing the AOL Uninstaller; it's listed in Control Panel/Add & Remove Programs before I use jv16 2007 to try to remove AOL.

~~Shot at 2007-07-21~~

jv16

Could you use PT 2006 > Software Manager > Custom Uninstall to list what data it founds from "AOL Uninstaller" and post it here? That way I could see why PT 2007 doesn't list it.

The startup time of PT 2007 will be improved with the next update but it migth still be a bit slower than the one of PT 2006. But PT 2007 is a free update, if you don't like, you can just continue to use PT 2006.

marah_marie

jv16 wrote
Could you use PT 2006 > Software Manager > Custom Uninstall to list what data it founds from "AOL Uninstaller" and post it here? That way I could see why PT 2007 doesn't list it.

The startup time of PT 2007 will be improved with the next update but it migth still be a bit slower than the one of PT 2006. But PT 2007 is a free update, if you don't like, you can just continue to use PT 2006.

Sorry I took so long to reply. I watched the board on and off for a day or two and thought no one would reply to me so I gave up. I would be glad to help any way I can. Sorry if my first comment was a bit harsh (I think it was, looking it over now) but I really loved PT 2006 so much. Right now I have 2007 installed, not 2006, but I'll re-install 2006 in a minute and get you those results.

Also, I have learned that if you disable the drop-down dialog box, PT 2007 runs a LOT faster.

I also noticed when I uninstalled 7-Zip and Folder Lock tonight, that PT 2007 tries to uninstall C:\Program Files as well, then gives this error message: "Error! Failed to remove C:/Program Files!" Thank God it failed to. It made me laugh. I can do a screen cap of the error dialog if you need it.

<del>I have a question: I know one of the main improvements of the 2007 engine was removal of reg entries along with associated programs. Did you keep that feature for the final version? I'm not noticing it now, though I did when I was using the betas. </del>

I should have the answer to your question up within the next hour or so...

marah_marie

jv16 wrote
Could you use PT 2006 > Software Manager > Custom Uninstall to list what data it founds from "AOL Uninstaller" and post it here? That way I could see why PT 2007 doesn't list it.

I reinstalled PT 2006 and ran the Custom Installer on AOL's 9.1 Beta, but the problem is, AOL requires a restart to finish removing files and folders, so it can't write the data you requested to PT's log. AOL shuts the computer down before the data can be written, and upon restart, the listing for "America Online" (in this case, that is the AOL Uninstaller) is still there, but if you click "Custom Uninstall" again, it then tells me (as it should) that the install log or uninstaller (I can't remember which) can't be found.

I could re-install AOL and compare files before and after the removal myself, but I don't know how else to get the data you asked for.