Need help to COMPLETELY uninstall HP drivers & software fm pc running Win 7

[Doctarap]

I am having difficulty with completely removing and uninstalling the HP drivers and software from my Dell Inspiron 830. I am running Windows 7.

I have attempted a number of times use the uninstall feature under programs and applications in Windows.  This seemed to remove the applications from the list, but HP Update dated 7/7/10 2.97mb in size version 5.002.006.003 will not remove.  In addition, my system keeps attempting to load SmartWebPrinting at various intervals.

I have downloaded and ran the uninstall utility (running it the 4 times as indicated) but still have the same problems. 

Please let me know what specific steps I may take to completely remove this software from my machine, including the registry entries, startup services, and/or whatever else I need to do to get it OFF MY SYSTEM!!!  Thank you.

[aemayers]

How come no one has answered this question?  I have the same problem, and undoubtedly others do.  Even if one tries to uninstall from the control panel, some programs, including hp, resist uninstallation.  HELP!

[kerz101 · Accepted solution]

1) Click the Start Menu:

Open a command prompt or select Run (Vista and Win7 user, run the command prompt as administrator

Type:   net stop spooler <hit enter>

Type:   net start spooler <hit enter >
Type:   exit  <hit enter >

2) Open Windows Explorer and navigate to:

%systemroot%\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86

NOTE: %systemroot% is usually C:\Windows, but it might be "winnt" or something else; this is set when the OS is installed.  Most systems are like this  C:\Windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86

3) Inside the w32x86 folder there will be other folders and files.  Delete everything inside but DO NOT delete the w32x86 folder.

4) Restert the computer 

Source found here

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-All-in-One-Software-and/Unable-to-install-HP8500-drivers/m-p/25...

[TomG77]

Thanks so much! I believe this last procedure was the one necessary to completely fix some very annoying, hard to cure issues. One of them was the "Devices and Printers" dialog showing up empty, loading for a long time; also, I had some system scan software that would hang in the same place every time, requiring task mgr to close. I think some Windows Update errors were also to blame. I hope that others find this helpful.

Now for the "shame on HP" message- I had an Officejet 6500, e709n and the software was never ready for Windows 7- no drivers, updates, hotfixes, or anything else would ever do the job. Thank goodness for the Staples printer recycle program, I was able to get a great deal on a fine all-in-one from another maker. Sorry it had to end this way, but it's for the best.

[TomG77]

One more thing I should note- the fix could be amended to include 64 bit Win 7. I had nothing in the w32x86 folder, but cleaning out the x64 folder did the trick. Thanks again.

[1-User-of-Many]

Looks like HP is unable to make a uninstall software that works.

I have been fighting ten hours for reinstalling Descjet F735's software that stopped working, it shows a blue-grey window instead of showing scan-button and others as it should.

I cannot reinstall because it is impossible to unistall. It is all the time saying that it is already installed. I removed the files as instructed here but that did not help. Unistall with their software, restart computer etc. many times, but no, it will not be uninstalled.

HP calls their products "smart" - I recommend them immediately to remove that word from their products. It is a big lie.

It should be cheaper for me to put that printer in carbage can and buy an other, not HP.

At the 90's i made some times hard work to locate and remove viruses manually. That was piece of cake compared with HP producs uninstallation.

I very simply don't understand how come thei are not able to make working uninstall. It is easier to reinstall Windows and everything than to reinstall HP printer's software.

I highly recommend everyone to skip installing anything of HP. It is easy to install, but they don't want let you to get rid of it ever.

Otherwise HP's scanner software is very slow and also difficult if you want to decide yourself how to scan.

Don't know if anyone reads this, but if someone knows how to uninstall for real the HP software, I should be happy. I do not see any point in asking HP because they are not able to do a software for that purpose and most stupid of all is that their installation cannot reinstall to repair the installed version that is corrupt.

[dgifford]

Revo uninstaller will remove everything but you have to start with it first. When using Revo if the hp uninstall ask you to reboot Don't. If you did not start to remove with Revo, reinstall the hp program and then start over with Revo uninstaller.
This will clean it out program by program.

This Works like a champ

[CarrieBe123]

I was going to reply with "use Revo Uninstaller" myself. Let me add....if they start without using Revo and they are stil showing an icon on their desktop, using Revo's Hunter mode may unnstall the remnants. There is also a good way to clean up the remnants left over by a botched install in both the registry and files if the install disk or program is not available. Revo has a junk file cleaner which might clean up the files on the drive.. CCleaner is an excellent program to clean up the garbage left over by a botched uninstall. Both Revo and CCleaner are available on the majorgeeks.com download portion of their site, for free. There are also pro versions of these programs for a fee.

Personally I have not bothered to use the Windows Add/Remove Programs feature for many, many years. It's useless to me as even a so called problemless uninstall leaves a ton of garbage/clutter, especially in the registry, which slows down your computer to the point of being quite noticable after a period of time. I'm a certified PC technician and while working the help desk I would run across so many people who were certain they had malware on their PC and usually that wasn't the case; it was just registry and junk file clutter. 

One Caveat; unless you are an expert at editing your registry I would not attempt to manually edit, Messing up the registry could render your computer inoperable to the point of having to reinstall the OS. Use Revo. It's safe and they still have a free version available.

Good luck everyone. While the HP tech who posted instructions about deleting this or that manually was trying to be helpful, I'd never recommend manual deletions, etc...especially with your registry. Let Revo and CCleaner do it for you.

[stupidprinter42]

here is what i am trying to do:

COMPLETELY uninstall HP drivers & software fm pc running Win 7

at the command prompt (DOS) screen, I 

Type:   net stop spooler <hit enter>        

but  an error message "Access Denied, run as administrator"  -- how do I do this?  It is my computer.....

thanks.

[Alypios]

Before you run command prompt you need to right click it and click "Run as Administrator".  This will allow you to run the net stop and net start command.