BOINC has messed up my computer so I want to get rid of it. I tried Control Panel on XP but got message "feature is on a network resource that is unavailable" -- I do not have a network. It mentions an installation package BOINC.msi - this is not on my computer (I did a search). I tried deleting the BOINC folder but it said that boinc.dll is write protected -it is not. Why is there no uninstall program like every other application?
Help would be appreciated

Denis

There is an uninstall program, but it can get corrupted by Windows. Just as any other application can get corrupted by Windows. The easiest fix is to do a repair installation of BOINC - with the same version that you had - and then immediately uninstall it through Add/Remove Programs.

But even then you're not in the clear. Please see this FAQ for all the other steps you have to do to get it completely off your system.

Sorry to see you go.

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There is an uninstall program, but it can get corrupted by Windows. Just as any other application can get corrupted by Windows. The easiest fix is to do a repair installation of BOINC - with the same version that you had - and then immediately uninstall it through Add/Remove Programs.

But even then you're not in the clear. Please see this FAQ for all the other steps you have to do to get it completely off your system.

Sorry to see you go.

I wouldn't be going if BOINC worked properly. The original Seti@home software worked perfectly, this doesn't.
I tried a reinstallation from a new download but got the same stuff about a (non-existant) network.
I have copied the uninstall process from the FAQ and it looks horrendous but I will give it a try though there is no way I will go into the registry to delete entries. This is not the best piece of software I have seen.

Anyway, thanks for your help.

I still can't uninstall BOINC. I followed the instructions in the FAQ - the first 2 instructions for the command prompt (XP Home) don't do anything. The last 3 do. But - I still get a message on booting up that boinctray.exe can't find boinc.dll.

There is a BOINC folder in Programs with exe files and a lot of other stuff plus something called locale with a lot of folders identified by letters. Can I just delete the folder?

This is the worst piece of software it has ever been my misfortune to put on my computer.

I have a sinking feeling I may have to do a clean reinstall of everything to get rid of this stuff.

Denis

Had you started with repair installing BOINC, then immediately uninstalling through Add/Remove Programs, you wouldn't have had a BOINC directory left over with executables in it. The uninstaller will delete all executables from that directory.

So yes, now you can delete the directory by hand, but since I missed out on a point of cleaning up the registry correctly, the start-up link to boinctray.exe is still HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run .. you will have to remove the boincmgr and boinctray keys there by hand. You're right, those weren't in the FAQ, that oversight is now fixed.

This is the worst piece of software...

As for the worst piece of software, I have seen worse. Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 for instance. I've been fighting with it since 8.15am this morning and it is still not completely off my system. I am trying to make clear to it that I really do not have a Program Manager and that I haven't had that since I left Windows 3.1 behind me. :-)

Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 = 250MB of crap for being able to read PDF files, while Foxit Pro can do it in 5MB.

I have a sinking feeling I may have to do a clean reinstall of everything to get rid of this stuff.

Sure, follow the defeatist way. Or just follow the instructions by the letter. The FAQ is now adapted with extra links to other FAQs, including the clean up of your initial error.

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