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Situation:
You tried unsuccessfully to uninstall WinFax or TalkWorks PRO from the Add/Remove Programs feature in the Windows Control Panel, so you want to know how to manually uninstall the product.

Solution:
To manually uninstall WinFax or TalkWorks PRO, you must:

• Back up existing data
• Remove the Microsoft macros
• Delete the WinFax printer
• Delete WinFax sections from the Win.ini file
• Delete registry keys
• Delete program and data files
• Delete temporary files

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Note: Occasionally, if a file, folder, or registry entry is in use when you attempt to remove it or change it, Windows does not allow the change. If this problem occurs, restart the computer into Safe mode to perform the removal or deletion. See the document How to start the computer in Safe mode.

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To back up existing data:

1. Exit all open programs.
2. Stop the WinFax or TalkWorks service if you are running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. If you do not know how to do this, read the document How to start or stop a service in Windows.
3. Open the Windows Explorer.
4. Locate the \Data folder. For a standard installation, the location is:
   
   C:\Program Files\Symantec\WinFax (for WinFax PRO 9.0x/10.x)
   C:\Program Files\Symantec\TalkWorks (for TalkWorks PRO 2.0x/3.0x)
   
5. Copy the \Data folder to a different location if you plan on reinstalling (for example, C:\Mybackup.)
6. Repeat for the \Cover folder (if you have any custom cover pages.) When copying these folders, make sure that the location is not within the Symantec folder.

To remove the Microsoft macros:
For removing the Microsoft macros, read the document How to remove the Word 2000 or Excel 2000 macros for WinFax PRO 10. To remove the WinFax PRO/TalkWorks PRO macros from Office 97, read the document How to remove the Print to WinFax and Mail Merge macros for Word 97 and Excel 97.


To delete the WinFax printer:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Printers.
2. Select the WinFax printer and press Delete.
3. Close the Printer window.

To delete WinFax sections from the Win.ini file:

1. Exit all open programs.
2. Stop the WinFax PRO or TalkWorks PRO service if you are running Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.
3. Open the Win.ini file in a text editor:
   1. Click Start, and click Run.
   2. Type win.ini and then click OK.
4. Edit Win.ini:
   1. Locate the [WinFax] section. The section appears similar to the following:
      
      [WinFax]
      UserName=Flavario
      CompanyName=Remove Corp.
      Version=9.0
      ExePath=C:\PROGRA~1\SYMANTEC\TALKWO~1\
      Fax Path=C:\PROGRA~1\SYMANTEC\TALKWO~1\DATA\
      Cover Path=C:\PROGRA~1\SYMANTEC\TALKWO~1\COVER\
      
   2. Remove the entire [WinFax] section, including the [WinFax] section header.
   3. Remove the [WFXPBLINKS] section, usually located directly below the [WinFax] section.
   4. Under the [PrinterPorts] section, remove WINFAX.
   5. Under the [Devices] section, remove WINFAX.
5. Save the Win.ini file, and close the text editor.

To delete registry keys:

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CAUTION: We strongly recommend that you back up the Windows registry before making any changes. Incorrect changes to the registry could result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Make sure you modify only the keys specified. Read the document How to back up the Windows registry before proceeding.

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1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type regedit and then click OK. The registry editor opens.
3. Navigate to each of the following registry keys, click the key, and then click Delete. If a key does not exist, then skip that key.
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Delrina
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Delrina
   HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Delrina (exists only in Windows XP)
   
4. Find and delete the winfax entries:
   1. Select the "My Computer" entry at the top of the Registry Editor.
   2. Click the Edit menu, and click Find.
   3. Type winfax in the Find What field.
   4. Uncheck Values and Data.
   5. Click Find Next. This will search through the registry for any keys that contain the word winfax.
   6. Delete the resulting entry.
   7. Press F3 to continue the search.
   8. You will see a message, "Finished Searching the Registry," when the search is completed.
5. Repeat step 4 for the word talkwork if you are manually uninstalling TalkWorks PRO.
6. Close the Registry Editor, and restart Windows.

To delete program and data files:
If you installed WinFax from a CD, then use the "For CD installations" procedure. If you installed WinFax after you downloaded WinFax from the Web, then use the "For Web installations" procedure.

The following instructions assume that all entries exist. If you do not find a particular file or folder, skip that file or folder and continue with the next entry.

Occasionally, if a file or folder is in use when you attempt to remove it or change it, Windows does not allow the change. If this problem occurs, restart the computer into Safe mode to perform the removal or deletion. Read the document How to start the computer in Safe mode.

For CD installations

1. Delete the \Winfax folder (for WinFax PRO) or the \Talkworks folder (for TalkWorks PRO.)
2. If no other Symantec products are installed, then delete the \Symantec\Common folder.
3. Find and delete the WinFax files:
   1. Click Start, point to Find (or Search), and click Files or Folders.
   2. From the Look In drop-down list, select the drive onto which you installed WinFax PRO/TalkWorks PRO.
   3. Check Include subfolders (if not already checked.)
   4. In the Named (or Search for...) field, type: wfx*.* and click Find (Search) Now. Windows displays all files that match the search criteria.
   5. Click Edit, and then click Select All.
   6. Press Delete. All files are removed to the Recycle Bin.
4. Repeat steps 3.b through 3.f for the following files:
   winfax*.*
   talkwork*.* (Only if manually uninstalling TalkWorks PRO)

For Web installations

1. Delete the \Winfax folder (for WinFax PRO) or the \Talkworks folder (for TalkWorks PRO.) Do not delete the Vbox\Winfax or the Vbox\Talkworks folder located in the Windows folder.
2. If no other Symantec products are installed, then delete the \Symantec\Common folder.
3. Find and delete the WinFax files:
   1. Click Start, point to Find, and click Files or Folders. The Find dialog box appears.
   2. From the Look In drop-down list, select the drive onto which you installed WinFax PRO/TalkWorks PRO.
   3. Check Include subfolders (if not already checked.)
   4. In the Named field, type wfx*.* and click Find (Search) Now. Windows displays all files matching the search criteria.
   5. Click Edit, and click Select All.
   6. Deselect files found in the VBOX folder by holding down the CTRL key while selecting the file.
   7. Press Delete. All files are removed to the Recycle Bin.
4. Repeat steps 2.b through 2.g for the following files:
   winfax*.*
   talkwork*.* (Only if manually uninstalling TalkWorks PRO)

To delete temporary files:

1. Restart the computer in Normal mode.
2. Find all *.tmp files:
   1. Click Start, point to Find (or Search) and click Files or Folders.
   2. Make sure that your hard drive is selected in the Look In box
   3. In the Named (or Search for...) box, type *.tmp and then click Find Now or Search Now. Windows finds and display all files that match the search criteria.
3. Delete the *.tmp files.
   1. Click Edit.
   2. Click Select All. In most cases, you can safely delete all *.tmp files. If you are not sure whether you want to delete all the *.tmp files, deselect each file that you want to keep or that you are unsure about.
   3. Click Delete. If prompted to confirm the deletions, click OK.
4. Close the Find dialog box.
5. Delete files and folders in the Windows Temp folder:
   1. Click Start, and then click Run.
   2. Type %temp%
      You see a Windows Explorer window that displays the contents of the Temp folder.
   3. Copy any files and folders that you want to keep to a different folder.
   4. Click the Temp folder, click Edit and then click Select All.
   5. Click File, and then click Delete.
6. Restart the computer.

Technical Information:
For instructions on reinstalling WinFax, consult the WinFax PRO 10.02 User's Guide.

For instructions on importing your data, consult the User's Guide or read the document How to import logs and message stores into WinFax PRO 10.

 

Document ID: 1998102114161204
Last Modified: 02/16/2006
Date Created: 10/21/1998
Operating System(s): Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP
Product(s): WinFax PRO 10.0, WinFax PRO 9.0

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