Today, almost all new software comes to your PC from one of three sources: a CD, your network, or the Internet.
In general, you can't use any of these programs without first installing them using a special program provided by the software company. Besides the obvious chore of transferring the software files to your hard drive, the installer also adds the new program's name to the Start→Programs menu, tells Windows about the kinds of files (filename extensions) it can open, transfers certain required files to special locations on your drive, and makes certain changes to the Registry (see page 405).
Tip
For instructions on adding or removing components of Windows 2000 Pro itself, see Section A.3.5.
Before you begin the installation process for any software, take the following safeguards:
Exit any open programs. (One quick way: Right-click the buttons on the Taskbar, one at a time, and choose Close from the shortcut menu.)
Temporarily disable your virus-scanning software, which may foul up the installation process.
The CD you received from the software company is probably a self-starter; it offers the AutoPlay feature, which means that as soon as you put the CD into the CD-ROM drive, the installer launches.
If Autoplay is working, a few seconds after you insert the CD into your drive, your cursor becomes an hourglass. A few seconds later, the welcome screen for your new software appears.
The installation process is usually a wizard, so you'll be asked to answer questions, choose options, and click Next at each window. Along the way, you may be asked to type in a serial number, which is included with the product.
If the last installer window has a Finish button, click it. The installation program transfers the software files to your hard drive, and the program's name appears on your Start→Programs menu.
If the installation routine doesn't begin automatically when you insert the CD, then you'll have to take matters into your own hands. One of two factors is at play:
There's no AutoPlay file. If the CD wasn't designed to launch an installer automatically when it's inserted, then you'll have to follow the instructions that came with the software.
You've got AutoPlay turned off. If the instructions imply that the CD should have Autoplay, you can manually launch the installation program. Open My Computer and double-click the icon for your CD-ROM drive. In the CD-ROM drive window, look for an icon called Setup.exe or Autorun.inf. Double-click the former; right-click the latter and choose Install from the shortcut menu.
If you find both files, it doesn't matter which method you use. The installation now gets underway.
As noted in Chapter 8, the Add/Remove Programs tool in the Control Panel is a master list of programs installed on your PC. You can also install new programs using its Add New button, like this:
Choose Start → Settings → Control Panel. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
The Add/Remove Programs dialog box appears.
Click the Add New Programs button.
Now the Browse window appears, so that you can choose the disk or downloaded installer.
Click the CD or Floppy button. Place the CD or floppy with the program in the appropriate drive, and then click Next.
The wizard will search for a file named Setup.exe (the almost universal name for installer programs). When it finds the file, you'll see a dialog box like the one in Figure 7-10.
Figure 7-10. If the program you're looking for isn't actually called Setup.exe, click the Browse button to search for the correct file. If you select a file that isn't actually an installer, the file will open, but no installation will be performed.
If you're installing a program you've downloaded, the wizard won't find the disk. Instead, it will offer you a Browse button, so that you can navigate to, and double-click, its Setup.exe program.
Click Finish.
The installer takes over. (The exact steps depend on the software in question.)
The typical user on a typical corporate network (if there is such a thing) almost never has the necessary permissions to install or uninstall programs. To ensure safety and security, most network administrators try to keep unauthorized applications off the company machines.
However, there may well be programs that the network administrator has "published" on the network that you can install onto your machine; she may also choose to push some programs onto your machine from her end—that is, to install them remotely. (If you try to delete a pushed program, it gets reinstalled automatically.)
Note
Publishing or pushing applications is entirely in the network administrator's control. She decides what features of the application are available, where you're allowed to install it, and so forth.
If your network administrator has published some programs, your Add/Remove Programs control panel offers a button called Add Programs from Your Network. Click it to look over, and choose to install, the published applications.
If there is no network administrator—that is, if you're on a peer-to-peer network (or a very informal client/server network)—you can set up a shared folder on one computer that can serve as an installation source for the programs you use, as shown in Figure 7-11. All of the other PCs on the network can access the installers via network. (See Chapter 13 for details on creating shared folders of this kind.)
Removing programs from your computer is simplicity itself—if the program complies with Microsoft's programming suggestions (in the form of the 32-bit Windows API standard) for installation. Programs that do comply are recorded in the Registry (see page 405) when installed, which means Windows can dependably remove them when you request it later. Applications that don't know about the 32-bit Windows API standard (including older applications, most shareware and freeware, and lots of smaller and less elaborate programs) don't bother registering, and may be more difficult to remove.
You shouldn't remove a program from your PC just by dragging it to the Recycle Bin. Doing so may leave behind Registry information, meaning that your Registry is no longer current, and may delete important DLLs (dynamic-link libraries—shared bits of software code) that other programs may require. (That's why you generally can't copy a program to a new location, either; instead, you must uninstall it and then reinstall it.)
Instead, use the Add/Remove Programs tool in the Control Panel to delete programs you no longer want, like this:
Click Start → Settings → Control Panel. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
The Add/Remove Programs window opens.
If the program is in the list of Currently Installed Programs, highlight it and click the Change/Remove button.
Windows asks you to confirm your decision.
Answer warnings as needed.
For example, you may be warned that one of the deleted program's files is also needed by other programs. In such cases, you're generally better off not deleting the file in question. Leaving it behind does no harm, but deleting it might render one of your other applications nonrunnable.
If your program isn't listed in Add/Remove Programs, you'll have to do your own surgery. If the program placed itself on your Start→Programs menu, choose the Uninstall option in a submenu there, if you see it. If you don't see an Uninstall command, you need to find the program's folder and delete it. Here are options to try:
If you have a shortcut to the program either on the desktop or on the Programs menu, you can use the technique shown in Figure 7-12 to hunt down the actual program folder.
Figure 7-12. Right-click a shortcut icon and select Properties. On the Shortcut tab of the Properties dialog box, click Find Target (A). The folder for the program opens (B). Click the Up one level icon (C); you'll be in the program's parent folder. You can delete the folder from there, just as you'd delete any folder.
Open Windows Explorer (Section 5.1.1), then My Computer. You may have to poke around to find the application's folder. Look for a folder with your program's name or the program's manufacturer's name. Before deleting the folder, look inside to be sure you have the right one. Not sure? Run the program from the folder.
For truly devious programs that seem to elude you despite all efforts, open the My Computer→C: drive→Program Files. Look for the program folder there.
Consider calling the software company to ask precisely which files are safe to delete.
Tip
Chapter 10 has information on locating and identifying remaining bits of programs you've deleted.