# "free" software took over my computer
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 19, 2000, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989 "2000-08-19T21:35:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@cheezit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheezit)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2000, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/1 "2000-08-19T21:35:18Z")
I have no idea which place to put this so I’ll put it here since it is a fairly general question. If there are any tech type people here — HELP.
I recently downloaded and installed a free office type suite called 602Pro PC SUITE 2000. It has a word processor, a spreadsheet and a photo editor all included. It is a nice program, considering that it is free. However. It has “taken over” my pc. I tried to uninstall it both in add/remove programs and with Nortons. In both cases, it left a lot of files on my pc, which is where the problems lie. I can’t open any file that is/was associated with 602. I tried holding down the shift key and right clicking the object to change file associations. There was no such option. (also tried the control and alt keys, also no help)
My question is, how can I completely uninstall this program and get the correct file associations back for my documents, pictures, etc? If it wasn’t for this major problem, I would just leave the “loose ends” on the computer, since they probably wouldn’t cause much problem, but, I can’t. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2000, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/2 "2000-08-19T22:13:03Z")
What operating system? What kind of computer? A PC or a Mac?
Nortons? What do you mean by that? Nortons makes tons of programs…
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### Author:  [@cheezit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheezit)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2000, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/3 "2000-08-19T22:33:18Z")
I knew there was something I was leaving out. 😃
It is windows 98. It is an IBM Aptiva – PC. It is Nortons Utilities, which includes a program uninstaller, called Cleansweep.
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### Author:  [@tbea925](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbea925)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2000, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/4 "2000-08-19T22:41:15Z")
Not sure if Regclean (a utility available from Mickeysoft) would change the file associations, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to run it.
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### Author:  [@hardcore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardcore)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2000, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/5 "2000-08-19T22:58:46Z")
Open Windows Explorer. Select View, Folder Options, File Types. There you can set all of your file associations. It might be easiest for you to find your particular file type, highlight it, then select Remove. Once you close this dialog and try to open that type of file again, Windows will prompt you for the application to associate it with in the future.
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### Author:  [@DVous\_Means](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVous_Means)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2000, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/6 "2000-08-20T14:48:59Z")
I assume that you have already looked at the Add/Remove Software applet in the Control Panel, and ran the Uninstall option (if it existed).
You may need to delve into the Registry. In the \WINDOWS folder, there is a small file called REGEDIT.EXE, which you can use to hunt down and delete “keys” to various installed software components.
REGEDIT has a Find option which will hunt down matching links within the Registry. I usually use the name of the program for my first try, and the default file name extension of any data files it creates on my second effort (eg DOC, WPS, DXR etc). Once you are finished, then run RegClean if you have a copy.
To be absolutely safe, it would be wise to learn how to back up your Registry files before you start.
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2000, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/7 "2000-08-20T15:09:53Z")
Or you can boot to DOS…run “scanreg /restore”
To get back a registry before you put the program in…
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### Author:  [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2000, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/8 "2000-08-20T18:29:44Z")
Anybody else suspicious of this guy?
Look at the program name. 602Pro PC Suite 2000.
Let’s analyze.
602Pro, shortened, is 602P. 602P is, obviously, the E-mail tax bill.
PC refers to what we use E-mail on.
2000 is when they want this bill to be enacted.
And most frighteningly, we have Suite, which is what Congress will say when the money starts rooollin in from the new tax. “Suite!”
Be afraid.
–Tim
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2000, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/9 "2000-08-20T18:45:08Z")
Son, did you forget to take your pills? 😃
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### Author:  [@cheezit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheezit)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2000, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/10 "2000-08-20T21:09:16Z")
Homer:
If you would care to check it out for yourself, you can go to [http://www.software602.com](http://www.software602.com)
Right there in front of your eyes will be, in BIG RED LETTERS the word FREE. Kindly, in the future, please don’t accuse before you have the facts.
Yes, you should be afraid of me. I’m a disgruntled ex- postal employee. :D:D:D:D
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### Author:  [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2000, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/11 "2000-08-20T21:34:06Z")
-
-
- It sounds like it’s worth about as much as you paid for it.
-
-
- When you say that you can’t open any file that was/is associated with 602, I assume you mean files you made or edited with it can’t be opened and edited by other similar programs. It could very well be because they use a proprietary method just so that you need their software to work with any files that you originally created with their software; Word and Wordperfect don’t open everything. Sooner or later someone somewhere will figure out how to convert it to something Word or Wordperfect can use but in the mean time welcome to the “Intelligent Network” age. - MC
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2000, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/12 "2000-08-20T21:45:58Z")
It sounds to me more like the photo editor (for instance) appropriated the .jpg extension, and now he can’t re-assosciate jpegs with anything else.
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### Author:  [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2000, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/13 "2000-08-20T22:03:43Z")
Hey, cheezit.
WHOOOOOSH!
–Tim
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### Author:  [@cheezit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheezit)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2000, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/14 "2000-08-20T23:13:36Z")
What’s the matter, Homer? Don’t like being proven wrong?
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2000, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/15 "2000-08-21T04:04:51Z")
(it was a joke)
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### Author:  [@cheezit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheezit)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2000, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/16 "2000-08-21T13:24:05Z")
If, in fact, it was a joke,then I appologize. However the way I read “Anybody else suspicious of this guy?” plus the analogy that followed, sure sounded like I was being called a liar or something. I didn’t see anything funny about it. And then, after I showed the link where to find the “hoax” I get a WHOOOOSH! which I took to mean “go away troll”. I am not a troll or a sock puppet or whatever else.
Maybe I’m just overly sensitive about stuff like that, I don’t know.
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### Author:  [@Delta-9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delta-9)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2000, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/17 "2000-08-21T14:01:50Z")
Woosh is the sound something makes when it goes over your head 🙂
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### Author:  [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2000, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/18 "2000-08-21T17:06:46Z")
Yeah, cheezit, it was a joke. I thought I was being witty, myself, but perhaps I was wrong. No harm intended.
😃
–Tim
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### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2000, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/19 "2000-08-22T00:40:11Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by cheezit \*
> \*\*I tried holding down the shift key and right clicking the object to change file associations. There was no such option. (also tried the control and alt keys, also no help)
> \*\*
I tend to look for the least complicated solutions. I’ve had problems with this, too. In order to get the “Open with…” option, the file must be highlighted - then do the shift-right click. If you shift-right click on a nonhighlighted file, it won’t work. So left click on it once, then shift-right click.
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2000, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-software-took-over-my-computer/29989/20 "2000-08-22T01:10:38Z")
Hardcore told you how to change file associations in Windows. Just do it.