Uninstall Adobe Reader completely - how it works
If you no longer want to use Adobe Reader, you can safely uninstall it completely. In this practical tip, we will show you how to do this.
Uninstall Adobe Reader - Here's how
You can uninstall Adobe Reader just like any other Windows program:
- Open the Windows Control Panel and select the "Programs and Features" item.
- Search for the entry of the Adobe Reader in the list of installed applications and select it with a double click. The entry is called a little different depending on the installed version.
- Confirm that you actually want to remove the software. Then Adobe Reader is uninstalled.
Adobe Reader: Complete incorrect uninstallation and remove remaining files
It may happen that you cannot remove Adobe Reader completely or not at all. For these cases, the developer Adobe provides a small tool with which you can correct incorrect deinstallations. To ensure that no file remnants really remain on your PC, you should run the program even if the uninstallation worked.
- Download the free tool "Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner". There are two versions on the website: one for Adobe Reader 9.x and one for Adobe Reader from version 10.x.
- Unzip the ZIP file and start the program. Then follow the instructions in the uninstallation wizard. Make sure to select "Reader" as the product to be removed.
- If the tool does not find an installation of Adobe Reader on the system, the standard installation directory is automatically cleaned. However, you can also specify any other directory - for example if you had saved the Adobe tool elsewhere.
- Finally, restart your system so that all data residues have really disappeared.
A good alternative to Adobe Reader is the also free Foxit Reader, which does not have to hide from the competition in our PDF reader comparison.