Roxio Burn

[Gloria E]

While checking Belarc Advisor I discovered Roxio Burn.exe. Version 1.0.0.0. Not knowing what the program was I checked it's .exe file and discovered that it was modifies on October 15,2009. I did a Google search and found the shareware version of Roxio Creator.

I think this was installed by Dell with my computer. I don't need Roxio Creator because I have Windows Media Player 12.0.7600.1667 and I can use this if I ever want to burn a CD or DVD.

Is it adviseable to uninstall Roxio, that is what I would like to do? I prefer to remove programs I'm not using or don't need. Or would you advise me to keep Roxio (update it) and don't use Media Player?

All advice will be appreciated and considered seriously,

Gloria W

[HansV]

If you never burn a CD or DVD, you can remove it, but I wouldn't delete the .exe manually. See if you can uninstall Roxio Burn from the Programs and Features control panel.

[Bigaldoc]

My answer is in two parts:

1) I removed Roxio (all) from my system years ago because it wasn't satisfactory, gave me problems running and was a system hog. So, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend AGAINST the product line, in your case meaning UNINSTALL it.

2) Secondly, I don't EVER use Media Player to burn, rip or copy CDs or DVDs. It too has problems with some and I just wasn't satisfied with it. So, I've been using Ashampoo's burning product for a few years now and have NEVER had the first problem with it. If you're eagle eyed about it, you can wait and watch for special pricing AND even sometimes a freebie of a one-level down product. That's the way I got started with it, on a special offer.

Hang in here for other opinions too, Gloria.

PS: Seeing what Hans just posted, I'd of course recommend you try Revo Uninstaller.

[Gloria E]

My answer is in two parts:

1) I removed Roxio (all) from my system years ago because it wasn't satisfactory, gave me problems running and was a system hog. So, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend AGAINST the product line, in your case meaning UNINSTALL it.

2) Secondly, I don't EVER use Media Player to burn, rip or copy CDs or DVDs. It too has problems with some and I just wasn't satisfied with it. So, I've been using Ashampoo's burning product for a few years now and have NEVER had the first problem with it. If you're eagle eyed about it, you can wait and watch for special pricing AND even sometimes a freebie of a one-level down product. That's the way I got started with it, on a special offer.

Hang in here for other opinions too, Gloria.

PS: Seeing what Hans just posted, I'd of course recommend you try Revo Uninstaller.

Al, Roxio Burn wasn't listed in programs and features nor in Revo. While in Revo I probably messed the program up. I choose Hunter Mode, Revo closed and now it won't run. What should I do about Revo Uninstaller Pro?

Disregard my question about fixing Revo. I restarted the computer and Revo Uninstaller Pro opened. I won't be selecting Hunter Mode again any time soon.

[Gloria E]

If you never burn a CD or DVD, you can remove it, but I wouldn't delete the .exe manually. See if you can uninstall Roxio Burn from the Programs and Features control panel.

Like I posted to Al, I'm forced to manually delete all files found on the computer because there's no other way to do it.

[HansV]

Deleting program files is generally not a good idea, because there will probably be references to them in the Windows registry.

[StuartR]

...I'm forced to manually delete all files found on the computer because there's no other way to do it.

Gloria,

You really aren't forced to do this. You can just ignore these files. That carries no risk and has no negative consequences.

[Bigaldoc]

If you never burn a CD or DVD, you can remove it, but I wouldn't delete the .exe manually. See if you can uninstall Roxio Burn from the Programs and Features control panel.

Like I posted to Al, I'm forced to manually delete all files found on the computer because there's no other way to do it.

Echoing Hans and Stuart, you should NEVER manually delete files pertaining to a program. That doesn't get the half of it and helps you not at all.

I don't have any idea why you didn't see Roxio's programs in Revo, and I've never used its hunter mode, so I'm at a loss there.

The only thing I can suggest at this point is to use Control Panel to try to REMOVE Revo and if successful, re-install it. Of course, this still doesn't explain WHY you don't see Roxio. Maybe it's bundled under some Dell installation. Don't really know.

[Gloria E]

Deleting program files is generally not a good idea, because there will probably be references to them in the Windows registry.

There was no other way Hans. I checked regedit for Roxio Burn and plain Roxio and no registry entries were found. That program's no longer on my computer.

[Gloria E]

If you never burn a CD or DVD, you can remove it, but I wouldn't delete the .exe manually. See if you can uninstall Roxio Burn from the Programs and Features control panel.

Like I posted to Al, I'm forced to manually delete all files found on the computer because there's no other way to do it.

Echoing Hans and Stuart, you should NEVER manually delete files pertaining to a program. That doesn't get the half of it and helps you not at all.

I don't have any idea why you didn't see Roxio's programs in Revo, and I've never used its hunter mode, so I'm at a loss there.

The only thing I can suggest at this point is to use Control Panel to try to REMOVE Revo and if successful, re-install it. Of course, this still doesn't explain WHY you don't see Roxio. Maybe it's bundled under some Dell installation. Don't really know.

I edited my last post to you explaining that Revo Uninstaller was fixed by my rebooting the computer, I don't know why you didn't see it.

I don't know why the Roxio program was no where to be found, I was left with no choice but to manually remove all the files/folders I found. Since it wasn't found in the registry either, I think I'm pretty safe.

[Gloria E]

...I'm forced to manually delete all files found on the computer because there's no other way to do it.

Gloria,

You really aren't forced to do this. You can just ignore these files. That carries no risk and has no negative consequences.

I see no possible negative issues by manually removing program files. If the files were in windows I'd be forced to agree with you. I'm what's known as a neat freak who can't abide having broken files, unused programs, etc on the computer. I guess in my computer lifetime I've removed at least 25 or30 programs and my computer ain't dead yet. Of course, they weren't removed by manually doing so, I'll wait and see if any files or folders are needed. They're all saved in the Recycle Bin.

[Argus]

It is part of Dell pre-installs; and it will probably be reinstalled if the PC is restored.

I see no possible negative issues by manually removing program files. If the files were in windows I'd be forced to agree with you. I'm what's known as a neat freak who can't abide having broken files, unused programs, etc on the computer.

I agree with Stuart et al; some software, quite a lot, tends to be tied to the OS, and then there can be problems. There could even be problems installing another program (I'm thinking about AV, firewalls, some CD and DVD software (there are those UpperFilters & LowerFilters entries that could make the CD/DVD not work at all) etc.) if there are old files and registry entries left. (That doesn’t mean everything has to be removed, we sometimes see some entries left post uninstall, but then it’s usually no harm leaving them behind; those writing the software tend to know, users usually not). If neatness is what you'd like to achieve, then it would be better to have complete software or no software, not something in between, where one thinks one has removed everything. So, if one "can't abide having broken files", as you say, then one should definitely try to avoid the manual route.

There was no other way Hans. I checked regedit for Roxio Burn and plain Roxio and no registry entries were found. That program's no longer on my computer.

Well, something was there, since you said in the OP that you'd checked its .exe file.
It may be difficult to do manually what is done automatically by a setup program. Say that there is software linked to the start-up, or for example the browser, to pick a commonly used program, and someone searches for "Roxio" in the registry when doing a manual cleaning, and a file used is called, for example, rx32stln.dll, and they are usually not in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software branch of the registry, then what? The OS or browser would then perhaps complain not finding the files, and the nagging can be quite persistent and annoying, not to mention if it malfunctions, a much worse situation than having an extra program installed.

It is an unattainable goal to remove every software not used, since many things come with the OS and support software; however, one can try to avoid installing some. I also like a tidy computer, I agree with that, and I try to achieve that by not buying computers with pre-installs and not installing every software out there. And still some of us, I think, keep more than one software that does more or less the same thing, though one may be better at some tasks, and the other doing something else, even if it isn't that common. I try to avoid that.

Roxio Burn wasn't listed in programs and features nor in Revo.

I don't use Revo Uninstaller, but I know that it's possible to remove the registry entries that populate the Programs and Features in the CP, i.e. the registry entries that instruct the OS how to uninstall or repair the software, and thus it could become impossible to use the Control Panel later to uninstall the software. I think uninstallers such as Revo would also have troubles finding an easy way to uninstall using these instructions, if they are not present in the registry, and would then have to use some forced uninstall mechanism. These entries can be removed with some different software or by manually deleting them in the registry. Usually something one would like to avoid... It’s for those rare cases when the software is uninstalled but still present in the CP applet. If these entries have been deleted, or the computer manufacturer didn’t create them, there is no easy way to uninstall, via the Control Panel; an alternative would be to investigate the install mechanism, searching the net, and then run the installer/uninstaller manually (if there is one).

There are often articles out there either at the computer manufacturers’ sites or the software sites, describing how to repair or reinstall some software, many times it can be used as instructions to uninstall, such as:
Dell-Installed Software for Home Users
Which in this case links to:
Roxio Customer Support
Where you can find, among other, these:
http://kb.roxio.com/search.aspx?URL=/co ... CR&PARAMS=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://rovicorp.force.com/PublicKB1/art ... lang=en_US" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But as I said above, CD/DVD software can be tricky to uninstall and install, one could be caught by this:
Your CD drive or DVD drive is missing or is not recognized by Windows or other programs (MSFT KB314060)

And this could happen even if using a setup program to uninstall the software.

The instructions from Roxio are more or less the same, no matter the OS. As for the MSFT KB, in some instructions for some older software Roxio did mention the UpperFilters and LowerFilters.

It's up to you, and you have already removed some files & folders and perhaps registry entries, but you never told us what you did find in the CP Add or Remove Programs (or similar). It's possible that the computer manufacturer didn’t create any entries for this software.

If one really wanted to remove something one should, IMO, put the time and effort trying to find out how it was installed, searching the sites for the computer brand etc. rather than hunting files and registry entries; i.e. putting more time trying to understand and less on the work. There is also software out there to help remove some pre-installed programs.