Most often required due to the need to manually update the client if it cannot be done in automatic mode. But there are other reasons why it may be required. The easiest way is to uninstall Skype regular means Windows, but this is not always possible; in this case, third-party programs come to the rescue.
Established funds
The Windows system allows you to remove any application if no complications arise in the process. To uninstall Skype, first go to your Control Panel. This is done in “Start” or by using the Win key combination (located between Alt and Ctrl on the left of the keyboard) + X. There, open the “Programs and Features” item. Name may vary depending on version operating system. A window will open with a list of all programs.
Find Skype there. Right-click on the name and select “Delete/Change”. You can also just double-click on the name. The uninstallation process is activated. Follow the prompts on the screen and wait until it ends.
Third party programs
When you can't delete old version Skype using standard tools, various errors occur, then you can use third-party software.
Microsoft Fix It
Microsoft Fix It is a utility from Microsoft that not only removes programs, but also fixes possible errors associated with them. You can download it follow the link. There is no need to install it; use begins immediately after launching the distribution.
CCleaner
CCleaner is a powerful utility designed to clean your computer. It perfectly replaces the built-in program removal service. You can download it from site. Choose on the page free version. After launching the utility, go to the “Registry” section.
There, click on “Search for problems - Fix.” Agree to save backup copy. Now go to the "Service" section and select the desired program to delete. Here is another option on how to delete old Skype.
Skype is a universal program that provides stable voice, visual and text communication from anywhere in the world, originally created by Skype Technologies in 2003, but 8 years later it was successfully purchased by Microsoft for $8.5 billion.
After the purchase, Microsoft began to actively develop “its” program, delighting users with constant improvements in capabilities and the addition of new functionality. As a result, the company annually released new version programs. But do not forget that with each new update the utility changes not only visually, but also internally, thereby improving the level of protection, which significantly reduces the risk of hacking and leakage of your personal data.
Therefore, it is strongly recommended to always have latest version, but there are times when updates do not arrive or a new version cannot be installed, often this happens due to an old or malfunctioning program, and in this article we will help you solve this problem by completely uninstall Skype from a computer.
Uninstalling Skype
There are several ways to remove this utility, but first we will look at the simplest and fastest one. This method involves uninstalling Skype using the Control Panel.
- First, go to the start menu by hovering your mouse over Windows icon in the lower left corner, then select ““.
- Note: Some Windows versions location " Control panels" may differ; if difficulties arise, you can use the built-in search.
- You can also access programs using a command. To do this, open the dialog box using the keyboard shortcut Windows + R and enter appwiz.cpl.
- Next, in the window that opens, find the category “ Programs" and select " Uninstalling a program«.
- Then we look for Skype in the list of available utilities and delete it in accordance with the information shown in the screenshot.
- After you confirm your actions, deleting Skype takes a couple of minutes on average.
Problems with deletion
Often, some users have a problem: they simply cannot remove the old version of Skype. As usual, this error is discovered when installing a new version. Basically, the reason is hidden in the built-in uninstallers that are too “weak”; in fact, they do not completely remove the utility, thereby leaving a bunch of all kinds of “garbage”. The solution to this problem is manual step-by-step removal of the program, which we will now show you in detail.
- First you need to delete the folders Skype And SkypePM, if they exist, to do this, open the dialog box with the keyboard shortcut Windows + R and enter the command %appdata%.
- In the window that opens, look for the corresponding folder and delete it.
- Next, in order to completely make sure that the folder with the program is completely deleted, go to this path: Computer:\ Local disk
C:\Program Files(If you have Windows 8 or higher, then go to C:\ Program Files(x86)) and perform a similar procedure.
- Also, in special cases, it is recommended to remove the program from the registry, but be careful, since if you change the registry incorrectly, problems may arise. serious problems. To go to the registry, we also open the dialog box using Windows + R and enter the command regedit.
- Then in the registry that opens, in the upper left corner, select “Edit” and “Find”.
- In the search that opens, fill in all the selected parameters with checkboxes and click “Find Next.”
- We delete all found values.
After completely and correctly uninstalling Skype, you can easily install the latest version from the official website without any difficulties or errors.
Results
- If you are 100 percent sure that after a normal uninstallation you will be able to install the new version without any problems, then feel free to use the method described in detail at the beginning of the article.
- If you have problems installing a new version due to incomplete removal of the previous one, then for your consideration the second method which implies complete removal programs from a computer.
Judging by the reviews of active Skype users, one of the common problems they encounter is the inability to remove this software from their computer. All difficulties are related to the design of the software itself. The developers were clearly interested in this. So that you stay with them as long as possible! So, what to do if the old version of Skype is not deleted?
Getting ready for removal. Clearing history
Skype does not have this feature automatic deletion correspondence history. Therefore, when installing a new version, you may encounter the fact that all old and unnecessary data will be transferred there, without our knowledge. Therefore, first you need to have other data from it, and then delete Skype itself. How to do this? It's actually very simple, try the following:
- Sign in to Skype.
- Find the Tools tab.
- Select settings in the drop-down window.
- Opens new tab, looking for the security icon.
- After clicking on it, on the left side of the window that opens, approximately in the middle, find the clear history button and click on it.
All! The program is now fully prepared for removal. You can proceed directly to permanently removing it from your computer.
Attention! The developers assure that if you do not use a registered account, it will be completely deleted from the registry within 72 hours. Therefore, if you delete your old Skype correctly, you can completely get rid of it!
Further more - delete the old Skype completely!
We continue to describe a step-by-step plan of what to do if old skype is not deleted. If you have already deleted the old correspondence, all that remains is to uninstall the software itself. This is done as follows:
- Close the program. The saving red cross will not help in this case. Software configured to simply minimize Skype and leave it in working mode. To exit, you will need to find the program icon on the screen. Right-click on it and in the window that appears, select the “exit Skype” button. We confirm that we really want to do this.
- Now let's take advantage of the installed operating system. In the Start panel, look for the “Control Panel” window, there we select the “Programs and Features” column. Click on it and look for Skype in the list that opens.
- Select it and click delete.
- We wait for the process to complete and restart the computer.
All old Skype can be completely removed.
Alternative ways to solve the problem
If all of the above did not help. And this happens! You can use software specifically designed to remove unnecessary programs and other system garbage. One such program is Revo Uninstaller. It allows you to completely destroy all existing files. By the way, it would be useful to check the presence of old Skype folders with its help. A friend can also come to help. It also checks all files and cleans up any garbage remaining after the program runs. If this does not help, then you can go another way. Instead of the first step described above. We do the following:
- Open the start menu.
- We are looking for the address C:\Documents and settings\windows_username\Application data\Skype\.
- We delete all found folders. This should help.
All account information is ultimately stored on your computer, so after uninstallation necessary files old Skype will be completely removed.
Important! In order for the user to be able to delete the necessary folders, he must have administrator rights. You will also need to enable the show hidden files feature.
Most often it is required due to the need to manually update the client if it cannot be done automatically. But there are other reasons why it may be required. The easiest way is to uninstall Skype with standard ones using Windows, but this is not always possible, in which case third-party programs come to the rescue.
Established funds
The Windows system allows you to remove any application if no complications arise in the process. To uninstall Skype, first go to your Control Panel. This is done in “Start” or by using the Win key combination (located between Alt and Ctrl on the left of the keyboard) + X. There, open the “Programs and Features” item. The name may differ depending on the operating system version. A window will open with a list of all programs.
Find Skype there. Right-click on the name and select “Delete/Change”. You can also just double-click on the name. The uninstallation process is activated. Follow the prompts on the screen and wait until it ends.
Third party programs
When you can't delete the old one Skype version using standard tools, various errors occur, then you can use third-party software.
Microsoft Fix It
Microsoft Fix It is a utility from Microsoft that not only removes programs, but also eliminates possible errors associated with them. You can download it follow the link. There is no need to install it; use begins immediately after launching the distribution.
CCleaner
CCleaner is a powerful utility designed to clean your computer. It perfectly replaces the built-in program removal service. You can download it from site. Choose the free version on the page. After launching the utility, go to the “Registry” section.
There, click on “Search for problems - Fix.” Agree to save the backup. Now go to the “Service” section and select the desired program to remove. Here is another option on how to delete old Skype.
