Editing the Registry
Windows 95/98/ME
If Windows still thinks SST is installed, it is because the program was
simply deleted using Explorer or File Manager, but not uninstalled via
Windows Control Panel (Add/Remove Programs). This is a Windows failing,
not an SST failing. The Windows Registry must thus be manually edited to
remove the SST references, as follows. Note that you do this at your own
risk, and creating a back-up of the Windows Registry is strongly advised
(all as detailed below).
Create A New Shortcut
Assuming you do not already have a shortcut to your system's Registry Editor,
you can make one using the following procedure. This is easier than using
regedit.exe
via the Windows Start --> Run procedure, but leaving the Registry Editor
where unauthorised and/or unskilled hands can get at it is not, in itself,
advisable.
Right-click with your mouse anywhere in the plain area of your Windows
desktop. That means... not over the Start bar, and not on an icon.
From the menu which opens, select NEW --> SHORTCUT.
In the dialogue box which opens, the command line you want is regedit.exe
and then name the shortcut Registry Editor. Clicking the FINISH
button will create the new shortcut on your desktop.
If you know how, you can move the shortcut for the Registry Editor to
a better place in your system. It will work fine from the desktop, but
a better long-term place for it is under the Start button --> Programs
--> System Tools.
Optional But Recommended
Launch the Registry Editor program. See that it opens with a window having
a left and right pane. In the left pane, click on My Computer. There
will be nothing in the right pane at this stage.
The first thing to do is to back-up your existing Registry. Windows
does this automatically and, if the primary Registry fails, it will restore
its own back-up. But that process sometimes goes wrong, so a spare copy
is always useful. On this occasion, it is strongly advised that you create
a back-up just in case you do something wrong here.
To back-up the Registry, we Export it. If we need to restore that Registry
later, we Import the file we are about to export.
To export the file, on the Registry menu, click Export Registry File.
Browse to a location to store the exported file, and then type a name for
the new file. I suggest you export it to your desktop and call it system.reg.
Making The Changes
 In the
left pane of the Registry Editor, select the + symbol alongside HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
You will see the data in the left pane expanding, also data will appear
in the right pane.
In the left pane, expand (select the + symbol) the Software entry.
In the left pane under Software, select (click once on) the entry for
The Digital Village. Now right-click with your mouse and select
DELETE from the sub-menu. Confirm your deletion and
that entry will be removed from your Registry.
Collapse the entries for HKEY_CURRENT_USER by clicking on the – symbol
alongside its entry.
Using the same process as above, delete the The Digital Village
entry which exists under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE --> Software.
That's it... you're done. Close the Registry Editor.
SST may install immediately, but it's best to restart your machine first,
to prove the changed Registry. If there is a problem when you restart,
Windows will tell you that the new Registry is somehow wrong and will reload
its own back-up. That should be OK, and you then restart this process avoiding
the previous error you made.
If you need to Restore the Registry Back-up
If Windows' own back-up is somehow wrong then you can import your own back-up
from the desktop. You can use the Registry Editor to do this. Unless you
have changed the default program handler for .reg files, just double-clicking
the file should start the process. This will reinstate the old Registry
and effectively undo all the changes you just made.
Assuming all is OK, you won't need your own back-up of registry, and
anyway it's now out of date. So (later, after installing SST and making
sure it all works) delete it and make a fresh copy for insurance purposes. |
