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re: add-ons. Just a simple question I couldn't find an answer to. Is the term "uninstall" equivalent to "remove the software from the computer"?

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  • Last reply by cor-el

afaber
afaber
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I downloaded a You Tube downloader, and expected an icon to come up when You Tube was playing, according to a friend's advice.

Since this didn't happen I assumed the download didn't work, or was an old version that doesn't work anymore. I wanted to just get rid of it and try another downloader.

I went to Tools--> Add-ons--> and clicked on the downloaded software and saw the 2 options [Disable] and [Uninstall]. The terminology is unclear, as I've always thought once software resides on your computer you can install it or uninstall it without erasing it from the computer.

A simple question that seems obvious except to someone who wants to be very precise and sure. Basically "does [Uninstall] mean erase from the computer"?

Thanks

I downloaded a You Tube downloader, and expected an icon to come up when You Tube was playing, according to a friend's advice. Since this didn't happen I assumed the download didn't work, or was an old version that doesn't work anymore. I wanted to just get rid of it and try another downloader. I went to Tools--> Add-ons--> and clicked on the downloaded software and saw the 2 options [Disable] and [Uninstall]. The terminology is unclear, as I've always thought once software resides on your computer you can install it or uninstall it without erasing it from the computer. A simple question that seems obvious except to someone who wants to be very precise and sure. Basically "does [Uninstall] mean erase from the computer"? Thanks

All Replies (2)

the-edmeister
the-edmeister
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Yes, uninstall is the equivalent of remove.

cor-el
cor-el
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With Firefox extensions (Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) you have two possibilities. You can disable an extension if you do not want to use it now, but want to keep it. Or you can uninstall an extension and remove it from the computer. Note that uninstalling an extension still leaves prefs in about:config (prefs.js) and possibly files in the profile folder that will be reused in case you decide to reinstall an extension at a later time.

See also http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_add-ons