Re: Thunder Warrior Raidy
Really. What happens when you uninstall? You just delete the directory? If that's the case... why uninstall at all? I always thought it was extremely un-computer-savvy to just delete directories instead of using the official uninstaller, but if you can change directories without any adverse affects, why not just delete everything? Why have an add/remove programs list at all?
...Because not all programs are so self-contained as to be limited to their "install" directory.
Many - MOST - programs make use of what are known as shared libraries; packages of programming code that are provided by various vendors to make software design and construction easier. A possible example is drawing a picture: Internet Explorer, Windows Picture Viewer, and Paint all need to know how to render a JPEG file into the image you see on the screen, but rather than code that functionality three times over, Microsoft created a library that contains such functionality and is shared amongst the three programs.
At a minimum, a typical installer will try and put a shortcut on the desktop and more shortcuts in the Start menu. They'll generally add Registry entries regarding various program settings, things like "where are my save files" and "how big is the screen". More complex programs may look for shared libraries they need, and if they can't find them, add them to various Windows and Program Files directories. They'll also set flags indicating that they use such shared libraries - if the libraries don't have any users, they can be safely uninstalled.
A good uninstaller will clean all of that crap up, keeping Windows and the Registry from ballooning with unused detritus.