How to remove all previous versions of a program from Windows 7

Question

I installed an old VB6 app on Windows 7. The app produces an HTML file and saves it to Program Files (x86)/{Application}/report.html.

I then installed a newer version of that app on the same machine and ran the same report. But when I open the new generated report.html file, I see the OLD version of that file.

It seems like Windows is keeping the files that were generated from the OLD version of the app and not letting the NEW version of the app overwrite them.

I know that you can revert to older versions of programs in Windows 7 by clicking on Properties > Pervious Versions. But I want to completely remove all of the files produced by older versions of the app. How can I do this?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I assume you were running the old VB6 program with administrative rights or the account you're using is an administrator. The Program Files directories now require administrative rights to write to.

Is it possible the new version of the program is saving the report.html file somewhere else, like in your C:\ProgramData or in your user's AppData folder (C:\Users\<username>\AppData\), and you're still opening the report.html file that was generated by the old VB6 file?

Answer 2

You could use the Everything search to identify and delete all instances of "{Application} .html"

Answer 3

Try reinstalling the app, then uninstalling the app with Revo Uninstaller. It should take care of stuff left behind. I always use Revo instead of add/remove programs as it finds more of the goodies.