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Q298499: Uninstalling America Online (AOL)

Article: Q298499
Product(s): The Microsoft Network
Version(s): 1.3,2.0,2.5,2.5 (OEM Release),2.51,2.52,2.6,5.0,5.1,5.2,5.3,5.4,6.0,6.1
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 12-JUN-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- The Microsoft Network versions 1.3, 2.0, 2.5, 2.5 (OEM Release), 2.51, 2.52, 2.6, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 6.0, 6.1 
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SUMMARY
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This article describes how to uninstall America Online software.

MORE INFORMATION
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Uninstalling AOL 3.0 (for Windows 95)
-------------------------------------

You can use the Add/Remove Programs feature in Windows 95 to remove the American
Online (AOL) software (and registry entries) from your computer.

To uninstall AOL 3.0 for Windows 95

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.

3. Click the Install/Uninstall tab.

4. Select America Online.

5. Click the Add/Remove button.
  Note: You can leave the Fast Mode button checked if you have only one version
  of the AOL software installed. If you are not sure, uncheck this box.

6. Click OK.
  An America Online for Windows Uninstaller prompt appears, along with the
  directory containing the AOL software.

7. Click OK.
  You will be prompted to restart your computer after uninstalling the AOL 3.0
  software.

8. Click Restart Now.

Uninstalling AOL 6.0 (for Windows 98 and Windows NT)
----------------------------------------------------

To uninstall AOL 6.0 for Windows 98 and Windows NT

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.

3. Select America Online.

4. Click the Add/Remove button, and then click Change/Remove or Remove.
  Note: To remove more than one copy of AOL at one time, you can select multiple
  copies of AOL in this window. To save your downloaded files and your Personal
  Filing Cabinet files to your Desktop, select Downloaded files and Personal
  Filing Cabinet files.

5. Select the copy of America Online you want to remove, and then click Next.
  Note: If you have removed all copies of America Online from your computer,
  then skip to step 7.

6. Select the copy of America Online you wish associate your AOL sounds and AOL
  icons to, and then click Next.
  Note: You may click Skip if you do not want to re-associate your AOL sounds
  and AOL icons and want to delete the AOL shortcuts from your computer.

7. Click Finish to complete the uninstall process.

8. If prompted to restart the computer, click OK.
  When you uninstall the AOL software, there will be two folders that are
  automatically saved to your Windows Desktop by default. These folders are as
  follows:

   - AOL Saved Files

   - AOL Saved PFC

  These folders include any personal files you have created that are part of the
  software. The AOL Saved Files folder contains downloaded files. The AOL Saved
  PFC folder contains a folder entitled Organize. This folder contains your
  Screen Names along with Personal Filing Cabinets and Favorite Places. For
  versions of AOL previous to AOL 6.0, your e-mail Address Book will be
  included in the Organize folder. Uninstalling will not remove your AOL
  Address Book, AOL Buddy List, AOL Stock Portfolio, or any e-mail that you
  have not yet read. These settings are saved on America Online servers. The
  AOL logging feature (to log chat and Instant Message notes) will be saved in
  your My Documents folder as a default setting, so you will not lose this
  information unless you have changed the directory to save your log files to
  an AOL folder.

To remove AOL 6.0 registry keys

1. Click Start, point to Run, and then type C:\windows\regedit.exe.

2. Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/software delete anything that includes the word
  "AOL" or "America Online".

Disabling and uninstalling AOL Instant Messenger
------------------------------------------------

To avoid receiving AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) "Registration" or "Sign On"
prompts, you must uninstall AIM.

To disable AIM for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT

1. On the AIM sign in screen, click the Setup button.

2. Click the Miscellaneous tab.

3. Clear the Start Netscape AIM when Windows starts box.
  AOL Instant Messenger will no longer start automatically.

To completely uninstall AIM for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT

1. Start Windows Explorer.

2. Delete AIM from the Personal Bookmark folder.

3. Delete launch.aim from every user profile.

4. In "...Communicator\Program\Aim", delete the AIM folder, the subfolder
  Sounds, and all folder contents.

5. Click Start, click Run, and then type Regedit.

6. Click Edit, click Find, and then type AIM.

7. Delete all AIM files.

8. Click Edit, click Find, and then type AOL.

9. Delete all AOL files, and then restart your computer.

To completely uninstall AIM for Macintosh

1. In your Macintosh's System folder, remove the PromoLauncher alias from your
  Startup Items folder.
  This will eliminate the Sign Up for Netscape AOL Instant Messenger boxes at
  startup.

2. Delete the AIM Menu extension from your Extensions folder.
  This will eliminate the AIM menu from the upper-right hand corner of your menu
  bar. You may also wish to remove the IdleTime extension that the AIM
  installer places in your Extensions folder. Because you may have other
  applications that depend upon this extension, such as UserLand Software's
  Frontier scripting system, we recommend using caution when removing it.

3. In your Netscape Navigator (or Netscape Communicator) folder, remove the
  "Netscape AOL Instant Messenger" folder.
  This will eliminate the actual AIM application and associated data files from
  your Macintosh.
  Note: The downloadable installers for Netscape Navigator do not contain AIM.
  If you are a system administrator, you can avoid installing AIM by using
  Netscape Mission Control Desktop to remove the files before install.

Additional query words: kbimu; AOL; MSN Explorer

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbMSNSearch kbMSN600 kbMSN610 kbMSN520 kbMSN530 kbMSN510 kbMSN500 kbMSN200 kbMSN100 kbMSN252 kbMSN130 kbMSN251 kbMSN260 kbMSN250 kbMSN250OEM
Version           : :1.3,2.0,2.5,2.5 (OEM Release),2.51,2.52,2.6,5.0,5.1,5.2,5.3,5.4,6.0,6.1
Issue type        : kbhowto

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