Uninstall windows desktop search!! howto

what am I missing - I find no way to uninstall it!

Its completely tanking my box, it indexes pretty much constantly - Yahoo desktop is the only desktop search that adheres to basic performance guidelines.

How do I get rid of this piece of junk?

You can remove MSN Search Toolbar from your computer in either of these ways.

Use the toolbar menu Use Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel

Note:
The Deskbar may still be visible until you restart your computer.

Nata1 wrote:

Its completely tanking my box, it indexes pretty much constantly - Yahoo desktop is the only desktop search that adheres to basic performance guidelines.

How do I get rid of this piece of junk?

I think you need to be more politcally correct about Microsoft's products so I re-wrote your post to include that... Feel free to edit over the original:

My computer, similar to those supplied by Apple, does not have the minimal requirements, as advised by Microsoft to run the MSN Search Bar. Yahoo! Desktop Search has lower requirements but does not index as much content and also Yahoo! lacks Microsoft's expert knowledge of the Windows platform and do not perform to Microsoft's high standards.

Although I love MSN Search Bar I feel that I must remove it until I am able to buy a system that is over the minimal system requirements for running Microsoft Desktop Search. How might I do so in a safe, and easy way?

Manip, I don't want to get rid of the MSN search toolbar.

I use it to use MSN search which rocks.

I want to uninstall windows desktop search which sucks - I have a brand new dell, all I have running is my dev tools.  It hangs my computer on shutdown, and tanks my computer constantly - it indexes folders it shouldn't be.

Yahoo is clearly a better, more performant product.

So how do I get rid of the windows desktop search without giving up the toolbar I need for MSN searches (MSN is my favorite internet search app, Windows desktop is my least favorite desktop search by a longshot)

Follow the instructions and reinstall just the MSN Search Bar.

I was looking for the service to disable that should do the trick - let me try that Manip, if it works...

I was able to disable run indexing at startup, but I wasn't able to disable desktop search in the install

thanks though, that should do the trick... How come I can't find the service though? 

AHHHHH!!!!!!

I disabled it, and its set not to index, but it still does and bogs my system. 

If these guys are so cool that they won't even say high to Selberg at SIGIR, how come their product SUCKS

I DONT want to give up my msn toolbar to get rid of this Malware, but what choice do I have?

Nata1 wrote:

AHHHHH!!!!!!

I disabled it, and its set not to index, but it still does and bogs my system. 

If these guys are so cool that they won't even say high to Selberg at SIGIR, how come their product SUCKS

I DONT want to give up my msn toolbar to get rid of this Malware, but what choice do I have?

All you have to do is remove the program from the Startup folder in your Start Menu.

Really. That's the only place it starts up.

Calling it malware is also (1) FUD, (2) incorrect, and (3) dilutes the value of the word. Please don't call something malware when it isn't, because the line gets blurred - and that is not a good thing.

I'm having the same problem.  We are not referring to the MSN Search Toolbar in IE.  We are referring to the Windows Desktop Search tool (found on http://www.microsoft.com/windows/desktopsearch/default.mspx).

Please help us remove this program.

Have you tried going to Control Panel -> Add/Remove programs, and uninstall Windows Desktop Search?

If this your machine or is it controlled (via GPO) from your IT department? If that's the case, they may have disabled the ability to unistall certain software, so you'd have to talk to them directly about it.

Also, brother, make sure your monitor is turned on, and that you are not in Hibernate mode on your PC.

I have the same issue. Also, I am the IT manager so I don't need any smart-(I need to watch my language) comments about "making sure my monitor is turned on". There are no entries in "add/Remove" and the suggested method involving the install folders does not work becuase they do not exist. There are also no Group Policies set-up concerning this program. I thought I read somewhere that others had this issue if they were also running the IE7 Beta. Has anyone else with this issue found a solution?

What version have you installed on your system?

Note: don't pay any attention to what DarthVista says. It's not worth your time.

Version 02.06.5000.5378. Thanks for your time

darrenjamesw wrote:

Version 02.06.5000.5378. Thanks for your time

This is the latest released vbersion. It should appear in the Add/Remove Programs as "Windows Desktop Search".

I honestly can't see how it could have been removed from there...

You can also try this:

Start/Run... msconfig
Go to the Startup tab
Find Windows Desktop Search in the Startup Items list and uncheck it
Ok, Close, Save, etc

This will prevent the service to start automatically.

Doesn't appear in Add/Remove. I even tried uninstalling IE7 and re-installing Desktop Search over top of itself. I realize I can disable it from starting but I'd really like to remove it completely. Although I like many of it's features it does have some limits others don't and I can't change the default index storage location.

I found the log from the re-install I tried. Interestingly this line was listed:

6.688: CreateUninstall = 0,Directory = C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallKB911993-V2$

Does CreateUninstall=0 mean yes or no?
That folder is NOT there (yes I have show hidden files and system files enabled)

0 usually means no.

Anyways, we're days away from shipping WDS 3.0, you may want to take a look at that when it's out