[AnnaB18]

Please help!

I am running Windows XP on my Dell laptop. I ran a free 30-day trial of Photoshop CS4. At the end of the trial I went to un-install it. Not sure what went wrong, but the computer froze during the Add/ Remove program un-installation process. Since then it will not let me do anything. Cannot un-install, cannot reinstall. Have tried numerous 'forced uninstall' softwares, manual deletion, everything.

Here is what happens: when I go into C:/ Program Files and click to the Photoshop folder, then try to delete it from there, it tells me it cannot delete it because the directory Hue and Saturation is not empty. I click through the folders to the Hue & Saturation folder and when I double click on it, the system says that 'the disk in drive C (which is my hard drive) is not formatted. Would you like to format it now?'

Obviously I choose No, I do not want to format drive C! I would back up files, wipe and reinstall, but I do not have my Windows disks. Please help.

[dotty999]

you say you've tried uninstallers, did you try Revo?

[AnnaB18]

Yes, I tried Revo, Perfect Uninstaller, Unlocker, Windows Install Cleanup. None of them worked. This folder (Hue and Saturation) says it is empty but clicking on it slows the computer way down, then it asks if I want to format C.

[dotty999]

have you tried the Adobe site ? if you can't find the answer there then you can contact them via the Support link

[telecom69]

Im very surprised that Revo uninstaller didnt work. Ive never known it fail before ...anyway try this page http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cs4clean.html

[AnnaB18]

Thanks. I found the CS4 clean page, too (funny how many people are having this problem). Seems that a program called CS4 Drive attaches itself to your hard drive to give you a remote access option, I didn't ask to install it and it just came with CS4. And it appears to have messed up my hard drive. Nothing will remove it, it has now wiped Microsoft Office among other things from my computer and has also corrupted some image files. I'm in the process now of backing up what is left and trying to figure out how to wipe/ reinstall if I don't have my Windows CDs.... maybe some way to boot from my external.... ugh.

[dotty999]

Originally Posted by telecom69

Im very surprised that Revo uninstaller didnt work. Ive never known it fail before ...anyway try this page http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cs4clean.html

it wasn't so straightforward Bob, as I understand it, Anna had tried to uninstall it using other progs so it was never going to be simple to do a clean uninstall after that, I'm afraid I can't offer any further solution apart from contacting Adobe for support

[JustinPS]

Originally Posted by AnnaB18

I'm in the process now of backing up what is left and trying to figure out how to wipe/ reinstall if I don't have my Windows CDs.... maybe some way to boot from my external.... ugh.

If you purchased a name-brand laptop (mainly: HP, Toshiba, Sony, Dell, Acer, and some Lenovo/IBM), you might have a recovery partition installed on your hard drive that will let you perform a "Factory Install", which will basically wipe the drive and perform a clean install of Windows (as if you just got it from the factory).

You can find out if you have one by pressing either F10, Ctrl + F10, F6, or Ctrl +F6 when you are booting. Those are the shortcuts that the companies I mentioned utilize for booting into the recovery partition. If none of those work, then you probably don't have a recovery partition, in which case you should order recovery discs from your manufacturer (~$20).

[Bryan_Clark]

If I were in your shoes, I would hit F8 before windows began loading, boot to command prompt, and navigate to the folder containing "Hue and Saturation" and use the del command to delete it from there. If that didn't work, I'd use a boot disk and try again.

Have you tried this? Are you savvy or do you need help executing?