removing mouse driver from system preferences, other...how?

In system preferences, other, how do you uninstall items? I have read in this forum that if you right click and choose "remove (xxx) preference pane" it will uninstall it. If remove doesn't uninstall it, exactly what does it do?

Is it that simple? I am trying to remove a mouse driver.

thanks
bob

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.6), Unibody MacBook Pro 2.53GHz,4GB Ram, OS X, iPhone 3G, Parallels 4

Posted on Sep 25, 2009 11:24 AM

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Posted on Sep 25, 2009 1:45 PM

Mouse drivers are installed in the /System/Library/Extensions/ folder and should be removed using the uninstaller that came with the mouse driver software. The uninstaller will generally remove any preference pane as well. Note that a preference pane is not a driver but a control utility. If you remove a preference pane as you described the program is put in the Trash.
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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 25, 2009 1:45 PM in response to BobInIndy1

Mouse drivers are installed in the /System/Library/Extensions/ folder and should be removed using the uninstaller that came with the mouse driver software. The uninstaller will generally remove any preference pane as well. Note that a preference pane is not a driver but a control utility. If you remove a preference pane as you described the program is put in the Trash.

Sep 25, 2009 2:38 PM in response to Kappy

removing the pane does not uninstall the driver; however, once you uninstall the driver, you cannot uninstall the pane.

So, the non intuitive steps seems to be:

1) using the name in preferences, do a google search on how to uninstall it. Everything seems to uninstall differently, some have uninstall as part of the installation routine (not on your local hard disk), some have leave it in a folder on your local hard disk, one even had it under Help, Troubleshooting, Uninstall.

2) once you don't need the name anymore, go to preferences and remove the pane.

3) uninstall via whatever method you discovered in your google search.

That does it.
thanks
bob

Sep 25, 2009 3:26 PM in response to BobInIndy1

I'm afraid I don't follow you. Each component can be individually deleted. But as I said removing the preference pane (in any way) will not remove a driver located in the Extensions folder (if there's a driver involved.) Likewise removing a driver will not remove a preference pane. This is why you should use the uninstaller that comes with the software you are using (which you haven't mentioned.)

For general help with uninstalling software see:

Uninstalling Software: The Basics

Most OS X applications are completely self-contained "packages" that can be uninstalled by simply dragging the application to the Trash. Applications may create preference files that are stored in the /Home/Library/Preferences/ folder. Although they do nothing once you delete the associated application, they do take up some disk space. If you want you can look for them in the above location and delete them, too.

Some applications may install an uninstaller program that can be used to remove the application. In some cases the uninstaller may be part of the application's installer, and is invoked by clicking on a Customize button that will appear during the install process.

Some applications may install components in the /Home/Library/Applications Support/ folder. You can also check there to see if the application has created a folder. You can also delete the folder that's in the Applications Support folder. Again, they don't do anything but take up disk space once the application is trashed.

Some applications may install a startupitem or a Log In item. Startupitems are usually installed in the /Library/StartupItems/ folder and less often in the /Home/Library/StartupItems/ folder. Log In Items are set in the Accounts preferences. Open System Preferences, click on the Accounts icon, then click on the LogIn Items tab. Locate the item in the list for the application you want to remove and click on the "-" button to delete it from the list.

If an application installs any other files the best way to track them down is to do a Finder search using the application name or the developer name as the search term. Unfortunately Spotlight will not look in certain folders by default. You can modify Spotlight's behavior or use a third-party search utility, Easy Find, instead. Download Easy Find at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.

Some applications install a receipt in the /Library/Receipts/ folder. Usually with the same name as the program or the developer. The item generally has a ".pkg" extension. Be sure you also delete this item as some programs use it to determine if it's already installed.

There are also several shareware utilities that can uninstall applications:
AppZapper
CleanApp
Yank
SuperPop
Uninstaller
Spring Cleaning

Look for them at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.


For more information visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on removing software.

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removing mouse driver from system preferences, other...how?

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