Clean preference files from deleted apps

Question

Clean preference files from deleted apps

After using Migration assistant to upgrade my new MacBook Pro (10.8.2) from the old one (10.6.8), I found that a lot of Power PC apps no longer launched. I thought I did a good thing by deleting these apps, but now I realize I have loads of Preference files leftover by not using uninstallers. I found a few so-called preference file cleaner utilities, but all require the original app to do a complete uninstall. I'm sure there's a utility around that will scan for orphaned preference files, but I can't find it. Any ideas?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), i7 2.7 GHz, June 2012, 8 GB RAM

Posted on Dec 23, 2012 9:42 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 23, 2012 10:03 AM in response to Lucian Giordano1

Switch to the Finder and hold down the option key while clickin the "Go" menu to expose your User/Library folder.

Preferences folder holds the data you now want to trash.

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

685,251 points

Dec 23, 2012 10:05 AM in response to Lucian Giordano1

There are utilities to look for orphans. The link below will take you to one I have been using for several years when I delete an application. It removes at least most of the other files the application installed. Be very careful when searching for orphans because every utility I have tried always list some orphans that aren't orphans. There is a free trial version.

http://reggieashworth.com/appdelete

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