How to uninstall

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. Most applications create preference files which 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 located 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.

There are also several shareware utilities that can uninstall applications:

AppZapper
CleanApp
Yank
SuperPop
Uninstaller
Spring Cleaning

Look for them at www.versiontracker.com or www.mackupdate.com.

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



Why reward points?(Quoted from Discussions Terms of Use.)
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Hi chesirekat99,

first of all: WELCOME TO THE DISCUSSIONS!

Just drag them to the trash and empty the trash. This is sufficient for 95% of all Mac-software. Very few applications come with a dedicated uninstaller application.

You might want to check the directory at /Library/Applications Support. Some apps place support files in this directory.

If this answered your question please consider granting some stars: Why reward points?

chesire --
Welcome to Apple Discussions.

As to finding your way around --

The little blue circle with a magnifying glass in the middle
and located on the top left top of your menu, is called Spotlight.
Click that, and type in earthdesk and then click return.
That will show you all those files related to the topic.
If you select each file and then click the "i" button on the left of the screen,
it will show you where they are located. You want to delete the application first.

Here are two useful links with info for new Mac users:

http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

"The little blue circle with a magnifying glass in the middle
and located on the top left top of your menu, is called Spotlight."

Left, right, so what the heck ...
😉

Hi, chesirekat99. Welcome to the Discussions.

See my "Uninstalling applications" FAQ for important advice on uninstalling software.

You wrote:

"i'm a brand new mac user...less than a week."

Congratulations. Since you are new to Mac OS X, you may benefit from some of the educational resources I recommend in my "Learning About Mac OS X" FAQ.

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

---
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:

I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Everyone here is glad to help you.



Why reward points?(Quoted from Discussions Terms of Use.)
The reward system helps to increase community participation. When a community member gives you (or another member) a reward for providing helpful advice or a solution to their question, your accumulated points will increase your status level within the community.
Members may reward you with 5 points if they deem that your reply is helpful and 10 points if you post a solution to their issue. Likewise, when you mark a reply as Helpful or Solved in your own created topic, you will be awarding the respondent with the same point values.

Open Accounts preference, click on Login Items. Look for an EarthDesk entry and delete it from the list. Open Activity Monitor (Utilities folder), set the processes drop down menu to show All Processes. Click on the Process Name column header to display alphabetically. Look for any process that has "earth" or "earthdesk" in its name. If you find one use the Quit icon in the AM toolbar.

Be sure to search your hard drive for any "earthdesk" entries and drag all that you find to the Trash and delete.

cheshire --
Go to the Blue Apple Menu,, then to System Preferences.
Do you have an Earthdesk icon somewhere in your preferences?
It might be down at the bottom under "Other."

Those instructions are awful, chesire --
It's no wonder you're confused.



You can fully reset EarthDesk by following these steps:
1. If EarthDesk is running, Stop EarthDesk (click the stop button in the System Prefs Pane).
2. Remove the EarthDesk menu item if it is running.
3. Delete the following two files in your Preferences folder, (located in /Home/Library/Preferences)
com.apple.desktop.plist
com.xericdesign.earthdesk.plist
4. Delete the EarthDesk folder located in /Home/Library/Application Support
5. Delete the EarthDesk folder located in /Users/Shared
6. Use the System Preferences utility to choose a desktop picture.
7. Remove the files at /Home/Library/Caches/Desktop
8. Open System Preferences and control-click on EarthDesk to remove it.
At this stage, EarthDesk has effectively been removed from your system . . .

Clear as mud I would say.

Great! Glad your problem is solved. Please consider the following:



Why reward points?(Quoted from Discussions Terms of Use.)
The reward system helps to increase community participation. When a community member gives you (or another member) a reward for providing helpful advice or a solution to their question, your accumulated points will increase your status level within the community.
Members may reward you with 5 points if they deem that your reply is helpful and 10 points if you post a solution to their issue. Likewise, when you mark a reply as Helpful or Solved in your own created topic, you will be awarding the respondent with the same point values.