How to Completely Uninstall Cygwin on Windows ?

Red hat’s Cygwin is an open-source set of tools that allows Windows users to compile and run Unix or Linux applications on their PC. Usually, only professionals install Cygwin on their computers, but sometimes people install it without understanding its use and implications. You might not even observe it on your computer unless you decide to remove it from your PC. Most of the applications can be removed from the PC just by going to shortcuts and selecting”unpin from the start,” but we noticed that Cygwin does not get uninstalled so easily. If you want to upgrade to the X86 version, then you will have to remove Cygwin from your computer altogether.
The critical point to remember is that you have to uninstall it and delete all its files and sources, not just remove its icon. You will have to uninstall it and delete the main installer from the control panel to get rid of the software. If you just remove the icon from the screen by right-clicking, you might end up with a slower machine hence uninstall it completely.

Reasons behind your failure to uninstall Cygwin completely.

1. There is a possibility that the software, Cygwin(64 bit) was not correctly installed previously.
2. Sometimes the windows operating system is not able to find the default uninstaller of the software and, as a result, cannot uninstall the software.
3. The software needs all the files to get uninstalled, all the files related to the uninstaller of the program. If in case you have deleted some of those files mistakenly, you will not be able to remove the software.
4. The files related to software might have got corrupted from some malware or any such external virus. If the files are damaged, the system will not be able to access them, and as a result, the software will not get eradicated.
5. There is a possibility that the computer system is affected by some virus and the system is not able to function correctly, in this the computer will not be able to delete the software properly.

How to uninstall Cygwin?

To uninstall Cygwin, go to the control panel and follow the instructions given below.

• To open the task manager, click Ctrl + Alt + Delete button all at the same time.
• Halt the X11 server if it’s running and abate all the programs related to Cygwin that is running in the background. Delete all the folder, subfolders, and all related files for easy uninstall. If you get an error while uninstalling the application, then you must check whether or not you have stopped all the services of the application. The easiest way to delete all the related data files is by changing its ownership of all the data to your account. To claim the ownership of the data, right-click on the Cygwin icon, click on the properties option, and then click on the Security tab. Click on advance and click on the Replace owner on sub containers and objects. Once the ownership is changed, you can delete the data tree all at once.
• Open control panel from the search bar.
• If you plan to reinstall Cygwin, then don’t remove it from your system path; otherwise, remove it.
• Open programs and click on the uninstall option.
• Now you will see a list of all those applications that are installed on your system, find Cygwin, right-click on it and then click on uninstall.
• The system will ask for confirmation, click on OK.

If you want to delete the tool from your computer, you’ll have to delete every related file one by one. It is a time-consuming and tiring process because you’ll have to be very attentive while choosing the files because if you select a wrong file and delete it, you will end up losing all the related data with no backup. To remove these files, follow the following steps.

• Press the Windows key + R all at the same time.
• To enter the Windows Registry Editor, type Regedit.
• Now delete each one of the files one by one by right-clicking on them.

There is an easier way to uninstall Cygwin from the computer system; for this option, you will have to install Max uninstaller software and uninstall Cygwin through this software. When you install Max uninstaller on your computer, it will automatically scan all the applications that are present on the computer and present a list to you.

• Click on Cygwin, and then click on run analysis.
• It will locate all the files related to Cygwin and list them on the screen with their location and other vital details.
• Click on complete uninstall.
• Now you will see a green button saying scan leftover files; click on that.
• All the hidden files related to the deleted software will not be shown on the screen, check all of them and click on delete leftover to altogether remove the software.

Tips to keep your computer system healthy without deleting unnecessary software.

• Do not keep the unused applications running in the background.
• Do not install more than one antivirus software on your computer.
• Only use a paid Antivirus program.
• Keep the drives updated.
• Do not run too many applications at once.
• Shut down the unnecessary visual effects.