24/05/2021 3 Ways to Uninstall Ubuntu Software - wikiHow

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How to Uninstall Ubuntu Software

Written by Jack Lloyd
Last Updated: May 6, 2021 Tested
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This wikiHow teaches you how to uninstall software from a computer running Ubuntu
Linux, as well as how to uninstall Ubuntu from your computer. If your computer is running
both Linux and a different operating system, you can erase the Ubuntu Linux partition
instead.

Method
1 Uninstalling Programs with Terminal

1 Open Terminal. You should see the Terminal app icon on the left side
of the screen; if not, click the Ubuntu icon in the top-left corner of the screen,
type term i nal into the search bar, and click Terminal when it appears.

Open a list of your currently installed programs. Type dpkg --list

2 into Terminal, then press ↵ Enter .

Find the program that you want to uninstall. You'll need to note the
3 official name of the program file rather than the name of the program itself
(e.g., "avg.exe" rather than AVG Antivirus).

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Enter the "apt-get" command. Type sudo apt-get --purge

4 remo v e program into Terminal—making sure to use the program's
actual name instead of "program"—and press ↵ Enter .

Enter your root password. Type in your superuser password, then press
5 ↵ Enter .

Confirm the deletion. Type in y and press ↵ Enter . Your program will
6 begin to uninstall itself. Once it finishes, you can close Terminal.
This process may take a while to complete depending on the size of the
program.
If your program isn't properly removed using the apt- g et command, try
using sudo aptitude remove pro g r a m instead.

Method
2 Uninstalling Programs with Ubuntu Software

Open Ubuntu Software. Its app icon resembles an orange suitcase with a
1 white "A" on it. Ubuntu Linux comes with this built-in software manager,
allowing you to remove programs in just a few clicks.
If you can't find Ubuntu Software, click the Ubuntu logo in the upper-left
corner of the screen, type ubun t u software into the search bar, and
click the Ubuntu Software app icon.

Click the Installed tab. This computer-shaped tab is at the top of the
2 Ubuntu Software window.

Find the program that you want to uninstall. Scroll through the list of
3 installed programs until you arrive at the one that you want to uninstall, or
type the name of an installed program into the search bar in the top-right corner
of the window.

Click Remove . It's to the right of the program that you want to uninstall.
4
Confirm the decision if prompted. If asked to confirm, click Remove
5 again, or click OK.

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The prompt that you see may vary slightly depending on your version of
Ubuntu.

Close Ubuntu Software. Your program should now be uninstalled.

6

Method
3 Uninstalling Ubuntu Linux

Make sure that you have a Windows CD or USB drive. On a computer

1 that's only running Linux, the easiest way to uninstall Ubuntu is by
reformatting your computer using an installation CD.
Ubuntu typically isn't installed as the only operating system on a Mac.
To create a Windows CD on Ubuntu: insert the CD into your computer,
download the ISO from the Windows download site, right-click the ISO, click
Write to Disc..., select your disc, and click Create Image.

Insert the CD into the computer. Make sure that the CD's logo is facing up
2 when you do so.
Skip this step if you created a Windows CD in the previous step.

3 Restart your computer. Click the Settings gear in the top-right corner
of the screen, click Shut Down... at the bottom of the resulting drop-down
menu, and click the Restart icon in the pop-up menu.

Boot from the CD. On most computers, you can press any key on your
4 keyboard to do so.
If your computer isn't set to boot from the disc drive, you may have to press
a "Boot Options" key during the restart screen, or select your Windows DVD
as the boot option from the GRUB menu.

Select a time and language, then click Next . You'll use the drop-down
5 menus in the middle of the Windows Setup window to select your preferred
language and time zone.

Click Install now . It's in the middle of the window.

6
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Enter your Windows 10 product key, then click Next . Type your
7 product key into the text field near the bottom of the window.
You can also click the I don't have a product key link here if you'd like to
enter the product key later. If you do this, you'll need to select a version of
Windows before proceeding.

Check the "I accept" box, then click Next . Doing so will accept
8 Microsoft's terms of use and take you to the next page.

Click the Custom option. It's in the middle of the page.

9
Select the Ubuntu drive. Click the hard drive on which Ubuntu Linux is
10 installed.

Delete the Ubuntu drive. Click Delete, then click OK when prompted.
11 This will delete Ubuntu from the drive and reformat the drive for NTFS,
which is the file system used by Windows.
You may first have to click Drive options below the drive window.

Click Next . This indicates that you'd like to install Windows on the
12 selected drive.

Follow the on-screen instructions. Once Windows finishes installing,

13 you'll be prompted to set up your preferences (e.g., language, date, time,
accessibility, and so on). Ubuntu is now gone from your computer.

Community Q&A

Question

Can I remove an operating system that l run?

Community Answer

You can wipe your hard drive or you can install another OS on the same disk.
During the installation wizard, remove the other OS (see the respective manual

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online).

Question

Can I uninstall Ubuntu and install Windows without a CD?

Somone
Community Answer

You may be able to use a USB pen drive.

Question

How do I uninstall Skype?

Community Answer

Go to Control Panel>Hardware & Programs>Edit or Uninstall Programs.Then

just find Skype, right click it, and select "Uninstall."

Question

How do completely format laptop loaded with ubuntu 18.04.1 ?

Somone
Community Answer

You will have to boot from the disk/pendrive you used to install Ubuntu. If you
don't have the disk/drive, Create a new one, and boot from it. Then Go to the
"Disks" application, and select the drive, and format all the partitions on it.
Note!: This will delete all of the data on the hard drive, including The Operating
System and files on it.

Question

When I input 'sudo apt-get purge virtualbox' I get a message telling me to

manually run 'sudo dpkg --configure -a'. After doing that it pops up with a
screen that says I have to disable the secure boot. Do you have any
suggestions for me?

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Community Answer

Start with your computer powered off and as soon as you turn it on, get into
BIOS setup with either F2, F10, or F12 depending on your computer
manufacturer. Then navigate through the options to disable secure boot. Save
and Exit, restart. All done.

Question

What do I do if the uninstaller for Ubuntu doesn't work?

Community Answer

Use terminal as a workaround and uninstall applications through the

appropriate remove dpkg commands.

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