How to Fix: Can't Uninstall AVG Web TuneUp (Won't Remove)

Infopackets Reader Steve S. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I have a program called 'AVG Web TuneUp' which refuses to uninstall from my system. I have gone to the Control Panel -> Programs and Features and right clicked it, and selected 'Uninstall' multiple times. It goes through the process each time and tells me to reboot - however, after the reboot the program is still there. Is there a way I can remove AVG Web TuneUp from my machine manually? "

My response:

I asked Steve if he would like me to connect to his machine via my remote desktop support service to have a closer look, and he agreed. During the discovery process, I noticed that AVG Web TuneUp was also taking control of Steve's home page and search, which is something that adware / malware often does (and in that case, I certainly would not recommend anyone use such a program). I also tried to remove AVG Web TuneUp using the Control Panel -> Programs and Features, but it did not remove - just as Steve said.

After a bit of research, I found a program called "AVG Remover.exe" which is designed to clean and remove all AVG products (including AVG Web TuneUp) should the standard uninstall method fail. I downloaded this program and then ran it, rebooted as instructed, but AVG Web TuneUp was still installed.

At this point I decided to remove AVG Web TuneUp manually by removing any potential registry keys from the Windows Registry. Once that was finished, I rebooted to ensure AVG Web TuneUp's programs weren't resident in memory, then I deleted the folder "C:\Program Files\AVG Web TuneUp" manually. I then loaded up Steve's browsers and disabled any AVG add-ons. At this point I was satisfied that AVG Web TuneUp was successfully removed from the system. I'll re-cap what I did below using step-by-step instructions.

How to Fix: Can't Uninstall AVG Web TuneUp (Won't Remove)

Here's what I did using step-by-step instructions to successfully and completely remove AVG Web TuneUp:

1. First, disable the AVG Web TuneUp addon in the web browser. To do so: click your web browser's Menu widget (usually on the top right of the web browser), and go to your Addons or Extensions in the web browser. Search through the list and disable anything that says "AVG". (Note that you can re-enable any AVG addons after the Web TuneUp has been removed - should you decide).
    
2. Next, close all programs except your web browser. Download the "AVG Remover.exe" utility from AVG's website, and IMPORTANT: save the file to your desktop for easy retrieval.
    
3. Bookmark this page so you can come back to it, then close your web browser. Once that is done, run the "AVG Remover.exe" file you downloaded in Step #2. The AVG Remover program will open a new window; click "Continue" under the "AVG Remover" heading on the far right of the window. When the process completes, reboot the machine and come back to this page.
    
4. Now it's time to remove any potential AVG keys from the Windows Registry. Note that these keys may or may not be present in your registry - if you don't see the keys, then simply move on to the next step.
   
   (a) Click Start, then type in "regedit" (no quotes); wait for regedit to appear in the list and click it.
   
   (b) The Windows Registry Editor window will appear. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> AVG Web TuneUp. Right-click the folder, then select "Delete" to delete it.
    
5. Reboot the machine once more, then come back to this page. Now it's time to remove the AVG Web TuneUp installation folder. To do so: click Start, then click "My Computer" or "This PC", then double-click the C drive. Navigate to the folder "C:\Program Files", then left click the AVG Web TuneUp folder, and then press DEL on the keyboard to delete it / send it to the Recycle Bin. If you receive a message that the process can't be completed because a file is in use, try closing your web browser, then attempt to delete the folder again. Then, follow on to the next step.
    
6. Finally, remove AVG Web TuneUp from the Control Panel -> Programs and Features. To do so: click Start, then go to Control Panel -> Programs and Features; look for AVG Web TuneUp (it may or may not be there). If you see it, right click AVG Web TuneUp, then select "Uninstall" from the dialogue menu. Windows will report that "An error occurred while trying to Uninstall AVG Web tuneup ... would you like to remove AVG Web Tuneup from the Programs and Features list?" click Yes.

At this point, AVG Web TuneUp should be completely removed from the system.

Additional 1-on-1 Support: From Dennis

If all of this is over your head and if you need help removing AVG Web TuneUp - or any other hard to remove program from your system, for that matter - I can help using my remote desktop support service. Simply contact me briefly describing your problem, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Got a Computer Question or Problem? Ask Dennis!

I need more computer questions. If you have a computer question - or even a computer problem that needs fixing - please email me with your question so that I can write more articles like this one. I can't promise I'll respond to all the messages I receive (depending on the volume), but I'll do my best.

About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.