Thanks for the heads-up. I've never actually used Pearcleaner (or any other app remover), but I found the app-cleanup.sh script referred to in the Pearcleaner README to be interesting.
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Uninstalling an app... doesn't remove it all?
- Thread starter Kaitlyn2004
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Or software that does more than you'd like. Namely certain productivity suites and printer utilities that need(ed?) to install extensions and background processes for "updating", "authentication", etc.
(IMO updates and authentication can be checked by the app itself when it's running; anything that tries to be clever is getting deleted.)
I just have upgraded to Sequoia (15.1.1) and the issue of deleting apps with all files associated has came back. Some apps has a special "sandbox" protection and the user won't be able to delete with AppCleaner or anything else (I have a paid app) not even trought Finder as admin. I guess we still can log as root and delete by Terminal, not testing this moment because I was cleaning WhatsApp data and the app (Uninstaller sensei pro) did it for me.
So the short answer is... you can't. You're not the owner of the Mac nor the OS.
So the short answer is... you can't. You're not the owner of the Mac nor the OS.
Yeah, AppCleaner did the job right! But in this case I downloaded it directly from the site, not from the App Store (didn't find there). The apps I have tested like Delete Apps, Clean etc., from the store didn't work. I guess might be some glitch in the installation of those apps.
I am shocked reading through this thread- I am currently considering getting a Mac mini being a windows user for 20 years now.
I need an app to actually remove an app fully ? And I have to grant full access to the removal app? Where privacy ? How can I trust such an app ?
lol and some people here mock on people for wanting to deinstall an app and others giving instructions on how to manually delete files which should have been deleted when I decided to delete the app.
Yes I know there are rudiments left in windows too, but at least executables are gone.
I gotta reconsider getting a Mac mini if such workflows are standard.
I need an app to actually remove an app fully ? And I have to grant full access to the removal app? Where privacy ? How can I trust such an app ?
lol and some people here mock on people for wanting to deinstall an app and others giving instructions on how to manually delete files which should have been deleted when I decided to delete the app.
Yes I know there are rudiments left in windows too, but at least executables are gone.
I gotta reconsider getting a Mac mini if such workflows are standard.
Yes
Yes (full access to the disk) - how else could it remove stuff.
Go by recommendations from others. Or get yet more software to watch what changes are made to the file system.
Deleting an app in macOS does remove all the executables (in most cases). It is data which is not removed.
It's not really a problem. No more annoying than using the Windows uninstaller process.
Windows and macOS got few in common, as want to get money from you without you even be aware. But similarities ends here. First, all systems will need you to manage it. If the developers close it too much, you will have to take your PC to support to solve it, even simple things, if possible (this happened before, I had an official answer from Apple that time). Today, you can't avoid being the administrator of your system. And, no, I will never trust some AI.
Let me just say I never liked Apple "X" OS, and always find Windows more "nice". But you can't compare quality of macOS with Windows along the years. Microsoft keep old stuff for decades, deep inside macOS is very modern, secure and stable. I have to be fair on this.
Back to the subject of the thread, Windows is very pragmatic but left a lot of garbage behind when uninstalling apps or drivers. When you are in trouble, is usual to have to clean files by hand and fix the registry, so as long I have my complains about macOS (why no "uninstall" button???), Windows is by far worst.
If you like Mac Minis (as I do) you might consider to try some popular Linux distribution. In my experience, Linux make Apple machines to fly! But, of course, you will have to be even more administrator. All came with a price in this life!
Deep inside macOS goes back to early 70s with the first Unix. Windows only goes back to RSX-11M and VAX/VMS (late 70s). The modern aura (look and feel, security, etc.) of both is just the surface layers. Both have struggled with keeping 3rd-party code out of the kernel - a cause of instability for both.
gustav wrote:
"I just have upgraded to Sequoia (15.1.1) and the issue of deleting apps with all files associated has came back. Some apps has a special "sandbox" protection and the user won't be able to delete with AppCleaner or anything else (I have a paid app) not even trought Finder as admin"
Do you have System Integrity Protection on or off?
How to find this out:
- open terminal
- enter "csrutil status" (without quotation marks) and hit return
What does it say?
"I just have upgraded to Sequoia (15.1.1) and the issue of deleting apps with all files associated has came back. Some apps has a special "sandbox" protection and the user won't be able to delete with AppCleaner or anything else (I have a paid app) not even trought Finder as admin"
Do you have System Integrity Protection on or off?
How to find this out:
- open terminal
- enter "csrutil status" (without quotation marks) and hit return
What does it say?
This thread is akin to being inside the proverbial sausage factory. As a decades plus Mac user I can assure you the banter in this thread is not representative of my experience -- which remains way better than the Windows experience (I still use Windows regularly via Parallels). Buy a Mac with the storage you need (for me that's at least 1TB) and practice responsible app hygeine (don't install apps you can't verify or don't need) and you'll rarely if ever expend life energy on this topic.
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Not considering these methodological aspects (Unix vs DOS), just the development efforts that keeps macOS a system more solid and coherent, even with all it's issues (slow as hell). A filesystem as APFS is something that back in the 70's wasn't in their dreams yet, and you can't implement in with a layer, got to code it hard.
The answer:
Code:
System Integrity Protection status: unknown (Custom Configuration).
Configuration:
Apple Internal: disabled
Kext Signing: disabled
Filesystem Protections: disabled
Debugging Restrictions: enabled
DTrace Restrictions: enabled
NVRAM Protections: enabled
BaseSystem Verification: enabled
This is an unsupported configuration, likely to break in the future and leave your machine in an unknown state.
My experience with Windows' application remover is that it would tell me that some files might be in use by other apps and ask if I really wanted to remove them. Might be? I guess I could contact the developer of every app on the system to find out!
I'm guessing you are using OCLP on your Mac? I believe it disables portions of SIP. One of the downsides of OCLP.