simple vmware fusion on macbook question

im running windows xp professional version through vmware fusion on my macbook.

i installed some games, but i cant play them and now want to get my memory back. (**** gma 950 ><)

i first moved all files related to the games into the recycle bin, and then emptied it.

my memory was not returned.

i removed them from the programs list (there was no delete option)

no luck either.


ne1 know what i should do?

First off, you're confusing memory with hard disk space. Programs are loaded from the hard disk into memory so that they can be processed by the CPU. Memory is volatile, meaning that it is erased when your computer is turned off. Your hard disk is non-volatile, it is where your programs and data are actually stored.

On Windows, you do not uninstall programs by deleting them. Instead, you open the Control Panel and Uninstall them via the Add/Remove Programs applet. Since you've likely already damaged the program installations beyond repair, your best bet would be to delete your VM and reinstall Windows.

Gee, these virtual machines get no respect. Can you imagine having this problem on a Windows machine and having someone tell you "reformat your HD and reinstall Windows?" It doesn't make sense, especially if you have several Windows apps to reinstall. Reinstalling Windows alone takes an hour at least.
1) What games were they? You may be able to easily fix your registry.
2) You could reinstall the programs in the same file folder, which will refresh the registry entries, so you can then use Add/Remove Software in the Windows Control Panel.
BUT (I just realized 3) none of this addresses the stated problem. Whether you uninstall or delete files, it should still free up disk space.

Where are you checking your disk space: within Windows or in Finder?

Neo said:

Gee, these virtual machines get no respect. Can you imagine having this problem on a Windows machine and having someone tell you "reformat your HD and reinstall Windows?" It doesn't make sense, especially if you have several Windows apps to reinstall. Reinstalling Windows alone takes an hour at least.
1) What games were they? You may be able to easily fix your registry.

Click to expand...

Not unless you know what you're doing / where to look. Chances are, if he deleted registered files, looking for the orphaned keys would take a trained eye. Being that he doesn't know any better than to delete the program folders, I thought it better to keep things simple. It could take hours to repair this problem (or days if you don't know what you're doing), it might take 30-45 minutes to reinstall Windows XP in a VM.

2) You could reinstall the programs in the same file folder, which will refresh the registry entries, so you can then use Add/Remove Software in the Windows Control Panel.

Click to expand...

Assuming the installer even allows you to install it when it sees that the keys already exist. Again, my intent was to keep it simple.

BUT (I just realized 3) none of this addresses the stated problem. Whether you uninstall or delete files, it should still free up disk space.

Click to expand...

Uninstalling should kill off anything installed by the installer script, including directories that might have been buried in an inconspicuous place - this is Windows we're talking about, after all. Just killing off the program folder doesn't guarantee that all affiliated files/folders are removed as well.