Removing Itunes completely

Hi all -

I have not found any really sufficient explanation as to how to properly remove apps from mac OS X. Some are just the apps themselves and so it is obvious that you just delete them, others such as Itunes, have tendrils reaching throughout my system and I don't know how to properly obliterate them from my computer.

I can take the time to go around and find everything that I think is affiliated with it, but even when i squash everything I can find the updater still tries to update Itunes. I know I can make the updater ignore that update .... but I just want it gone. And I'd like to understand how to generally erase software from my system when just deleting the .app isn't enough.

So how about it? Can anyone tell me how to completely remove every trace of Itunes ? How about Quicktime ?

Or am I to be force fead software?

Best,
Nate

ps - please don't try to convert me to the Itunes cult, I just hate it and want rid of it

Download AppZapper, drag iTunes to it and let it do it's thing. It will find any related files in your system and move them all to your trash.

PS. We're not going to try and convert you to anything. It's your computer, you can use it in whatever manner you see fit.

baggss said:

Download AppZapper, drag iTunes to it and let it do it's thing. It will find any related files in your system and move them all to your trash.

PS. We're not going to try and convert you to anything. It's your computer, you can use it in whatever manner you see fit.

Click to expand...

Thanks - I've heard of AppZapper but I just found it odd that I need 3'rd party software, I wonder if proper app removal will be integrated into the next version of mac OS ... and why it isn't now.

And ya ... maybe you won't annoy me about not liking Itunes but man it is not an unreasonable expectation -- some people have attachment issues with their chosen software and react unpleasantly when it is criticized :Op thank you for not being one of them

just out of curiosity what software are you using for audio playback, and do you like it?

Other than Itunes

I looked for a while for something that would satisfy my audio needs. I've been concerned with Hi-Fi for some time and therefore some of my fave tunes are encoded in things that Itunes won't play which is really frustrating. I'm also not a fan of the whole music library thing ... my music library is my file structure so I want simplicity and flexibility in a music player.

Having said that I tried COG ( http://cogx.org/ ), because I heard it was a reasonable approximation to foobar2000 which was a great basic windows based player .. but I've long forgotten windows. Cog was decent but it wouldn't play certain codecs that I wanted and it had some quirks (maybe fixed now) so I actually now use VLC (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/). It plays every codec I want and is rock solid as a music and video player (i don't use quicktime anymore either).

on a related note:
I have an Ipod, cause it came with my macbook, and I've detached from the restrictions that come with itunes by putting rockbox on it (http://www.rockbox.org/) now i can upload to any computer, customize my ipod's apperance, and it plays all the good codecs

am I happy? ya man it took some time to figure out the set of software I wanted to use on Mac OS X but I'm now happy with the audio side of things ... other things are in the works

Best,
Nate

Not gone completely

Just an update - I used Adzapper and it deleted Itunes .... so it appears to be gone but when I run system update it still tries to give me back itunes ... lol I suppose that is not something I can change but man why is it trying to update something that isn't there?

I've ignored the update but it seems strange to me ..

Nate

maybe it reads non-existant as not up to date, maybe its not looking at what you do have, but what you don't and deciding that since you don't have the most up to date itunes it wants to update it.

Nate5000 said:

Just an update - I used Adzapper and it deleted Itunes .... so it appears to be gone but when I run system update it still tries to give me back itunes ... lol I suppose that is not something I can change but man why is it trying to update something that isn't there?

I've ignored the update but it seems strange to me ..

Nate

Click to expand...

You can suppress the update if you like. Just choose Ignore Update from the Update menu.

Nate5000 said:

Thanks - I've heard of AppZapper but I just found it odd that I need 3'rd party software, I wonder if proper app removal will be integrated into the next version of mac OS ... and why it isn't now.

Click to expand...

Because you don't need one. You could have simply dragged iTunes to the trash and deleted it and that would have been the end of it. The few files still hanging out in your system would have caused no problems and only taken up a small amount of space. I surmised from your question that you are a recent switcher who is still stuck in the Windows way of doing things. This also explains why you think a "formal" uninstaller would be required, because "that is how Windows does it" so that must be the best/only/right way. If you understood how Mac Apps interact with the OS, you would understand why one is not needed.

The update will come back because iTunes ships with the system therefore the the updater will always look to see if you are up to date. That's the price you pay for deleting an app that you could have just not used and simply ignored, but that is your decision.

At some point, it might behoove you to learn how the Mac actually works vice trying to make it work like Windows, it's not. It will make your life much easier in the long run. Otherwise you will simply end up hating your purchase choice.

baggss said:

Because you don't need one. You could have simply dragged iTunes to the trash and deleted it and that would have been the end of it. The few files still hanging out in your system would have caused no problems and only taken up a small amount of space. I surmised from your question that you are a recent switcher who is still stuck in the Windows way of doing things. This also explains why you think a "formal" uninstaller would be required, because "that is how Windows does it" so that must be the best/only/right way. If you understood how Mac Apps interact with the OS, you would understand why one is not needed.

The update will come back because iTunes ships with the system therefore the the updater will always look to see if you are up to date. That's the price you pay for deleting an app that you could have just not used and simply ignored, but that is your decision.

At some point, it might behoove you to learn how the Mac actually works vice trying to make it work like Windows, it's not. It will make your life much easier in the long run. Otherwise you will simply end up hating your purchase choice.

Click to expand...

Why oh why do mac addicts always have to throw down like that? This is really akin to my initial concern (which you tried to assuage) that people would not like the fact that their favorite software annoys me in some way. **** I thought you weren't going to annoy me by being presumptuous.

I don't use windows, If you read my posts I even say that I have long forgotten windows. I use Solaris and Linux which have integrated package managers that calculate the dependencies among applications at install and removal. Well Linux does a pretty good job of it anyhow, and Solaris is learning how to be a desktop (especially now that the Solaris people have acquired Ian Murdock).

I've used Mac for a year but recently reformatted after playing with a load of software and deciding what I liked and didn't. I know about how a Unix system works .... and I know that I could ignore the offending programs or I could hunt down all the little pieces and delete them. BUT why should I? Also why should I have to buy a program to do it for me? I very much doubt that I'm the only one who would like a simple integrated app remover .. otherwise appzapper wouldn't exist.

So thanks but it really isn't that I don't understand the situation, nor is it that I want a windows system. I like the idea of not having a registry but I don't like a system that forces me to buy 3'rd party software to do what it should do on its own.

Anyway - I've solved the problem in as much as I care about it. As long as Itunes is relatively dead I'm happy. If someone can tell me how to stop the updater from trying (besides ignoring it which I've mentioned twice and still someone advised it) I'd love to hear it

Best,
Nate

There is NO way to stop the updater from asking about itunes. Itunes comes with all Macs so it will ask. You can turn updating off but then will miss security and other important updates, so I would not do that. Just uncheck it when it asks.

Nate5000 said:

Why oh why do mac addicts always have to throw down like that.

Click to expand...

(many words of "wisdom" cut for brevity)

I'm happy you know how a Unix system works, now learn how a Mac works. Yes' it's Unix under the hood, but the GUI adds a dimension which I have noticed many Unix users fail to grasp. Again, you're trying to make it be like something else instead of what it is. Enjoy banging your head against the wall.

I have not tried to sell you on anything, I simply stated that no formal uninstaller is needed and that if you knew how the system worked you wouldn't need to ask why there isn't one. You don't, so you still think it's needed. The fact that you felt the need to "reformat after a year" makes me wonder exactly what it is you think you understand. I'm impressed that you've been using Macs for a year, I've been using them for over 10 and have been using OSX since the public beta of 10.0. Big whoop for both of us.

So you can either uncheck iTunes in every update, disable the update feature and miss future stuff, just reinstall iTunes and ignore it or simply be annoyed and continue to bang your head against the wall. Your call.

baggss said:

(many words of "wisdom" cut for brevity)

I'm happy you know how a Unix system works, now learn how a Mac works. Yes' it's Unix under the hood, but the GUI adds a dimension which I have noticed many Unix users fail to grasp. Again, you're trying to make it be like something else instead of what it is. Enjoy banging your head against the wall.

I have not tried to sell you on anything, I simply stated that no formal uninstaller is needed and that if you knew how the system worked you wouldn't need to ask why there isn't one. You don't, so you still think it's needed. The fact that you felt the need to "reformat after a year" makes me wonder exactly what it is you think you understand. I'm impressed that you've been using Macs for a year, I've been using them for over 10 and have been using OSX since the public beta of 10.0. Big whoop for both of us.

So you can either uncheck iTunes in every update, disable the update feature and miss future stuff, just reinstall iTunes and ignore it or simply be annoyed and continue to bang your head against the wall. Your call.

Click to expand...

Man you are completely missing the point .... what exactly is wrong withe people on these forums I don't know. I had your helpful responses running in my head before I started this thread. Every time someone criticizes something of Mac OS the retort is of the exact same form.

It goes something like this -> Well aren't you stupid, if you understood what was going on here then you wouldn't ask that but you don't so shut up.

This is usually followed by -> there is nothing wrong with mac, you just don't get it, you've been so brainwashed by other OSs (usually windows) that you can't possibly understand what mac is trying to do.

The effective argument in all cases seems to be that the problem isn't with the OS it is with the user. Macs way is the right way and if you don't like it then you are found defective ....

yikes man is this really the way it is? Maybe I should like go see a doctor or something, maybe I'm depressed and it took this forum post to make me understand. Fix me please baggss I don't know how to live

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Now - why did I reformat? You didn't ask, you once again assumed to understand what I'm about and tried to cut me down based on your assumptions. In response to your unasked question, my macbook "Super"-drive failed and I had to send it in to a shop. I keep confidential information on my drive so in order to be as responsible as possible with other people's information, as a general rule I wipe my drive before sending my computers off for repair. So question "what I think I know" all you want but maybe you should start asking questions rather than imposing your own expectations on me.

I know, for the love of god, that a formal uninstaller isn't completely necessary for the system. The scraps that are left over are not really in my way .. I KNOW .. but that doesn't mean I don't want them gone. I like a clean system, even if the cleanliness doesn't affect function. Why do I want a "formal uninstaller" for apps? Because when I decide I don't want a program anymore, and I know there is more to it than just the .app file, I want everything it brought to the my computer gone. I don't see why this is unreasonable, but since mac OS doesn't do it I can only presume this is a deficiency with my understanding of apple and I should just shut up and ignore it. I'm sorry for asking.

You said to me: "'I'm impressed that you've been using Macs for a year, I've been using them for over 10 and have been using OSX since the public beta of 10.0. Big whoop for both of us." If you remember your own posts you conjectured that I was a new switcher, so I just filled you in. I didn't bring the amount of time I've been using a mac into this, you did .... and then attempt to make me look like an idiot for having answered your question. NICE!

oh yes one more question - "GUI adds a dimension which I have noticed many Unix users fail to grasp" ... I am actually curious to know how the GUI changes the way apps are handled in Mac OS. Seriously, anything you can fill me in on here would be great ... this actually sounds like you were taking a break from your diatribe and almost told me something useful. Please continue.

You finish by advising me to enjoy banging my head against the wall. I'm not that terribly frustrated by the system, the only thing that is frustrating me right now is you.


Best,
Nate

EDIT:

I had a nice big response here, but I've removed it. I'm not going to keep this discussion going any further. Hopefully the OP will get his problem resolved and be happy.

Nate5000, you've basically got three options when removing this sort of software

1. Leave the harmless, tiny text files alone
2. Hunt them down and delete them yourself
3. Download something to do it for you.

If you don't like those options, well, there's not much you can do. You can rant and rave if you like, but it's your own fault if someone like baggs rants and raves right back at you.

As for why Apple doesn't bundle that sort of capability with the system...([size=-3]well, they do, but only for developers who choose to use the .pkg installer format[/size])...it's probably because the necessary code would take up more space and cause more problems than those preference files ever could.