CrossOver Support - Community Forums

I need to uninstall Dragon Naturally Speaking for Windows that I have installed on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS using CrossOver Linux.

Dragon Tech Support forums keep telling me to go to the Windows Control Panel and use the Install/Uninstall tool there. Obviously, I can't do that since I don't have Windows on my computer.

I've looked for an equivalent CrossOver uninstaller that I could use but I can't find one. Is there an uninstaller in CrossOver that I could use to uninstall this or any other application?

BTW Dragon has a Remover tool, that is different in some way from an uninstaller, but according to their forum using it would make it hard for me to activate Dragon in the future when I re-install it.

TIA Kelly J Morris

There are two ways you could "uninstall" any software.

1) Actual uninstall: In the botlle manager, there is a "repair or remove" button in the applications tab. If the application has a compatible uninstaller, it should be invoqued.

2) Removing the bottle: You could simply delete the bottle, effectively removing it from your system, to the point of leaving no trace at all. That is also done in the applications tab. You simply select the bottle and use the "remove" button in the lower left corner of the window.

Whatever you choose, I suggest you make an archive of your bottle first, which you could restore if need be. You will find a button for that purpose in the advanced tab. That way, if ever you made a mistake, or need to copy some files, you have the option to restore your software as it was.

I don't see the Bottle Manager in CrossOver Linux. How do I get to it?

Start CrossOver, Tools -> Manage Bottles

I don't see tools. This is what I see...

There are no menus at all except for "Install Windows Software" and "See All Windows Applications".
I wonder if I've got an old version of CrossOver.

Look at the top left of your screen with crossover open. Move your mouse to the top left and you should see the menu options. It's in tools from there.

Yes! I see it! Duh! I'm new to Linux and didn't think to look on the panel!

Thanks so much!

John

Note that we do not really test uninstallation. We think focusing our efforts on making more applications run and install is better. Usually uninstallers work when the installer works. If you're testing an application it is recommended that you install it in a separate bottle. In this case you can get rid of it by deleting the bottle and don't have to run the application's uninstaller.

Re: uninstaller works when installer works

I've had a lot of programs not uninstall properly, that installed without issue and worked. Mostly these were trying to install some drivers alongside, etc, which was sometimes not necessary, or didn't work, but the rest of the program worked. Of course, the uninstaller had problems finding the driver it didn't really install properly.

I just deleted the bottle when upgrading several of them to a newer version.

That's the nice thing about uninstalling in virtual machines (like Crossover) integrated into linux (unlike using virtualbox with a windows install, which is typically entirely separate): keep your work files in linux, and use them in the windows programs: you never have to uninstall any windows program at all. Delete the bottle and just install the latest set of versions.

There's a couple of problems with your post Leo.

First, if your installer tried to install some extra, like a driver, and failed, than the installation wasn't without issue. Then, you can't expect the uninstallation to go well, and your statement is contradictory.

Second, Crossover isn't a virtual machine by any stretch of the imagination. The c_drive in the bottle could be a symlink to other folders on the system, and no other hardware is simulated anywhere else. If anything, Crossover is more of an interpreter that makes it possible for windows software to find what it expects. No actual hardware, including disk controllers, are ever simulated, that's why there is no question that Crossover isn't a virtual machine.

Third, when dealing with actual virtual machines, you can establish shares between the host and guest so that your work files remain on the host, just like you do with Crossover. So the "entirely seperate" bit about VMs isn't exactly true.