Completely Uninstalling Ancestral Quest

Reinstalling Ancestral Quest

If you wish to completely remove ANcestral Quest from your computer, simply folloow the appropriate steps, below.

In some rare cases of errors and other persistent problems, it may be desirable to completely uninstall then reinstall Ancestral Quest. Complete both the Uninstall steps and then the Reinstall steps, as outlined, below.

Uninstall, Reinstall Ancestral Quest for Mac
Uninstall, Reinstall Ancestral Quest for Windows 10 and 8.x and 7
Uninstall, Reinstall Ancestral Quest for Windows XP and Vista
Manually Remove Ancestral Quest for Windows if the Uninstall Utility did not work

Mac Procedure

You may want to read through all of these instructions first, before beginning the procedure. This will help you understand and be familiar with what will be required before starting.

Ancestral Quest for Mac Complete Uninstall, Reinstall Procedure
Step #	Uninstall Ancestral Quest for Mac
1	Backup your database. In Ancestral Quest make a new backup of your database (do not overwrite a previous backup). If you aren't sure where the backup is being created, you might want to save it to your desktop.
2	Have your AQ Registration Key handy. If you do not have it, within Ancestral Quest, on the menu bar, choose Help > Register Ancestral Quest. Write down your Registration Key, including the hyphens (or you can copy the key and paste it into a document). Click Close.
3	If you intend to reinstall AQ, make sure you have the Ancestral Quest disk image file, that you downloaded when you initially purchased AQ, or when you downloaded Ancestral Quest Basics, handy. This file has the name, AQxxmac.dmg (where xx is the version of AQ that you are dealing with), and should be located in your Downloads folder. If you don't have this file, you will need to download it again before proceeding.
4	Uninstall Ancestral Quest from your computer. To uninstall: Exit Ancestral Quest Open your Finder window Locate and expand the Applications folder Move the AncestralQuest.app application to the trash If you intend to re-install, and you do not need to do a full uninstall before re-installing, you can skip to step 5. If you want to completely uninstall AQ, continue. Now locate and expand your home folder (typically it will show your name) Expand the "Library" folder. (If you don't see the Library folder, click "Go" from the Finder main menu, then hold the <Option> key. You should now see "Library" in the list of folders you can Go to. Select "Library".) Locate and expand the "Application Support" sub-folder Make sure that your family data file is not contained in the "Ancestral Quest" sub-folder of this "Application Support" folder. If it is, you will want to move it to a different folder before taking the next step. Please be aware of the following issues and steps: By default, AQ for Mac is designed to store your family databases in your "Documents" folder. A bug was introduced into AQ for Mac during October and early November of 2015, wherein this default was changed to the "My Documents" folder, inside of the Application Support for AQ. By mid-November, this was changed back, so that AQ would again use the "Documents" folder by default. If you initially installed AQ, or fully reinstalled AQ, during this time period, you should make sure that your family database files are NOT in the "My Documents" folder of the Application Support for AQ. If you are sure that your files are stored elsewhere, then you can skip this check. If you are not sure of where your files are stored, please watch this short video that will demonstrate how you can verify the location of your files, and how to copy them to a safe folder before proceding. Locate the "Ancestral Quest" sub-folder, and move this "Ancestral Quest" support folder to the trash.
Step #	Re-install Ancestral Quest for Mac
1	Reinstall Ancestral Quest. To install: Open the AQxxmac.dmg file (where xx is the version of AQ that you are dealing with), which you earlier downloaded from the Internet. This will show you a window you can use to drag the Ancestral Quest application to your Applications folder. Follow the instruction to drag the Ancestral Quest application to your Applications folder. You can now close this window. Open your Applications folder and run Ancestral Quest Follow the prompts to download and install the Collaboration Support files from Microsoft
2	Run Ancestral Quest and enter your Registration Key as recorded in step 2, if necessary. Then, verify whether the problem is still there or has been resolved.

Windows 10/8.x/7 Procedure

Where a step may be slightly different between Windows 8.x/7 and Windows 10, you will see those instructions appearing within a color-coded section.

You may want to read through all of these instructions first, before beginning the procedure. This will help you understand and be familiar with what will be required before starting.

Ancestral Quest for Windows 10/8.x/7 Complete Uninstall, Re-install Procedure
Step #	Windows 8.x/7-specific portions	Windows 10-specific portions
1	Backup your database. In Ancestral Quest make a new backup of your database (do not overwrite a previous backup). If you aren't sure where the backup is being created, you might want to save it to your desktop.
2	Have your AQ Registration Key handy. If you do not have it, within Ancestral Quest, on the menu bar, choose Help > Register Ancestral Quest. Write down your Registration Key, including the hyphens (or you can copy the key and paste it into a document). Click Close.
	We will use a keyboard shortcut to begin the process. For those unfamiliar with using the Windows key shortcuts, let's go over a couple of things. First, locate the Windows Logo key on your keyboard. It is usually found in the lower left portion of the keyboard, between the Ctrl and Alt keys. It has the Windows logo on the key, like this: It either has the earlier 'flag' look or the newer window pane look.
	Now, let's review a concept you use frequently. If you want to type in the capital letter z in a document, you get that letter by holding down the Shift key, and while Shift is down, you tap the letter z key once—you don't hold it down (unless you want a whole bunch of Zs in a row), you just quickly tap the z key, and let go of both keys. It's a pretty simple keystroke. We are going to use a similar shortcut in a moment, but with using the Windows logo key instead of Shift. The concept and how you use the keys is the same.
3	Uninstall Ancestral Quest from your computer. To uninstall:
	Use the keyboard shortcut Windows logo key + x: Hold down the Windows logo key as you tap and release the x key. The Quick Link menu appears on your screen: At the top of this menu, click your mouse, once, on Programs and Features or Apps and Features. In the window that appears, the program installed on your Windows system will appear. They are usually listed in alphabetical order. Locate and click, once, on Ancestral Quest xx (where xx is the version you wish to uninstall).
	Just above the list of programs, click on the Uninstall/Change button.	Just beneath the name of the program, click on the Uninstall button that appears.
	The Setup program will appear. Given the options to Modify, Repair, or Remove, click on Remove. If prompted whether you want to completely remove the program, click Yes. The program will be uninstalled. You may be prompted to uninstall PDF-XChange; continue with that uninstall operation. To completely remove all instances and traces of Ancestral Quest, make sure that all versions of Ancestral Quest and PDF-XChange entries are gone from the Programs/Apps list. Close the Control Panel window. If the uninstall utility does not work properly, and it does not remove Ancestral Quest, see the steps, below, to manually remove the program.
4	Shutdown and restart the computer.
5	Rename the Ancestral Quest Settings file. Click the Windows Start button. Look at the very top of the menu and you will usually see a picture next to a name. This is your Windows profile name (you will need to know this in a moment, so remember it or write it down).
	Open up My Computer.	Open up File Explorer.
	For the above step, you can use a keyboard shortcut, Windows logo key + e: Hold down the Windows logo key as you tap and release the e key. In the left panel of the window that appears, locate and click on your Local Disk (C:) drive. It may be within the This PC section. Double-click on the Users folder. Double-click on the folder that has the 'User name' you made note of, earlier. Locate the AppData folder. If you do not see this folder (it is usually hidden by Windows), you will need to make it visible:
	Near the top of the window, click on Organize, then click on Folder and Search Options. In the dialog box that opens, click the View tab, then down under Advanced Settings, click the circular option labeled Show hidden files and folders, and click OK.	Up on the ribbon of this window, click on the View tab, then, within the Show/Hide group, click the checkbox labeled Hidden items.
	Double-click on the AppData folder. Double-click on the Roaming folder. Double-click on the Incline Software folder. Double-click on the Ancestral Quest folder. Locate the ancquest.ini file, and click on it, once, with the mouse to select it. Clickon the name of the file, once more, to put you into 'rename mode' for the file that was selected. Rename the AncQuest.ini file so it becomes AncQuest Old.ini. Note: If you do not see the .ini, just rename the AncQuest file to AncQuest Old. Close that window.
6	Shutdown and restart the computer, again.
Step #	Re-install Ancestral Quest for Windows
1	You can now install Ancestral Quest, taking the default settings.
2	Shutdown and restart the computer.
3	Run Ancestral Quest and enter your Registration Key as recorded in the Uninstallation procedures,step 2, if necessary. If you have uninstalled and reinstalled due to an issue, verify whether the problem is still there or has been resolved.

Windows XP and Vista Procedure

Where a step may be slightly different between Windows XP and Windows Vista, you will see those instructions appearing within a color-coded section.

You may want to read through all of these instructions first, before beginning the procedure. This will help you understand and be familiar with what will be required before starting.

Ancestral Quest for Windows XP/Vista Complete Uninstall, Reinstall Procedure
Step #	Windows XP-specific portions	Windows Vista-specific portions
1	Backup your database. In Ancestral Quest make a new backup of your database (do not overwrite a previous backup). If you aren't sure where the backup is being created, you might want to save it to your desktop.
2	Have your AQ Registration Key handy. If you do not have it, within Ancestral Quest, on the menu bar, choose Help > Register Ancestral Quest. Write down your Registration Key, including the hyphens (or you can copy the key and paste it into a document). Click Close.
3	Uninstall Ancestral Quest from your computer. To uninstall:
	Go to Start> Control Panel> Add/Remove Programs and look for any Ancestral Quest.	Go to Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features. In the Uninstall or Change a Program window, look for any Ancestral Quest.
	Uninstall the program. You may be prompted to uninstall PDF-XChange; continue with that uninstall operation. If you are not prompted to uninstall PDF-XChange, please do so manually from this screen. Make sure that all Ancestral Quest and PDF-XChange files are gone from this list. Close the Control Panel windows. If the uninstall utility does not work properly, and it does not remove Ancestral Quest, see the steps, below, to manually remove the program.
4	Shutdown and restart the computer.
5	Rename the Ancestral Quest Settings file. Click the Windows Start button. Look at the very top of the menu and you will usually see a picture next to a name. This is your Windows profile name (you will need to know this in a moment, so remember it or write it down).
	Open up My Computer.	Open up Computer.
	Double-click on your Local Disk (C:) drive.
	Double-click on the Documents and Settings folder.	Double-click on the Users folder.
	Double-click on the folder that has the 'User name' you made note of, earlier. Locate the Application Data or AppData folder. If you do not see this folder (it is usually hidden by Windows so you won't mess things up), you will need to make it visible.
	Go to the Menu bar of the My Computer window, click Tools, then Folder Options.	Near the top of the window, click on Organize, then click on Folder and Search Options.
	In the dialog box that opens, click the View tab, then down under Advanced Settings, click the circular option labeled Show hidden files and folders, and click OK.
	Double-click on the Application Data folder.	Double-click on the AppData folder. Double-click on the Roaming folder.
	Double-click on the Incline Software folder. Double-click on the Ancestral Quest folder. Locate the ancquest.ini file, and click on it once with the mouse to select it. Along the top of your computer keyboard, you will see a row of function keys (labeled F1, F2, and so on). Tap the F2 function key once -- this puts you into rename mode for the file that was selected. Rename the AncQuest.ini file so it becomes AncQuest Old.ini. Note: If you do not see the .ini, just rename the AncQuest file to AncQuest Old. Close that window.
6	Shutdown and restart the computer.
Step #	Re-install Ancestral Quest for Windows
1	Install Ancestral Quest, taking the default settings.
2	Shutdown and restart the computer, once more.
3	Run Ancestral Quest and enter your Registration Key as recorded in the Uninstall procedures, step 2, if necessary. Then, if you were troubleshooting an issue, verify whether the problem is still there or has been resolved.

The Windows uninstall utility is not working. How do I manually remove AQ?

If you have tried to use the uninstaller, but have not had any success, you can manually uninstall the program.

First, we will remove the shortcut from the Start menu:

Click the Windows Start button, then go to (All) Programs, then point your mouse to the Ancestral Quest xx item that you wish to remove (xx represents the version).

Click the secondary (right) mouse button on that folder of the copy of AQ that you wish to remove.

From the menu that appears, click on Delete.

Click Yes, you do want to continue.

Now we will remove the actual program:

Open up (My) Computer.

Double click on the C:\ drive to open it, then look for the Program Files folder.

Double click to open up the Program Files (x86) folder, if you have one, otherwise double click on the Program Files folder.

If you wish to remove just one particular version of AQ but leave another version installed:

Double click to open up the Incline Software folder.

Hover your mouse on the folder for the version of AQ that you wish delete, such as Ancestral Quest 15 and then click the secondary (right) mouse button once.

From the menu that appears, click on Delete.

Click Yes, you do want to send the folder and its contents to the Recycle Bin.

You can repeat steps b-d for each version you wish to remove.

If you wish to remove all versions of AQ that are installed
Hover your mouse on the Incline Software folder and then click the secondary (right) mouse button once.

From the menu that appears, click on Delete.

Click Yes, you do want to send the folder and its contents to the Recycle Bin.

Finally, you will want to remove the shortcut from your Windows Desktop:

Locate the appropriate Ancestral Quest shortcut on your Desktop.

Hover your mouse on that shortcut and then click the secondary (right) mouse button once.

From the menu that appears, click on Delete.

Click Yes, you want to move the shortcut to the Recycle Bin.

That should take care of it.

Note: There is no way to manually remove the Collaboration feature... but that is not an issue as it doesn't really take up any space on the hard drive. Collaboration has simply made one minor entry into the Windows Registry which will not have any negative impact on the computer or Windows system if it remains.