Basic question on updating programs

[Dimitri]

I'm trying to update GOM Player, its built in update function doesn't seem to work, I don't know why, so now I have to download the latest version off the website and install.

My question is, do I have to uninstall the previous version or will running the install just overwrite? I ran the setup.exe and it found the directory where I have GOM installed automatically (its not the default directory) which makes me think maybe it will just overwrite it, but it doesn't state that anywhere.

So my question is is it always normal, when updating, to just install the new version, without uninstalling hte previous, does it always overwrite the previous thing (meaning update rather than install a parallel version).

The reason I'm fussing over it and not just uninstalling and then installing is I seem to remember reading that whenever you uninstall something there's a tendency for it to stay in the registry which eventually leads to clutter, which is not good, or something like that.

 

[johnb35]

It depends on the program itself. Some over write while others will install along side of the other which means you'll have 2 versions on your system. But if thats the case then you can just uninstall the old version. Some installers won't remove all files when uninstalling but if you use revouninstaller, it will remove all files pertaining to the program.

 

[Dimitri]

That's what I thought. Tanks!

I don't understand why every developer doesn't offer the option of updating rather than having to uninstall/install given that you have to use specialized programs to remove all traces of the previous installation.