How to Uninstall WordPad Windows 10?

Question

WordPad some how became my default application to open .docx files. I know I could just change the default, but, I wanted to make it be gone forever and never have the possibility of annoying me again. But.... there doesnt seem to be a way to uninstall it.

I've looked in:

Control Panel > Uninstall a Program
Settings > Apps & Features
Search > WordPad > right click (there is no uninstall in the context menu)
saw this: Why does windows not let me to uninstall some apps? but also did not work

Please help me escape Microsoft's iron fist.

Do note, 'tis complicated, but I have posted an answer that will work — David, Oct 21 '17 at 02:02
WordPad is an operating system component. If you don’t want it, don’t use Windows. Windows may be wonky at times when it comes to file associations. No need to get all worked up. — Daniel B, Oct 21 '17 at 16:45
@DanielB "If you don’t want it, don’t use Windows. "??? So passive aggressive. If I don't want to use Word Pad, I will figure out how to destroy it, and continue using Windows, but thanks for the suggestion. — Andrew, Oct 23 '17 at 18:41

David · Answer 1 · 2017-10-21T02:28:53.353

2

Under no circumstances should you ever tamper with an operating system's native files,

However I too hate the Windows Wordpad bs, so here's my fix. Navigate to

C:\Windows\write.exe

And delete the file. Then also navigate to

C:\Program Files\windows nt\accessories

And delete both wordpad.exe and WordpadFilter.dll (might be a good idea to delete the en-US folder as well)

EDIT: Some folders worth deleting:

C:\Windows\WinSxS\wow64_microsoft-windows-wordpad_(blah)
C:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_microsoft-windows-wordpad_(blah)
C:\Windows\WinSxS\wow64_microsoft-windows-wordpad.resources
C:\Windows\WinSxS\wow64_microsoft-windows-wordpad.resources

Note that to delete these files you may need to grant yourself Admin+ permissions to these files: To do this, follow these steps:

Right click the file/folder
Select "Properties"
Navigate to the "Security" Tab
Scroll down the "Group or user names:" list, and find:

Users (your-desktop-name-here)
Take note of this group's name
Click advanced at the bottom of the tab
At the top of the page, where it says "Owner: TrustedInstaller", click Change.
Enter "Users", then hit Return
Now hit apply at the bottom of the screen.
You can now delete the file!

edited Oct 21 '17 at 02:28

answered Oct 21 '17 at 01:54

David

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Thanks D, i deleted it, despite my better judgement. But... even after restart, Word Pad still loads!!!! (and write.exe is still gone) – Andrew Oct 21 '17 at 02:13
i have a feeling i need to delete everything named wordpad.exe – Andrew Oct 21 '17 at 02:13
what's the worst that can happen – Andrew Oct 21 '17 at 02:13
oh wait you updated the answer – Andrew Oct 21 '17 at 02:14
@Andrew do let me know if this works or not. If not I'll install a Windows VM on my SSD and run a search for "wordpad" across the installation and compile a list of files to delete – David Oct 21 '17 at 02:25

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 21 '17 at 16:42

Open Regedit.exe and go to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\RegisteredApplications

Export the branch to a .REG file.

In the right-pane, right-click Wordpad and choose Delete.

Windows won't associate .docx automatically with Wordpad from now on.

Note that this won't uninstall Wordpad.. only de-registers it from Default Apps.

How to Uninstall WordPad Windows 10?

2 Answers2