How to Uninstall Chromium

By C.M.

This isn't so much a software review as a "how to get rid of annoying software guide".

So last year my wife installed a printer driver on my laptop and ever since then whenever I start my computer, a program called Chromium starts too.

Chromium - not to be confused with Google Chrome, which is a completely separate program.

So ever since then I have been annoyed whenever Chromium starts whenever my computer starts or restarts. It was just a fundamental annoyance.

I have tried uninstalling the program several times, but was always unsuccessful - until today when I finally got so annoyed I was determined to search for and find a solution.

In my Google search for how to get rid of the blasted annoying Chromium I came across a Microsoft Help Forum page on the same topic. Some poor schmuck was also trying to get rid of the annoying Chromium and was not getting much help from the Microsoft tech either...

See https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-other_settings/stop-chromium-from-autostarting/050611e2-31e5-478b-b536-131f6c3506be however it was useless and only serves to show how Microsoft techs apparently are clueless morons.

To summarize the poor schmuck explains how is trying to uninstall Chromium and this is how the Microsoft tech guy responds:

Hi,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community. I understand your concern and I am glad to assist you.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Appreciate you for trying to fix the issue by yourself.

I would suggest you to try the fix below.

click on the Chrome icon in the task bar/system tray, find the ‘Let Chrome run…’ option and click/tap it to disable/toggle the checkmark off.

The behaviour can also be changed through the browser’s main settings page:
Click on the Chrome menu (or press Alt+E)

 Etc, etc.

Basically the tech guy had completely missed the point. This is not Chrome. This is Chromium, and Chromium is obviously not the same program and is rather annoying to uninstall.

So why is Chromium so difficult to uninstall you might ask?

#1. It isn't listed in the Program Files where you would normally Add / Remove Programs.

#2. When you do a search of installed programs, Chromium doesn't even come up.

#3. When you scroll down through installed programs you might find Chrome installed (if you have it) but you won't find Chromium listed as an officially installed program.

#4. Effectively, Chromium was installed as malware on my computer without my permission.

• It all dates back to my wife installing a printer driver and when doing so the program she installed included Chromium as a bonus.
• Normally when you install something like that they will sometimes ask if you want to install a bonus program and if you are smart you will remove the checkmark or X from the little box so you don't install an unnecessary and potentially annoying program.
• Unfortunately my wife did not do that and installed Chromium by accident. :(

#5. The Uninstall file for Chromium is actually just an useless dat file. (See further below.)

So how did I finally remove it from my computer?

Well, since I couldn't find the install folder and it was hidden somewhere so I had to do a search of the entire C drive of my laptop - the whole bloody thing, which takes awhile, but it was necessary to find the hidden files.

And thus I found all the shortcuts - including one in the Start Menu, which was causing Chromium to start every time my computer started or restarted.

I also found where all the Chromium files were hidden:

C:\Users\USERNAMEMAYVARY\AppData\Local\Chromium

(Note - Depending on how Chromium gets unintentionally installed on your computer, the location might vary. There are a lot of programs out there which like to sneak malware and bonus programs on to your computer.)

So I deleted all the Chromium files from the Start Menu, deleted all the shortcuts...

Within the C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Chromium location was a file marked Uninstall.

So I clicked it, figuring this seemed like a good idea. But as mentioned above, the Uninstall is actually just a dat file - and useless - which convinces me that Chromium is about as malware-esque as you can get, because they really don't want you uninstalling it.

So then I just had fun with the Delete button. I deleted everything in the Chromium folder, and then deleted the Chromium folder itself. Everything is now gone.

FINALLY!

Seriously, Chromium is annoying. I never used it as a program. I never wanted it. And getting rid of it is like getting rid of a cockroach, tick or Donald Trump - it is a lot harder to do than you expect.

Good luck to you!