Registry Files still there after Windows 7 reinstalled

[Guest]

I installed an application that did not have an uninstaller with it. This meant that I could only delete the folder leaving the Registry files behind. I decided instead to re-install Windows, but the Registry files still seem to be there. Is there any way of getting rid of them?

 

[Hawkeye22]

It sounds like you did a repair install instead of a clean install. If you know the keys, why not just run regedit.exe and delete the keys manually?

 

[Guest]

When I inserted the Windows 7 CD and booted from it, I selected the Custom box and formatted/deleted the partitions. Is that not the option for a clean install? If not, what is the option for the clean install?
I do not know the keys.

 

[Sunius]

If you did that, the there's no way the registry files could have survived.

 

[Guest]

Well, after re-installing, the registry key was no longer there. After installing drivers that I transferred from my USB to the PC, the registry key came back.
To be precise; I downloaded Civilization V from Skidrow. The registry key that keeps appearing is Civilization_V_DX11.exe. It could be that it was a virus and that it infected my USB. I will try formatting my USB and then transferring the drivers again. If that does not work, I will just install the drivers from the CD provided with my motherboard.

 

[Sunius]

You realize that what you're doing is illegal? We cannot help you there. Tom's Hardware does not support piracy.

 

[Guest]

What I did was illegal; What I am doing now is not illegal. Thanks to this situation, I am not going to download games illegally again. All I am asking for is advice on how to get rid of it.

I knew this would happen. That is why I did not want to mention what it was that I was trying to get rid of.

 

[Hawkeye22]

When I inserted the Windows 7 CD and booted from it, I selected the Custom box and formatted/deleted the partitions. Is that not the option for a clean install? If not, what is the option for the clean install?
I do not know the keys.

Yes, if you deleted the widows partition and recreated it, then it's a clean install and no random registry keys will exist. If the key is back, you reintroduced it somehow.

 

[Guest]

After re-installing Windows 7 and the drivers from the CD provided by the motherboard manufacturer, it looks as if the registry key was added by the onboard VGA driver.
Sorry for wasting your time.

 

[Sunius]

You didn't waste our time. I'm glad you have resolved it and I hope you learned your lesson .

 

[Guest]

You didn't waste our time. I'm glad you have resolved it and I hope you learned your lesson .

To be perfectly honest with you; I was contemplating whether or not to continue downloading the torrent or to cancel it beforehand. I am aware of the time and effort that is put into games. However, in the end, I actually ended up not enjoying Civilization V very much - I only played one game. So I guess downloading it illegally stopped me from wasting my money by buying it legally.