Settings & Configuration

​

Settings Window Overview

• General - Basic application behavior
• Appearance - Interface and display options
• Uninstall - Uninstallation process settings
• Scanning - Application detection configuration
• Junk Removal - Leftover scan settings
• Advanced - Power user and experimental features
• External - Integration with external tools

​

General Settings

​

Updates

• When enabled, BCU checks for new versions on startup
• Notifications appear when updates are available
• Checks are performed in the background
• No personal data is transmitted

• Helps improve BCU by sending usage statistics
• No personal information or application lists are shared
• Only feature usage and error reports
• Can be disabled at any time

​

Feedback

• Disables the feedback prompt that appears occasionally
• Feedback helps improve the application
• Enable if you find the prompts disruptive

• Shows community ratings for applications
• Adds a “Rating” column to the list
• Ratings downloaded from online database
• Helps identify potentially unwanted applications

​

Miscellaneous

• Automatically loads a specific uninstaller list on startup
• Configure the default list in File > Load Uninstaller List
• Useful for standardized workflows

• Adjusts color coding for color vision deficiency
• Uses patterns in addition to colors
• Improves accessibility

​

Appearance Settings

​

Display Options

• Toggles main toolbar visibility
• Can also be changed via View menu
• Keyboard shortcuts still work when hidden

• Toggles right sidebar with filters and search
• Provides more space for application list when hidden
• Access via View menu or F3

• Toggles bottom status bar
• Shows total applications and size information
• Displays current operations

• Displays floating window explaining color codes
• Updates based on visible application types
• Automatically positions near list view

• Enables visual size representation
• Shows applications as proportionally-sized rectangles
• Useful for identifying large applications

​

Theme

• Follows Windows theme (dark/light)
• Adjusts colors automatically
• Improves integration with Windows 10/11
• Disable for classic appearance

• Improves scaling on high-DPI displays
• Enable for sharper text on 4K monitors
• May require restart to take effect
• Disable if UI elements appear too large/small

​

List View

• Adds checkboxes to each list item
• Easier for batch selection
• Allows building selections over time

• Groups applications by primary sort column
• Collapsible group headers
• Better organization for large lists

• Uninstall - Starts uninstall process
• Properties - Opens properties window
• Quiet Uninstall - Starts silent uninstall
• Nothing - Disables double-click

​

Uninstall Settings

​

Messages and Prompts

• Ask - Prompt after each uninstall session
• Yes - Always scan for junk automatically
• No - Never scan for junk

• Ask - Prompt before each uninstall session
• Yes - Always create restore points
• No - Never create restore points
• Requires Windows System Restore to be enabled
• May significantly slow down uninstall process

• When enabled, prompts if any loud (interactive) uninstallers are queued during quiet uninstall
• Gives option to skip loud items or proceed

• When enabled, junk window shows even low-confidence items by default
• Useful for thorough cleanup but increases risk
• Not recommended for typical users

​

Concurrent Uninstallation

• Allows multiple uninstallers to run simultaneously
• Significantly speeds up batch operations
• Works best with quiet uninstallers

• Number of simultaneous uninstallers (1-4)
• 2 - Good balance for most systems
• 3-4 - For powerful systems with many quiet uninstallers
• 1 - Traditional sequential mode

• Prevents multiple interactive uninstallers from overlapping
• Recommended to avoid confusion
• Quiet uninstallers still run in parallel

• Advanced option to skip automatic conflict detection
• May cause issues if uninstallers interfere with each other
• Only enable if you understand the risks

​

Quiet Uninstall Behavior

• Attempts to automate interactive uninstallers
• Simulates button clicks to proceed through dialogs
• Uses default options when automating

• Terminates uninstallers that freeze or hang
• Waits 60 seconds of no activity before killing
• Marks as failed for manual cleanup

• Attempts to rerun failed silent uninstalls interactively
• Prompts after all quiet uninstalls complete
• Useful when silent switches don’t work

• Uses a helper service for better compatibility
• May improve success rate for stubborn uninstallers
• Experimental feature

​

Uninstall Process

• Blocks Windows from sleeping/hibernating
• Prevents interrupted uninstallations
• Automatically released when complete

• Automatically orders uninstallers for optimal results
• Considers size, type, dependencies
• Recommended for batch operations

​

Scanning Settings

​

Standard Sources

• Scans standard uninstaller registry locations
• HKLM and HKCU Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
• Primary source for most applications
• Should always be enabled

• Searches Program Files and Program Files (x86) folders
• Finds applications missing registry entries
• Can detect manually installed software
• May slow down initial scan

• Uses built-in list of common installation paths
• Includes portable application locations
• Finds applications in non-standard places

​

Package Managers and Stores

• Detects games installed through Steam
• Shows game library entries
• Can uninstall directly through Steam

• Shows Windows Store / UWP applications
• Includes built-in Windows apps
• Can generate PowerShell removal scripts

• Lists optional Windows features
• Shows installed Windows components
• Uses DISM for removal

• Lists installed Windows updates
• Shows KB numbers and descriptions
• Can uninstall problematic updates
• Very slow scan - only enable when needed

• Detects applications installed via Chocolatey
• Shows package information
• Can uninstall through Chocolatey

• Detects applications installed via Scoop
• Shows Scoop bucket information
• Can uninstall through Scoop

• Detects Oculus VR applications
• Shows Oculus library entries

​

Folder Detection

• Automatically finds installation directories
• Scans all fixed drives
• Can be slow on systems with many drives

• Includes USB drives and external drives in scan
• Only works when auto-detect is enabled
• May significantly slow down scan

• Add non-standard installation paths
• One path per line
• Supports environment variables like %APPDATA%
• Examples:
  D:\MyApps
  E:\Programs
  C:\CustomInstallLocation
  

​

Junk Removal Settings

​

Junk Scanning

• Searches file system for leftover folders and files
• Can be slow on large drives
• Disable for registry-only scanning

• Searches for orphaned registry keys
• Fast and recommended
• Should usually be enabled

• Uses built-in junk definitions
• Includes common leftover locations
• Improves detection accuracy

​

Backup Settings

• Ask - Prompt before each junk removal
• Yes - Always create backups automatically
• No - Never create backups (not recommended)

• Default location for junk backups
• Should have sufficient free space
• Backups include timestamps
• Recommended: C:\BCU_Backups or similar

​

Advanced Settings

​

Testing and Detection

• Validates digital signatures on executables
• Shows certificate status with color coding
• Slower startup but improved security visibility
• Uses certificate caching to improve speed

• Saves certificate validation results
• Dramatically speeds up subsequent scans
• Cache stored in application directory
• Automatically refreshed periodically

• Checks for broken uninstaller entries
• Marks entries with missing files as invalid
• Highlights in red
• Useful for cleanup

• Shows applications with broken uninstallers
• Highlights in purple
• Indicates incomplete removals

• Color-codes different application types
• Store apps, system components, updates, etc.
• Improves visual organization
• Can be disabled for simpler appearance

​

Protection

• Allows uninstalling protected applications
• Removes safety checks
• Extremely dangerous - can break Windows
• Shows warnings before each operation

​

Debugging

• Pretends to uninstall without making changes
• No files deleted, no registry modified
• Useful for testing and demonstrations
• Shows normal progress and results

• Provides additional logging
• Shows debug menu options
• Displays technical information
• Only for troubleshooting

​

Performance

• Saves application metadata to disk
• Speeds up subsequent startups
• Cache stored in application directory
• Automatically refreshes when needed

​

External Commands

​

Configuration

• Master switch for pre/post-uninstall commands
• Must be enabled for commands to run

• Commands to run before starting any uninstaller
• Runs once at the beginning of batch operation
• Can be batch file, executable, or script
• Example uses:
  • Close related applications
  • Create additional backups
  • Log uninstall operations

• Commands to run after all uninstalls complete
• Runs once at the end of batch operation
• Common uses:
  • Run disk cleanup
  • Clear temp files
  • Restart services
  • Generate reports

​

Command Format

• One per line
• Full path to executable required
• Arguments supported
• Relative paths relative to BCU location

# Clean temp files
C:\Windows\System32\cleanmgr.exe /sagerun:1

# Run BleachBit cleaner
..\BleachBit\bleachbit_console.exe --clean system.tmp

# Custom cleanup script
C:\Scripts\post-uninstall-cleanup.bat

​

Using External Tools

bleachbit_console.exe --clean system.tmp system.logs system.recycle_bin

CCleaner.exe /AUTO

powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Scripts\cleanup.ps1"

​

Language Settings

1. Open Settings > General
2. Select language from dropdown:
   • Default (follow Windows)
   • English
   • Other supported languages
3. Restart BCU for changes to take effect

• English
• German
• French
• Spanish
• Polish
• Russian
• Chinese (Simplified)
• And more…

​

Importing and Exporting Settings

• Installed version: %AppData%\Klocman\Bulk Crap Uninstaller\
• Portable version: BCUninstaller.exe.config in application directory

​

Backup Settings

1. Navigate to settings location
2. Copy settings.xml file
3. Store backup in safe location

​

Restore Settings

1. Close BCU
2. Replace settings.xml with backup
3. Restart BCU

​

Transfer Settings

1. Export settings from configured installation
2. Copy settings file to other PC
3. Place in appropriate settings location

​

Resetting Settings

1. Go to Tools > Settings
2. Click Reset to Defaults
3. Confirm the action
4. All settings restored to factory defaults
5. May require restart

1. Close BCU
2. Delete settings.xml file
3. Restart BCU
4. First-run wizard appears

​

Recommended Settings

​

Conservative (Safest)

​

Balanced (Recommended)

​

Aggressive (Power Users)

​

Performance Tuning

​

Faster Startup

• Enable certificate caching
• Enable app info caching
• Disable Windows Updates scan
• Disable removable drive scanning
• Reduce enabled scan sources

​

Faster Uninstall

• Enable concurrent uninstallation
• Increase max concurrent count
• Enable auto-kill stuck uninstallers
• Disable restore points (if safe)
• Enable intelligent sorting

​

Lower Resource Usage

• Disable certificate testing
• Disable tree map
• Use simple theme (no system theme)
• Disable invalid entry testing
• Close settings panel when not needed