# Need help uninstalling XTU



## trickson (Oct 8, 2019)

For some odd reason Intel extreme utility is installed on my system, Any one know how to get it out? It is annoying to see this in my programs folder.
I tried It doesn't show up in ccleaner and that is really odd. When I try to delet the files it says that there is something using it and can't.


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## Solaris17 (Oct 8, 2019)

Was there an issue uninstalling XTU from the control panel?


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## trickson (Oct 8, 2019)

Solaris17 said:


> Was there an issue uninstalling XTU from the control panel?


See that is the funny thing, I have no memory of installing this onto my computer and I just noticed it. I was able to uninstall everything up to a point. There is still the Intel folder in Programs and in that folder there is this file  iocbio2.sys it can not be delete, it says it is in use. I went into the task manager and disabled the stuff there and everything.

Oh and yes there was it failed to uninstall.


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## Kursah (Oct 8, 2019)

What if you install it to fix the broken uninstaller then uninstall again?

That or try something like Revo Uninstaller.


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## Solaris17 (Oct 8, 2019)

Kursah said:


> What if you install it to fix the broken uninstaller then uninstall again?
> 
> That or try something like Revo Uninstaller.



I think that's part of the issue. Revo and other find and kill apps aren't intelligent enough to stop processes. Something as ingrained as XTU or even other programs should be uninstalled via the control panel and then maybe cleaned with something like revo. 

I am in agreement that installing it again will probably fix it.


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## trickson (Oct 8, 2019)

Strange as it may sound I can no longer install said program system is incompatible. Funny it would seem some how it got into my system but how? I am really perplexed.


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## Kursah (Oct 8, 2019)

Solaris17 said:


> I think that's part of the issue. Revo and other find and kill apps aren't intelligent enough to stop processes. Something as ingrained as XTU or even other programs should be uninstalled via the control panel and then maybe cleaned with something like revo.
> 
> I am in agreement that installing it again will probably fix it.



So then can he go through Task Manager, or command prompt, kill it by PID, then run Revo?

Or reboot to safe mode and kill it?

Instead of editing my post, I'll add that I have a couple of solutions linked at the bottom of this post for similar XTU issues.



trickson said:


> Strange as it may sound I can no longer install said program system is incompatible. Funny it would seem somehow it got into my system but how? I am really perplexed.



Can you screenshot the specific error per chance? It may not be necessary, check the below links first. If issues persist, provide screenshot of errors please.

If you didn't come across this thread as a solution, read on from post 3, might prove helpful as you're not alone with this issue:

https://www.tenforums.com/drivers-h...intel-extreme-tuning-utility.html#post1320952
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4499-start-stop-disable-services-windows-10-a.html#post954645
Edit: Also updating the threat title, let's try to keep these titles on-topic with the topic please. We've had this discussion before.


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## Solaris17 (Oct 8, 2019)

Kursah said:


> So then can he go through Task Manager, or command prompt, kill it by PID, then run Revo?



Should do the trick. It seems the point of this thread has now shifted subjects like some of the others. In any case, task manager and killing a process may or may not work depending on service dependencies.

I would usually tackle in this order if I was in this situation.

1: See if it can be cleanly exited from tray since thats where it resides.
2: Kill any processes owned by the task (right click on the task and open folder to find executables)
3: go to the actual details tab and kill underlying process
4: go to services.msc and stop related services.
5: open CMD as admin
6: run


```
sc delete "service name"
```

7: run revo to clean up reg entries and stuff.
8: manually delete folders etc etc etc.

EDIT:: Things like XTU frequently dip into ring0 to make modifications to the machine and most things are going to run under SYSTEM which is why things like revo that can only elevate as far as admin and the inability to attempt to stop or shutdown components can lead to broken things. Revo in its own right is handy, but should only generally be done after a uninstall is attempted (this these mechanisms are fired off by windows as SYSTEM). This way if the uninstall was unclean or botched the chances the program is intact enough to even start are significantly lowered.


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## Bill_Bright (Oct 8, 2019)

trickson said:


> It is annoying to see this in my programs folder.
> I tried It doesn't show up in ccleaner and that is really odd.


It likely would not show up in CC unless it was actually "installed" in Windows. 

I would make sure don't need it. 

If you don't, check out Unlock It (formally MoveOnBoot). This will let you tag the files or folder then delete them early-on during the next boot cycle, before Windows or any application can set hooks in them.


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## trickson (Oct 8, 2019)

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!
I got it out finally, Had to regedit the thing out. There where 3 files in there that I deleted all said Intel on them so I deleted them restarted the computer and went into the program file and seen the Folder there marked Intel Right clicked and deleted it went away super fast!

P.S. NONE of them so called removal tools worked CCleaner (My go to) did not even show the program at all!  And the Revo wanted me to pay up so it worked as it showed me everything there needing removed yet wanted 25 bucks to do it! LOL I got it done free!
TBH ther eis really only one free cleaner and it's just okay and that is CCleaner. All the other software removal tools OUT are pary to remove NOT one other than CCLEANER is really free.


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## n00Be (Mar 9, 2021)

trickson said:


> THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!
> I got it out finally, Had to regedit the thing out. There where 3 files in there that I deleted all said Intel on them so I deleted them restarted the computer and went into the program file and seen the Folder there marked Intel Right clicked and deleted it went away super fast!
> 
> P.S. NONE of them so called removal tools worked CCleaner (My go to) did not even show the program at all!  And the Revo wanted me to pay up so it worked as it showed me everything there needing removed yet wanted 25 bucks to do it! LOL I got it done free!
> TBH ther eis really only one free cleaner and it's just okay and that is CCleaner. All the other software removal tools OUT are pary to remove NOT one other than CCLEANER is really free.


Hey sorry to resurrect such an old thread but I recently found old XTU traces on my laptop after uninstalling XTU over a year ago. One service had been running all along which I finally disabled. The app is long gone, and there's nothing related in Device Manager, but I still have two Intel XTU folders - one is located in C: > Program Data > Intel (contains Logs folder and PerformanceSettings.bin); the second is located in C: > Program Files (86x) > Intel and it contains a drivers folder,18 different "apps" files and XTUservice.exe.config. I tried removing these using some command prompt uninstall routine a few people talked about but it didn't work (it won't allow me to delete folders and says currently in use). 

In terms of registry keys I couldn't find anything to do with XTU in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall, but I did find an XTU folder at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\XTU3SERVICE (see attached).

I have very little experience playing with registry items. Could I just right-click on the XTU3SERVICE folder and delete? That service is already disabled. Would that then allow me to delete those two leftover XTU folders?

I'm tempted to leave as-is but I'm worried about it messing with other programs (ThrottleStop namely). 

Trickson when you "regedit the thing out" did you just delete XTU related "folders" you found, or was it a few specific entries within the a folder you removed?
Appreciate any info.


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## unclewebb (Mar 9, 2021)

You might want to try Autoruns to see if any XTU stuff is still being started.









						Autoruns for Windows - Sysinternals
					

See what programs are configured to startup automatically when your system boots and you login.



					docs.microsoft.com
				




Do you have any other apps on your computer that might be using these files? ThrottleStop does not use any XTU services so these XTU leftovers should not be a problem.


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## n00Be (Mar 14, 2021)

unclewebb said:


> You might want to try Autoruns to see if any XTU stuff is still being started.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for the suggestion.
Would never believe where this XTU process was coming from!

Before deciding if or how to remove these leftover XTU traces I was trying to determine why my laptop was changing to max performance power plan soon after startup. I'd have it set to balanced or power saving, restart, and within about 10 seconds of windows desktop screen coming up the brightness would increase and sure enough plan had automatically switched to max. When I did a clean boot with all non-MS services off, it would stick to whichever power plan I had selected. So through process of elimination I discovered it was the acer Predatorsense service that was doing it (side note: the app on this laptop is actually called nitrosense). If I turned service off the app wouldn't load, so I uninstalled nitrosense and then downloaded it again from the acer site.

NOW, the XTU registry is gone!
The XTU folder in C: Program Files (86x) is gone!
I found the XTU folder still in Program Data but had no issues permanently deleting it.

Finally, there's no trace of XTU on this laptop


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## kiriakost (Feb 24, 2022)

I gave my battle cleaning my desktop PC too, this week.

I wrongly  thought that Intel Extreme Tuning Utility 6.5.2.40_May 2020 , this would be something special.
System logging panel looked nice, but Intel does not aloud you to select of what is logged.
I wanted CPU TCase temperature, and this option it is missing.

INTEL XTU uninstaller it does a poor job.
It removes the service, but it does not remove the driver that seems as hidden at the huge pile of system devices.
And it shown with a question mark next to it.

I did select Intel extreme driver uninstall too.
And it did go away, but Registry keys about it they never get deleted by them self's.

CCleaner, this is useless for in-depth system cleaning.
And so I did also manual registry cleaning.

Why to do manual registry cleaning?
Because other than folder traces, and XTU service traces, Even the Event log still keeps a Log file open, so this to track XTU extreme logs.

Did INTEL hired trainees software developers?  I do not know, but no one is going to refund two hours of work so to clean my system.


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## unclewebb (Feb 24, 2022)

kiriakost said:


> I wanted CPU TCase temperature, and this option it is missing.


There is no software that can report the TCase temperature. The only way to correctly measure this temperature is to cut a groove into the heat spreader on top of the CPU so you can mount a temperature probe at the geometric center of the heat spreader. If you scroll through Computronix's temperature guide for Figure 3-1, you will see a picture of a TCase temperature probe.






						How To - Intel CPU Temperature Guide 2022
					

Update: Dec 19, 2022   Preface  The topic of processor temperatures can be very confusing. Conflicting opinions based on misconceptions concerning terminology, specifications and testing leaves users uncertain of how to properly check cooling performance. This Guide provides an understanding of...




					forums.tomshardware.com
				




Intel does not want end users hacking up their new CPUs so they provide core temperature sensors that Intel mounts on the hottest spots on the core. Peak core temperature is useful information. The peak core temperature is what controls thermal throttling. The TCase temperature data is for manufacturers that want to do some heatsink and case airflow testing.

Friends don't let friends install XTU. It is big and bloated and it takes a while to get rid of all the remnants if you decide that you do not like it.


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