Removing 16 and 32 bit Apps

[cavebear2118]

I understand that Catalina and above all only recognize 64 bit apps. And I used Go64 to identify them but it won't allow me to delete the list ("move to trash" is greyed). And there ARE ways to delete each one individually. But there are a 100 32-bit legacy apps listed on Go64. The process SEEMS to take 3 steps with each deletion. Surely there is SOME app that both identifies both 32-bit identification AND allows bulk/list removal. If one app does the one thing and another does the other, then someone must have one that does both.

I've tried Go64, Powersuite, and App Cleaner&Uninstaller. None do both. Am I just missing something obvious?

I'm full willing to just start again with all 64-bit apps even if I have to buy a lot, but I really want to get rid of the old stuff cluttering up the drive. I'd buy a decent app that did that.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

I use AppCleaner all the time. It does a great job of removing all components of an application.

I would caution you against trying to manually identify and remove all 32-bit applications/files from your Mac, as some may be needed for certain applications to run even though they aren't supported in Catalina and later. What specifically are you trying to remove?

C

 

[cavebear2118]

Everything cluttering up my Mac drive. I'm having problems. Legacy stuff going back to 2008. But also, I keep hitting apps that no longer work. So I thought I should delete them.

Like, I LOVE Excel and Word but can't get even new versions to download because of the old ones. What concerns me also is thae long list that Go64 shows of incompatible apps and I don't recognize any of them. I really just want to get "clean".

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, thanks.

Feel free to list them here and we'll help look through them.

As far as Office, you may need to uninstall the current version before installing the newer one.

C

 

[cavebear2118]

Done and waiting for a CD of the new version. I want the CD for backup. Downloads are "iffy" after a while.

 

[Howard Brazee]

I use a utility called "TrashMe". A few months after my wife went to Catalina, I deleted all of her 32-bit games she bought from MacGameStore. Sometimes, when I tried to delete a bunch at once, it failed and I needed a smaller number. Sometimes it asked for her iMac's passcode (or use her Apple Watch). After they were all deleted, some of her 64-bit games thought she hadn't bought them, but eventually we found where to download them again without paying for them.

I only have one 32-bit program on my Mac, but I need it so I reboot to Mojave which is on a SSD, so I can use it. My iMac is too old for Big Sur, and I'm in a race between the person updating that program to 64-bit and the M1 iMac.

 

[John Sankey]

I've got the same problem, detritus from moving Snow Leopard apps on my old machine to Monterey on Apple ichip. Apple>About this Mac>System Report>Applications shows me 9 of them in a directory that doesn't exist (John Sankey's iMac » Software › Applications) and won't let me delete them any way I've tried. Etrecheck finds them too, but also offers no way to delete them. Isn't there a way to get rid of them via OSX?

 

[TonyAguila]

I've got the same problem, detritus from moving Snow Leopard apps on my old machine to Monterey on Apple ichip. Apple>About this Mac>System Report>Applications shows me 9 of them in a directory that doesn't exist (John Sankey's iMac » Software › Applications) and won't let me delete them any way I've tried. Etrecheck finds them too, but also offers no way to delete them. Isn't there a way to get rid of them via OSX?

I second Cory’s vote for AppCleaner. For years I depended on AppDelete but for unknown reasons, it hasn’t been updated for a long time until it wouldn’t work anymore. I had a hard time finding a suitable replacement until I came across AppCleaner. Perfect!