Doc,
I assume (bad word) that you are talking about LavaSoft's Adaware 2008. I know that there were a lot of problems with this issue when we were beta testing it. I finally gave up on it because it was just too buggy.
Here is a post from one of their support forums on un-installing 2007.
Uninstall Guide for Ad-Aware Se and 2007
1. Make sure Ad-Aware is closed and for Plus & Pro versions shutdown Ad-Watch
2. Click Start >Control Panel>Add or Remove Programs
3. Find Ad-Aware in the list (typically the first one) and click on it
4. Click uninstall
5. After the uninstall is complete click finish
If an error is received during the uninstall process this typically means that the uninstaller has become corrupted and additional steps are needed to try to remove Ad-Aware. There are three options you can try. The purpose of option one and two below is to use the uninstallers in the downloaded program as a replacement for the damaged/missing uninstaller that is installed on your computer.
First Option
1. Go to the download page for Ad-Aware 2008, download and save the 2008 version to your desktop.
2. Right click on the Ad-Aware Icon on your desktop and run it as an administrator or log in with administrator rights.
3. When the install completes go to step 1 for the uninstall
Second option
1. Find a site that still offers Ad-Aware 2007 and save it to your desktop
2. Right click on the Ad-Aware Icon on your desktop and run it as an administrator or log in with administrator rights.
3. When the install completes go to step 1 for the uninstall
Third Option
1. Find a third party uninstaller to uninstall Ad-Aware. Lavasoft does not promote the use of third party applications.
There is a reason why the uninstaller is not functioning on your computer. Many third party programs such as CCleaner and other registry cleaner delete files that are needed for many programs, they are seen as unnecessary files. One way to check if Ad-Aware's uninstaller is present on your computer is by clicking Start Menu>All Programs>Lavasoft>Ad-Aware. You will see several Ad-Aware programs in the list and the Uninstall Ad-Aware program at the bottom. If Ad-Aware's Uninstaller is not there, then it is likely a third party application has deleted it. Third party applications can do as much harm as good if you do not properly monitor what files they are removing.
If the steps provided above do not help find a solution then a professional should probably be used to find out the problem.
Please note: This is not an Official Lavasoft Post and was written by its members to help users with issues of uninstalling Ad-Aware. Special thanks to casey boy who started the idea of a guide and also to the forum's Valued Members and Staff for the previous posts from which most of the information came, written by yxxxx, Pierre67, lynz, casey boy, and Txnnok
Hope this helps. Here is the link to their support forums and you may find a solution there.
http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/
