iTunes uses Bonjour for various tasks it carries out. For instance, it uses the program for locating ‘Shared Music Libraries’, devices for streaming music to and so forth. Safari, Apple’s own web browser uses the same program for finding devices advertising web pages on your network. On the other hand, Internet Explorer via Bonjour toolbar plugin offers easy mode of discovery for Bonjour – advertised web pages. Moreover, Bonjour Printer Setup Wizard makes use of Bonjour application to discover and configure Bonjour advertised network printers.
If you happen to install iTunes, you will find that installs Bonjour Windows Service, a Zero Configuration Networking process and mDNSResponder.exe. Often iTunes is bundled along with other software and installed on the user’s computer, without the user’s knowledge. If you don’t use Bonjour or any of its features, then removing Bonjour shouldn’t cause any issue however, in some cases it is known to cause so. Here are the steps you can follow for more thoroughly uninstalling Bonjour.
Remove Bonjour from Windows
First, if you have any Apple software installed on your computer such as iTunes there’s a high likelihood that there’s already a Bonjour folder residing under ‘Program Files’ section. On most occasions, the service starts automatically and runs a process named
mDNSResponder.exe which cannot be killed by Windows Task Manager.
You will, in most cases, be able to uninstall the program via Control Panel – but in some cases, this may fail! Hence, a safe method described here to uninstall and remove the Bonjour service and files –
mDNSResponder.exe and
mdnsNSP.dll.
Press
Win + R in combination to bring up the ‘Run’ dialog box. Next, type the following command and hit OK.
%PROGRAMFILES%\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe -remove
Again in the Run dialog box, type the following to unregister the dll file:
regsvr32 /u %PROGRAMFILES%\Bonjour\mdnsNSP.dll
Restart your computer, go to
C:\Program Files\ and
delete the Bonjour folder.
iTunes and some other programs need Bonjour to function. If you use these programs, do NOT remove Bonjour! Make sure you have administrator privileges before executing these commands.
If you face any problems or need more support, you may see
Apple.com.
