completely remove all traces of a program??
 

how to do this?? I used apt-get remove foo.bar --purge However config files still exist
because when i reinstall it its still messed up...the program is kaudiocreator and I messed it up by deleting the encoders now its all messed up and removing and reinstall is not helping...the encoders are still on the sytem but kaudio just ignores em??? I would like to be able to install it fresh like it was never on my system...

The directorys under /etc hold the config files. Delete the config files you need to delete under that.

# Understanding Linux Filesystem layout:
Directory Navigation Help File
Filesystems, Directories, and Devices Help File

nope not there checked that its got to be a hidden file

There might be a problem with your local config files (in your $HOME). Search your ~/.kde directory.