digiKam disaster

[rikona]

I'd like to search my photo collection for similar, but not identical,
pictures. Running updated 12.04. I used to use imageSeek, but that
doesn't seem to be available anymore. digiKam is available and
supposedly has that function, plus some facial recognition, so I
installed it. Unfortunately, in the initial set up I gave it the wrong
file folder as the "base folder", and I could not figure out a way to 
either change it or delete it, but it is NOT where I want things to be.
I tried uninstalling and reinstalling but it immediately comes back with
exactly the same unchangeable set up. Even uninstalled, it leaves
behind a very large number of folders and files. So, I thought I'd
uninstall it, remove the RC file, the database, and several other files
that look like they might have my data. I reinstalled once again and it
indeed looked like it was starting over from scratch, so I entered the
desired folder and ran the program. Unfortunately, whatever I did
**completely** screwed up the program functionality. I can't add, or
change, or see, just about anything in the program - NOTHING works. The
only item that ends up in the toolbar is 'help'!! A couple more
uninstalls and reinstalls did not seem to change anything. It's
apparently a kde pgm - does that complicate things, or maybe make it
semi-impossible if running Ubuntu?

So, how can I get rid of this thing - completely - so another install
would look like a brand-new install AND work corrrectly? Or,
alternatively, is there some way to fix it so at least the program
would work correctly? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Also, as an alternative, is there another good 'find similar photos' pgm
I could use if this fails?

Thanks