Windows XP: Can't uninstall programs -- they don't appear in the list!
Can't uninstall programs -- they don't appear in the list!
by dkathrens77 - 5/1/05 6:58 PMHi all,
I consider myself at least a power user when it comes to Windows 98, but I just got a new laptop with Windows XP Home Edition on it.
It's an HP Pavillion zd8055us, if that helps.
A bunch of software came preinstalled on it, and I want to remove some of it. The only problem is, only a few programs I installed myself (Ad-Aware, ZoneAlarm, Adobe Reader, WinZip) appear in the list of installed programs (in the Control Panel applet).
I know I could simply delete the program files, common files, and the more obvious registry entries manually, but that's too much work!
I always say, understand how it's SUPPOSED to work before you start trying to modify it. I'm sure that applies generally to software as well as hardware.
Some commercial programs I bought and installed (like Norton SystemWorks for instance) don't appear in the list either.
Anyone out there know what is going on here? Some pointers would help.
I've checked the Registry and there seems to be a record of my programs and others being installed.
I can't see any obvious difference between the Registry entries for the ones that DO appear in the list and the ones that DON'T appear.
What could the problem be?
Thanks for your time and attention,
Dennis
It's simple.
by R. Proffitt
- 5/1/05 8:27 PM
In reply to: Can't uninstall programs -- they don't appear in the list! by dkathrens77
Microsoft does not "enforce" that such entries appear for each program. Not a feature of this OS so manual removal is very common.
Usually it's enough to delete the directory and the menu items. Some go deeper and it's not needed.
Bob
A little too simple.
by dkathrens77 - 5/3/05 12:34 PM In reply to: It's simple. by R. Proffitt
I'm not sure I can accept your explanation-- it's a litle TOO simple for me. Not a feature? Then it must be a bug...
I'd like to know what led you to take this point of view.
I'd also welcome other points of view on this issue.
Thanks,
Dennis
Not an enforced feature.
by R. Proffitt - 5/3/05 12:50 PM
In reply to: A little too simple. by dkathrens77
Let's travel back to 1995 to see where Add/Remove first appeared. Since Microsoft needed the new OS (Windows 95) to be accepted, the add/remove entries were "optional." Microsoft couldn't anger the development community and older Windows programs needed to keep working.
To this day, the entry in Add/Remove remains "optional."
Bob
Bob
by billzhills - 5/3/05 2:06 PM In reply to: Not an enforced feature. by R. Proffitt
Fuzzy on some of this, short answers are fine as some of the answers I am finding need slight correction.
1. If I am reading this correctly you are saying that installed software does not have to list themselfs in Add/Remove. True?
2. Remember reading somewhere that applications listed in Add/Remove are only pointers to the application un-install exe. locations. True?
3. This post
http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6142-0.html?forumID=5&threadID=98977&messageID=1133428
refered to the listing of MS Messenger in Add/Remove for un-install via modifying the "sysoc.inf" file. Could this file or another hide installed applications in Add/Remove? Y/N
Bill
.
All True!
by R. Proffitt - 5/3/05 2:17 PM
In reply to: Bob by billzhills
I especially like that you found out about editing the SYSOC.INF file. It's great for tossing out a few items that otherwise would be difficult.
There are rumors that Add/Remove entries will no longer be optional, but my bet is this is years away.
-> Bonus Tool Time: Look up ADD REMOVE PRO which also digs a little deeper into add/remove possibilities.
Bob
It's news to me
by dkathrens77 - 5/3/05 5:33 PM In reply to: Not an enforced feature. by R. Proffitt
I've used Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows 98SE.
Funny I've never known entries to the Add/Remove Programs applet to be "optional".
Maybe you can tell me how it was possible to enable or disable this "optional" feature in Windows 98? Or Windows 95?
The default behavior I always witnessed was:
You installed a program and you could ALWAYS count on it being listed there in the Add/Remove Programs applet for quick and easy uninstallation.
I've never heard of any way to turn off this (you say "optional", I say "default") behavior
Today, most programs populate the menu with...
by R. Proffitt - 5/3/05 7:30 PM
In reply to: It's news to me by dkathrens77
Installer programs. It's just good sense to give people uninstall options.
There is no on or off switch. It's up to the programmers of a package to do this.
Example of no-installer software? Look up FileMon, RegMon and other small utilities.
Bob
I looke a little further afield. Sooo glad I did!
by dkathrens77 - 5/4/05 5:48 PM In reply to: A little too simple. by dkathrens77As it turns out, there is another thread on this forum about the exact same problem I reported here.
gil2 has a thread titled "(xp) add or remove programs"
in which he says only the programs starting with "A" appear in his list (the Add/Remove applet)
It took me a little while to recognize that
THIS IS MY PROBLEM TOO!
I was pleased to know I wasn't the only one experiencing this problem.
I looked around on Elder Geek and found this
(FOLLOW LINK)
http://www.theeldergeek.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=7542&hl=appwiz\.cpl
This post by bigbuck hit the nail right on the head:
>>quoted text follows<<
I did learn that the programs ARE in the listing, they're just way down there.
I have found a cause and a solution; it worked for me, but I don't know if it will work for you:
In my case, the problem turned out to be the Uninstall\DisplayIcon registry value for AutoCAD 2002.
I 'simply' removed the comma from "D:\\Program Files\\AutoCAD 2002\\acad.exe,-1"
To find the value, I ran Regedit, and navigated to the key [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Micro* soft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninst* all]
I exported the registry tree to a file, and searched for AutoCAD 2002.
This let me identify the key as {5783F2D7-0101-0409-0000-0060B0CE6* BBA}, allowing me to edit the value.
That fixed it.
>>end quoted text<<
OK, I know how tricky communication can be, so I won't even try to analyze how you parsed the reporting of my problem or how you and I seem to be having two different conversations, each just missing the intended target.
I hope that sharing this information will be of benefit to you.
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