As you may have found out, the Add/Remove Programs functionality of Windows sometimes yields dead entries. These entries can be the result of corrupt installs or accidentally deleted files.
While there are lots of programs out there which can clean these entries up for you, you can always delete them manually in the registry. You can can find all the Add/Remove Program entries here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Uninstall
Here you will see there is a key (folder) for each entry in the list. All you have to do is delete the key and it will disappear from the list. Of course, be careful doing this because you don’t want to delete active entries.
Jason Faulkner is the man who brings you our daily tips. He is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Good tip Jason. Apart from uninstalled programs still appearing in the “Add or Remove Programs” applet, installed programs NOT appearing also puzzles a lot of people.
Before wading into the registry to delete/edit keys, it can be useful to understand a bit about the “Add or Remove Programs” applet — how the list of programs is created, how things can go wrong, and so on.
Here’s an article I wrote in January that explains all that and more, in simple user-friendly language:
http://computerandonlinesecurity.com/hints-tips/understanding-troubleshooting-the-add-or-remove-programs-applet/
– Bill Hely
– Author: “The Hacker’s Nightmare”
– “How to keep hackers, worms & other germs out of your PC”
Another thing to remember is to export your registry before making any changes, that way if you do something wrong, it’s an easy fix.
Start > Run > regedit > File > Export > *select location and name your file*