In
SC Tom said:
Do you have 'Show updates' checked? Does it make any
difference if it is/isn't?
Once it's populated, go through and see if there's anything
showing that you don't have installed anymore. For example,
if you uninstalled a game or other program and it still
shows up in the list, that will slow the process down.
Depending on the program, you may have to install, then
uninstall it again to get rid of the entry. If it's a
Microsoft product, you may be able to clear it from the
list using the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301.
Have you scanned for malware lately? Probably not the
cause, but you never know.
This might help:
Sometimes when you uninstall a program, the corresponding Add/Remove entry
is not removed. This may be due to incomplete uninstallation or the poorly
designed uninstaller itself. To remove the invalid/orphaned entries from the
Add/Remove applet manually [Windows 2000/XP]
1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe)
2. Locate the following key in the registry:
3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
4. Make sure you backup the keys by exporting them to a .reg file.
5. Look for the name of the program with the orphaned entry.
6. Delete the entire listing for the software with the orphaned entry.
7. Close the registry editor.
8. Restart your computer.
Orphaned entries are those whose uninstallers are not available [but the
registry entry might point to the actual uninstaller file]. You may also see
errors like "missing install.log or uninstall.log" while trying to uninstall
from Add/Remove Programs. The install.log/uninstall.log contains the
uninstallation information about a program. When you remove a program from
Add/Remove Programs, the log files come into play and remove the
corresponding software entries from the registry and the files in the hard
disk.
If the LOG files are missing, you may need to reinstall the application
again (in the same path) and then try a clean uninstall again. In some
cases, the application might be removed, but the entries may still exist in
the Add/Remove Programs list. Orphaned entries are usually a result of a
system restore rollback operation. Use the above method to remove the
Uninstall entries.
or this:
Remove invalid entries in Add/Remove Programs
Sometimes when you uninstall a program, corresponding Add/Remove entry may
not be removed. This may be due to incomplete uninstall or poorly designed
uninstaller itself. To manually remove the orphaned entries from Add/Remove
applet, follow these steps:
· Start Regedit.exe and locate the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \
Uninstall
· Backup the branch to a file.
· Locate the corresponding entry from the list and delete it
· Close Registry Editor
There are some {GUID} sub-keys under the Uninstall key. Now what?
Under Uninstall you may see some {GUIDs}. Each {GUID} represents a software
product that you've installed. Under the above key, click each {GUID} entry
and verify the DisplayName shown in the right-pane. Once you locate the item
that you want to remove from Add/Remove Programs, backup the entry to a REG
file and then delete the key. The DisplayName string the one that's
displayed in the Add/Remove Programs applet for that application.
Example: PC Inspector File Recovery has the GUID
{0DD140D3-9563-481E-AA75-BA457CBDAEF2}
Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Uninstall \
{0DD140D3-9563-481E-AA75-BA457CBDAEF2}
"DisplayName"="PC Inspector File Recovery"
Still unable to remove an entry?
If the program uses Windows Installer package, try the Windows Installer
Cleanup Utility to remove the installer information for that program, and
also the corresponding Add/Remove programs entry. See Windows Installer
Cleanup Utility.
And finally, here's an excellent application Ive found to be very useful
Super Win Software Freeware
Add/Remove Pro v. 2.11 - displays
If there are any "bad" entries, it'll tag them for you.
HTH,
Twayne`
