"Add or Remove" won't remove

[JimL]

XP Pro SP3 + every update I can get

Recently, apparently after transplanting my system to a new HD, I've been
unable to remove a number of items via the Add or Remove feature.

Currently I'm trying to remove CDBurnerXP Pro 3 so I can install the 4+
version. Remove failed telling me I must insert the CDBurnerXP installation
CD in order to do that. I've never HAD such an installation CD. As an
alternative to the CD it allows a source file. I have an exe source. It
demands an msi source.

On something else I tried recently it failed telling me it didn't have
access to the network from which it had been installed. I've never
installed anything from any network other than updates from the internet.

What's going on here and what can be done about it?

Thanks

 

[Ǝиçεl]

Restart the computer into Safe Mode to then eradicate the pest

Safe mode prevents some, but by no means all--spyware services from running.
It is an excellent way to get started if something is resistant to cleaning
in normal mode, but it may not be all that is needed.

In Safe mode try to remove it with Revo Uninstaller, then run CCleaner's
registry cleaner.

<http://www.revouninstaller.com/>
Try in Tools -> Optimization -. Junk Files Cleaner – Scan - Delete


<http://www.ccleaner.com>
Note, uncheck Yahoos Toolbar

Download the basic version via
<http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds.aspx>
The basic version does not contain the disgusted Toolbar

 

[JimL]

So is it Revo or the registry cleaner that removes the dozens of entries an
installation often makes? Revo gets some and the cleaner gets the rest?

Thanks

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

So is it Revo or the registry cleaner that removes the dozens of entries an
installation often makes? Revo gets some and the cleaner gets the rest?

I don't anything about Revo or what it does, but let me address the
question of leftover registry entries when you uninstall an
application.

Those leftover entries don't hurt you at all, and there should be no
urge to remove them. You should especially *not* consider using a
registry cleaner to remove them (or do anything else.

Registry cleaning programs are *all* snake oil. Cleaning of the
registry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave the registry alone and
don't use any registry cleaner. Despite what many people think, and
what vendors of registry cleaning software try to convince you of,
having unused registry entries doesn't really hurt you.

The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneously
removing an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefit
it may have.

Read http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.html

 

[Twayne]

Watch out for this bozo and his self-serving closed minded
misinformation about registry cleaners. There are several good ones and
as long as you get one from a reputable source, with proper backup and
restore facilities, you should be fine.
This individual and a few others like him have a vendetta against,
and constantly libel and defame many good companies who produce useful
and reliable products of good design.
CCleaner is one such program that is often used and there are several
others too.

He's basically right in that a few leftover registry entries are not
going to hurt anything but he is dead wrong with his allegations that
all registry cleaners are bad and that there are no good ones. In
additon to that, he thinks the ONLY reason people ever use a registry
cleaner is to get rid of leftover, extraneious registry entries, which
almost totally ignores all of the other functions such programs provide.
He has never produced one single iota of information to back up his
allegations against registry cleaners and only makes vague references to
anyhing real, let alone any knowledgeable source of information on the
subject except for their own self-serving edbott and aumha web sites
written by ... guess who? Yup, the very same people spouting the same
crap here in the groups. They only refer to one of two different
websites as "support" for their contentions. But, of course, the
members of their little group of idiots wrote the various parts of the
articles they want you to see. Certainly if there were anything to that
claim about registry cleaners, there would be hundreds if not thousands
of supporting websites. But, there are not.

The risk of a serious problem by erroneously removing a registry entry
you need is so minimal with a good cleaner, especially one with restore
capabilities, as to be no more likely to happen than when installing or
uninstalling any other program on your computer or running any of the
thousands of good programs that people download every day. If you
download crap blindly, that's what you get. If you do so intelligently
and with forethought, your chances of success are good. Many people use
many different registry cleaners all the time and as in my case, have
never had a single problem over more than a decade of using them.
Notice that when that little group responds to my post here, that
none of them will have any real backup for their allegations, they'll
simply rationalize their way through, and maybe add a very biased link
or two to back them up; usually links they had some part in writing,
creating or otherwise supporting by having authored the major portions
of them.
There are enough intelligent and thinking people around that were
their allegations of "snake oil" etc. of any value, there would be a
stink so bad and so loud that not a single person would miss it and the
companies would die out quickly. There would also be an endless stream
os spam trying to sell their wares, but there aren't. Only the junkers
get involved in spamming such wares. This supposed MVP will even tell
you that it's "bad" that these companies hype and support their cleaner
products with lot of praise and self-serving facts, but ... what
company, including Microsoft and a thousand others doesn't do that?
It's called free enterprise.
You lucked out here and almost got a personal reply: Normally all
these people, especially this one, do is push their pre-written
boilerplate at you and attempt to make you feel small. To me, small is
defined in one way as a closed mind with rationalized opinions without
any serious backup or verification provisions. Not to mention the
gigantic egoes and seriously narcissistic attitudes that go along with
them.

As always, I like to thank Ken for providing me the opportunity to
expose him. Again.
Thanks!

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[JimL]

No sweat. I use snake oil in my car in place of regular motor oil!

 

[Unknown]

Twayne---The crippling of a computer by a registry cleaner
has been pointed out to you on many many occasions. Even I,
have done that on three occasions. And, each time the evidence
is presented to you, you ignore it.
Then you always say 'not one iota of evidence has been presented'
If you choose to screw up your system with trashy garbage that's
your decision but, to entice others to perform your recklessness
is evil.

 

[Twayne]

No sweat. I use snake oil in my car in place of regular motor oil!

lol, good one! Think it'd work in my '55 Ford Fairlane?

Cheers,

Twayne`

 

[Twayne]

<snip>

Caution: this person is a know troll

I have been getting nothing but superior advice from Ken Blake for
something like ten years now.

Then you haven't been reading his pitches on "snake oil" and ALL
registry cleaners for one.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Twayne]

Twayne---The crippling of a computer by a registry cleaner
has been pointed out to you on many many occasions.

Sure, I should believe the vague references to it, just like I should
believe the MVP who told me something was so because he "said so" when I
asked for clarification way back before he became such a closed mind
over a few subjects.

Even I,

have done that on three occasions. And, each time the evidence
is presented to you, you ignore it.

Yup, sure you have. That's just another vague reference, as usual. Also
I often don't read YOUR posts because you seldom have anything useful to
say.

Then you always say 'not one iota of evidence has been presented'
If you choose to screw up your system with trashy garbage that's
your decision but, to entice others to perform your recklessness
is evil.

Woops! You addressed the wrong person there; that was ment for the
closed minds, I'm certain. I'd change my mind quickly if anyone ever
provided any believable support or proof of the allegations of you sock
puppets and your fantASStic leaders. All I can say is, I am in a large
majority of people who use reputable registry cleaners with good to
excellent and results and have never botched a system, any system, with
one. The worst case outcomes I ever had was that no problems were
found.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

<snip>

Caution: this person is a know troll

I have been getting nothing but superior advice from Ken Blake for
something like ten years now.

Thanks for the kind words, Philo.

 

[Unknown]

Same answers you always give. You must have some sort of financial gain
pushing registry cleaners. Instead of repeating and repeating why they're
'snake oil' just do a Google search for registry cleaners.
Another 'vague reference'?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

You are very welcome...
Not only has your advice always been excellent...
you are about the only person I've noticed on Usenet who has never lost
their cool!!!!

Thanks once more.

 

[Jim]

You are very welcome...
Not only has your advice always been excellent...
you are about the only person I've noticed on Usenet who has never lost
their cool!!!!

I will second that .

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I will second that .

And thanks to you too.

 

[JimL]

lol, good one! Think it'd work in my '55 Ford Fairlane?

Works fine in my '65 Plymouth Valiant.

 

[JimL]

If you choose to screw up your system with trashy garbage that's
your decision

I must comment that when anyone makes overly broad statements, like "all
registry clearners are trashy garbage", or "you should not scan for viruses
every day" I look for less sweeping declarations elsewhere.

 

[JimL]

just do a Google search for registry cleaners.
Another 'vague reference'?

Well, yes; it's vague. I, for one, have done those searches and find
numerous devotees of considerable stature on both sides of the debate. Some
people have anecdotes. Some people have never seen a single problem in "lo
these years." The problem is that both sides often take their own
experience to be universal law. Perhaps that is the reason for the useless
and infuriating occurrances of the statement, "That doesn't happen on my
computer."

 

[Twayne]

Look closely: I ONLY make such posts when someone decides to post the
preposterious misinformation about them. I do not initiate the threads;
I respond to the misinformation. Unlike you, I'm a stickler for
accuracy. If I were to push cleaners, I'd have links for them all over
my sigs and throughout the body of my posts.

Twayne`

 

[Twayne]

....



Yes I have read his words.

Years ago when I was using Win98 I did use a registry cleaner from
time to time...and I never noticed any improvement in
performance...however once in a while it caused a problem.

OK. Win98x is apples and oranges, but I guess I see your point.
Depending on whether one insists on carrying forth win98 "stuff", it can
create confusion for them and cause them to assume things in XP et al
that aren't necessarily so. But I suspect you know all that from
previous posts or yours that I've read.

....

but since I've since moved on to Win2k and XP never again ran into the
the problem of partial uninstallations.

I don't either on my own machines with the exception of the sandbox
laptop; there, anything goes becasuse it's an easily restored "learning"
machine. That said however, I do have other reasons for using a
registry cleaner even on my own machines and have done so for years.
Most people, and you seem to have avoided the trap, seem to think that
registry cleaners have only one function: To clean out extraneous or
leftover entries. Case in point: I just re-installed MalwareBytes again
to see if it was any better than the previous version I tried; it seems
to be. But ... all of my previous settings from the last installation,
many months ago, "came to life" all of a sudden. I had killed the
folders on the disk, but never cleaned the registry of the leftovers and
now wished I had. I didn't WANT my history from the last install! So I
had to uninstall it and rather than fart around manually scrubbing it, a
registry cleaner made the job quick & easy. THEN I was able to
reinstall it, and test it properly against its prior results.
Unfortunately, it still finds a legitimate setup.exe in the ...\Windows\
directory to be a rogue installer; which it is not. IT's part of an
INNO install routine for a VB program I was testing out. I made the
file and t he INNO installed placed it there. But MalwareBytes insists
on giving it the name "Rogue: Installer". I have never had any other
program detect that as a problem except MalwareBytes. MalwareBytes is
declaring it a problem, I've figured out, due to its unusual location,
NOT from any analysis of the setup that MB looked at. So MB is
declaring things in unusual locations as rogue; it has done absolutely
nothing otherwise to decide whether it was or wasn't a rogue. I can put
that exact same file in another location, and MB will not report it as a
problem. So IMO it's using unreliable information.
OTOH, as long as you watch out for MB's little gotchas like that,
it's a reasonable malware detector but ... not one of my most prized
tools.
Woof! Sorry for the verbosity; that's usually a sign my pain meds

But for the average person who does not know *exactly* what they are
doing...running a registry cleaner could potentially create
problems...

We'll have to agree to disagree there, because a well written program
can make life a lot easier for the less than nearly expert level people.
I don't care if a person does or doesn't use such programs; but I do
care when they posit misinformation about them. Or msinformation about
anything else for that matter.
I'm not saying you are wrong, because running ANY program, or even
installing a program, can potentially create problems if it uses the
registry. I simply maintain that reputable, reliable registry cleaners
will not cause any more system problems than any other program used on
the PCs, including Microsoft's own applications. In fact, here on my
own machines, it has created 0 problems over the years, where Microsoft
over the same time span has created many, many issues one could consider
a "problem". Like the fix just prior to this week's onslaught: They
issued the emergency fix, and then a few hours later I received a fix to
fix I'd just allowed to install.

Regards,

Twayne`