Add / remove programs "Frequency of Use"

[dave.dolan]

Where in the registry or file system do I find the data that is used to
calculate the "Frequency of Use" field in Add/Remove programs? There
is nothing in the
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall about usage
frequency.. I'm stumped.

I need to identify computers that haven't used certain programs in the
last 30 days or don't often use it so I can run an uninstall script. I
see that the data is there somewhere, but where do I find it?

Also, what is the cutoff between the different values? (Often vs.
Rarely vs. Never etc...)

 

[Rock]

Where in the registry or file system do I find the data that is used to
calculate the "Frequency of Use" field in Add/Remove programs? There
is nothing in the
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall about usage
frequency.. I'm stumped.

I need to identify computers that haven't used certain programs in the
last 30 days or don't often use it so I can run an uninstall script. I
see that the data is there somewhere, but where do I find it?

Also, what is the cutoff between the different values? (Often vs.
Rarely vs. Never etc...)

There is a detailed post in this newsgroup about that issue some time
ago. The bottom line is it's not reliable.

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

The Old New Thing : How does Add/Remove Programs get the size and other
information?:
http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2004/07/09/178342.aspx

 

[dave.dolan]

Thanks, that clears things up. I found the 21-23rd bytes in the
ARPCache registry entry and I couldn't figure out why it wasn't
incrementing the count when I opened up the programs -- turns out it's
because I don't ever use the start menu. I'm more likely to launch a
program from the command line, and sometimes the quicklaunch.. Now I
see why it's not working. Thanks for the clarification. I don't have
to pull my hair out trying to figure this one out.

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

You're welcome Dave.