add/remove programs

[Judith Dupree]

I noticed that I have numerous 'programs' that begin

windows hp hotfix KB821557. There are about 30 in all. I
did go to one of the items and selected to find out more
information and was prompted to download a patch.

What are these? Are they safe to remove or do I have to go
to each one and download additional patches?

 

[RJK]

These are Windows updates that have been collected and installed, (probably
via Windows automatic update feature), leave them alone

regards, Richard

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

I noticed that I have numerous 'programs' that begin

windows hp hotfix KB821557. There are about 30 in all. I
did go to one of the items and selected to find out more
information and was prompted to download a patch.

What are these? Are they safe to remove or do I have to go
to each one and download additional patches?

These are the critical updates (mostly security-oriented) that
you've been downloading all along. Do not remove these, or you
will put back the security exposures they were designed to fix.

You can however delete their backup files. See
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

 

[Kelly]

Hi Judith,

Some of the Hotfixes (Mostly security updates) do not have an uninstall
feature, these will not appear in the Add and Remove list. If a Hotfix does
appear in the Add and Remove list then it can be uninstalled just like any
other program.

If you uninstall the Hotfix, you will lose the benefits of that patch. This
should only be done if you can determine that you are experiencing negative
effects from the particular Hotfix.

If you simply do not want them to appear in the Add and Remove list and you
are sure that you will not need the uninstall option, you can remove items
from that list by using a registry tweak.

Automated Edit:

Remove Hotfixes from Add or Remove (Line 193)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Manual Edit: Go to Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Uninstall

Expand this branch and look at the list. The Hotfixes are all listed by a
"Q" number that corresponds to the entry in the Add and Remove list. Make
sure that you back up each Key before deleting it.

Select the key and then select File/Export and include the Q number in the
name of the file. Right click the entries you want to remove and select
Delete.