Add/Remove Programs

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When I go to XP Home's CtrlPnl > Add/RemovePgms it pops up a window with
a list of installed programs. Over on the right is some information on
how much storage each program requires.

The thing that stumps me is why does it show some programs that are long
ago uninstalled -- and shown with no storage requirement, just a blank?
I presume these programs uninstalled and left some stub in the registry
that's confusing Add/Remove -- they certainly are not on my disk
anymore. Is it confusing anything else in XP though?

With some of them, when I click on Remove, I get an immediate response
that it can't locate the software. When I click on others like AOL
though it brings up an uninstall panel and a loooooong wait while it
says it's searching my disk for versions of AOL. Finally it gives up
and says there is no AOL on my machine. But of course the AOL entry
remains in the Add/Remove panel.

As a second, related question, when I go in and troll through the
registry I'll see for example 3 folder entries under Mozilla Firefox.
One is for 0.9 which I long ago discarded, one is for 1.0PR which is
long ago discarded and one is for 1.0 which I do use. The two unused
entries have "REG_SZ (value not set)" as their only key. Can things
like that be deleted from the Registry or will that destabilize XP?

Any suggestions?

Thanks...

Bill
 
Colin said:
Go to http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_abc.htm and scroll down in the
"A's" to Add/Remove Programs and further to the section on invalid entries.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pointer. When I follow through though, it appears that
Kelly is telling you how to hide the display of the program name using
"quiet", but it doesn't address the question of why I have many, many
lines in my registry involving AOL when I've never subscribed to them
and never will. Do those registry entries slow things down, or are they
necessary. Can they be removed or will that kill something?

Many non existent programs are cluttering up the registry like that.
Are they a drag on the system or not?

Bill
 
Kelly has a section in that area about removing the blank lines. I just
remember having seen it there.
 
you might try this free programme. Add/Remove Pro.get it from
http://www.shareup.com/Add-Remove_Pro-download-11835.html
Go to http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_abc.htm and scroll down in the
"A's" to Add/Remove Programs and further to the section on invalid entries.

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)
Bill Martin -- (Remove NOSPAM from address) said:
When I go to XP Home's CtrlPnl > Add/RemovePgms it pops up a window with a
list of installed programs. Over on the right is some information on how
much storage each program requires.

The thing that stumps me is why does it show some programs that are long
ago uninstalled -- and shown with no storage requirement, just a blank? I
presume these programs uninstalled and left some stub in the registry
that's confusing Add/Remove -- they certainly are not on my disk anymore.
Is it confusing anything else in XP though?

With some of them, when I click on Remove, I get an immediate response
that it can't locate the software. When I click on others like AOL though
it brings up an uninstall panel and a loooooong wait while it says it's
searching my disk for versions of AOL. Finally it gives up and says there
is no AOL on my machine. But of course the AOL entry remains in the
Add/Remove panel.

As a second, related question, when I go in and troll through the registry
I'll see for example 3 folder entries under Mozilla Firefox. One is for
0.9 which I long ago discarded, one is for 1.0PR which is long ago
discarded and one is for 1.0 which I do use. The two unused entries have
"REG_SZ (value not set)" as their only key. Can things like that be
deleted from the Registry or will that destabilize XP?

Any suggestions?

Thanks...

Bill
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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