How to collect installed software on PC?

[Eric]

I have used Belxxxxx Analyze to collect installed software on PC, but I find
out this analysis does not completely show what is showed under XP Add/Remove
Program under control panel. Some installed software shows under Belxxxxx
Analyze, but it does not show under XP Add/Remove Program under control
panel. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to collect installed software
accurately?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions
Eric

 

[BillW50]

In Eric typed on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:10:01 -0700:

I have used Belxxxxx Analyze to collect installed software on PC, but
I find out this analysis does not completely show what is showed
under XP Add/Remove Program under control panel. Some installed
software shows under Belxxxxx Analyze, but it does not show under XP
Add/Remove Program under control panel. Does anyone have any
suggestions on how to collect installed software accurately?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions
Eric

And what is Belxxxxx Analyze? Google came up with nothing. What does this
do, copy all of your software to install on another computer? If so, that is
a very tough call. As there are so many different ways programs can install.
Some doesn't use the registry at all (and don't even show up in Add/Remove).
Some completely store themselves in the temporary folder. Which is a shock
when you clean it out and the program is now gone. It is probably easier to
land an unmanned probe on Mars than to write software to collect all of the
installed software.

--
Bill
Gateway Celeron M 370 (1.5GHZ)
MX6124 (laptop) w/2GB
Windows XP Home SP2 (120GB HD)
Intel(r) 910GML (64MB shared)

 

[John McGaw]

In Eric typed on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:10:01 -0700:

And what is Belxxxxx Analyze? Google came up with nothing. What does this
do, copy all of your software to install on another computer? If so, that is
a very tough call. As there are so many different ways programs can install.
Some doesn't use the registry at all (and don't even show up in Add/Remove).
Some completely store themselves in the temporary folder. Which is a shock
when you clean it out and the program is now gone. It is probably easier to
land an unmanned probe on Mars than to write software to collect all of the
installed software.

I took it to mean Belarc Advisor.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

John McGaw
http://johnmcgaw.com

 

[BillW50]

In John McGaw typed on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:03:45 -0400:

I took it to mean Belarc Advisor.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Oh okay John. I used to have that one on my computer awhile back. If I
remember right, that only provides information about installed programs. And
I believe it gets it's info from the registry. Thus if it isn't there,
Belarc Advisor won't find it. Also if it is, but entered in a non-standard
way, I don't think it will list it either.

--
Bill
Gateway Celeron M 370 (1.5GHZ)
MX6124 (laptop) w/2GB
Windows XP Home SP2 (120GB HD)
Intel(r) 910GML (64MB shared)

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have used Belxxxxx Analyze to collect installed software on PC, but I find
out this analysis does not completely show what is showed under XP Add/Remove
Program under control panel. Some installed software shows under Belxxxxx
Analyze, but it does not show under XP Add/Remove Program under control
panel. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to collect installed software
accurately?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions
Eric

You've already achieved that. Belarc Advisor is likely to be more
accurate than Window's Add/Remove programs, because it actually examines
the contents of the hard drive, rather than relying on a 3rd party
installer to be specific registry entries.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Eric]

Thank everyone for suggestions:
If I find the specific software installed under Belarc Advisor, but I don't
find this software listed under Window's Add/Remove programs, then how can I
uninstall this software?
Thank everyone very much for any suggestions
Eric

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Thank everyone for suggestions:
If I find the specific software installed under Belarc Advisor, but I don't
find this software listed under Window's Add/Remove programs, then how can I
uninstall this software?

Many such applications will have placed an "uninstall" option within
their Start Menu folder(s). Otherwise, follow each particular
application's manufacturer's instructions for removal.




--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Eric]

Thank everyone very much for suggestions
On the other hands,
If I find the specific software installed under Window's Add/Remove
programs, but I don't find this software listed under Belarc Advisor, then is
there anything wrong wth this software?
Thank you very much for any suggestions
Eric

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Thank everyone very much for suggestions
On the other hands,
If I find the specific software installed under Window's Add/Remove
programs, but I don't find this software listed under Belarc Advisor, then is
there anything wrong wth this software?

Is the program in question working?

If so, then it's most likely something that Belarc Advisor simply
doesn't recognize. You might want to check for an update to Belarc. It
might also have been installed as a component or add-in along with some
other application that Belarc did recognize, but for which it doesn't
list separate components. Without the specific name of the program,
it'd be nearly impossible to tell.

If the program isn't working, then it might be that someone manually
deleted the program's folder and shortcuts via Windows Explorer, in lieu
of running the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet to properly
uninstall it. You might be able to clear such an entry by opening the
Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet and selecting each of the
pertinent removal choices, in turn. In some cases, you should get an
error message stating that the removal files are missing, and asking if
you'd like to delete the menu option. Otherwise, the entries can be
removed, if desired, via careful manual registry edits. *Do not* use an
automated registry "cleaner" for this: ridding yourself of this minor
cosmetic annoyance isn't worth the risk such products bring to the table.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot