Removing Invalid Entries in the Add/Remove Programs Tool

ID: Q243723

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

To add, remove, or change a program on a Windows 2000-based computer, use the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. Occasionally, a program may not be uninstalled completely and a reference to the program may remain in the Currently installed programs dialog box. Changing or removing a program may result in a number of messages about files that cannot be located, but are needed to complete the change or uninstallation. This article describes how to remove these invalid entries from the Add/Remove Programs tool.


MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

The following steps remove only the registry entries related to a program as it appears in the Add/Remove Programs tool. To completely uninstall a program that was not completely removed by clicking the Change/Remove button in the Add/Remove Programs tool, you need to clean up the physical directory structure on disk and in the registry also. Use extreme caution when you perform either of these tasks.

To remove a program reference viewable in the Add/Remove Programs tool:

  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).


  2. Locate the following key:


    3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
  3. Locate the key to be deleted by locating the key name created by the program. If the name of the key is not apparent, browse through each key and note the value for DisplayName. This is the viewable string in the Add/Remove Programs tool.


  4. Using the Registry menu, export the selected registry key to make a backup. Store the .reg file in a safe location in case you need to import it at a later date.


  5. Delete the selected registry key and its values. Do not delete the entire Uninstall key.


  6. Quit Registry Editor.


  7. Verify that the reference in the Add/Remove Programs tool is no longer visible.


You may have to contact the manufacturer of the program you want to remove if you need to clean up the disk and registry entries. The above procedure does not remove all the files and registry entries used by the program, it removes only the reference in the Add/Remove Programs tool.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbenv kbtool
Version : WINDOWS:2000; winnt:4.0
Platform : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type : kbhowto


Last Reviewed: December 29, 1999
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