Sometimes even after you’ve uninstalled a program, its entry will remain listed in the Add or Remove Programs or Programs and Features list under currently installed programs in the Control Panel.
If you're using Windows Vista, you must also install SQL Server 2005 Service. IIS isn't available (and can't be installed) with Windows XP Home Edition, Windows Vista Home Basic. In the Control Panel, select Add or Remove Programs.
This is usually caused by a badly written program that doesn’t properly uninstall itself. The entry is not removed from the registry and therefore remains in the list. If you try to uninstall it again, you’ll most likely just get an error message.
Newer versions of Windows will detect this problem and actually ask you if you want to remove the entry, which is nice. However, if you’re still running Windows 7 or Vista or XP, you’ll still run into this problem.
Remove Stuck Programs – Registry
Luckily, there is an easy way to manually remove these stuck entries from the list. It requires some registry editing, so be sure to make a backup of your registry first in case you mess something up.
To open the registry, click on Start and type in regedit. Now navigate to the following registry key and expand it.
You’ll see quite a few entries listed, some of which have friendly names and some that have a really long identifier.
You can easily identify the programs with the long identifier by just clicking on it and looking for DisplayName at the right. In the above example, you can see one of them is for a program called VMware Tools.
Find the program that is stuck in your program list and then right-click on it in the left-hand menu and choose Delete.
Now you might be wondering why all the programs you have listed under Programs and Features are not showing up under this registry key? The reason is because you might have 32-bit programs installed on a 64-bit version of Windows.
For all of these programs, you need to navigate to the following registry key where you will probably find a lot more entries:
Here, for example, you will find all the entries for Java, if you have that installed. You’ll also find a bunch of entries for Microsoft Office, if you have the 32-bit version installed. Again, just right-click on the entry and choose Delete to remove it.
Lastly, if the program was installed via a .MSI package, which might be the case in corporate environments, you also should check this registry key:
You’ll need to restart your computer and then open up the list of programs in Control Panel to see the changes. It should hopefully be gone.
Microsoft Fix It Solution
If you don’t want to mess around with the registry yourself, Microsoft has a free Fix It tool you can download that specifically deals with this issue of programs that cannot be completely uninstalled.
The program will run on Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8.1. It does not work on Windows 10, but hopefully you should never have this issue on Windows 10.
Third-Party Tools
Finally, there is one other way to go about fixing this problem and that is using third-party tools. One of my favorite programs for cleaning up the registry is CCleaner because it’s super safe to use. It’s actually the only program I recommend for fixing problems in the Windows registry.
Hopefully, using one of the methods above, you will be able to clear out any entries that were refusing to go away! If you have any questions, feel free to comment. Enjoy!
The Add or Remove Programs is a feature in Microsoft Windows that lets a user uninstall and manage the software installed on their computer. This feature was introduced in Windows 98 as Add/Remove Programs, later renamed Programs and Features in Windows Vista and Windows 7, and then Apps & features in Windows 10.
How to open Add or Remove Programs in Windows 10
- Press the Windows key, type Apps & features or Add or Remove Programs, and press Enter.
- A window similar to the picture below should appear.
- From this window, you'll be able to manage how Windows installs programs and also uninstall any programs that have been installed.
or
- Click Programs and Features or under the Programs section click Uninstall a program.
- From this window, you'll be able to manage how Windows installs programs and also uninstall any programs that have been installed.
See the link below for additional help with uninstalling software in Windows.
Open Add or Remove Programs in Windows 7 and 8
- Under the Programs section, click Uninstall a program.
- A window similar to the one shown below should appear with a list of all the programs on your computer.
- From the Programs and Features section of Windows, you can uninstall a program, adjust Windows features, and view installed updates.
or
- Press the Windows key, type Programs and Features or Add and remove programs, then press Enter.
- A window similar to that shown above should appear.
- From the Programs and Features section of Windows, you can uninstall a program, adjust Windows features, and view installed updates.
See the link below for additional help with uninstalling software in Windows.
How to open Add or Remove Programs in Windows Vista
- Under the Programs section, click Uninstall a program. If the Control Panel is showing icons, click on Programs and Features.
- From the Programs and Features window, you can uninstall a program, adjust Windows features, and view installed updates.
or
- Press the Windows key, type Programs and Features, then press Enter.
- A window similar to that shown above should appear.
- From the Programs and Features section of Windows, you can uninstall a program, adjust Windows features, and view installed updates.
See the link below for additional help with uninstalling software in Windows.
Windows XP
- Double-click Add or Remove Programs.
- A window similar to the one below should appear with a list of all the programs on your computer.
- To remove a program, select it on the list, and then click the Change/Remove button.
See the link below for additional help with uninstalling software in Windows.
How to open Add/Remove Programs in Windows ME and 98
- Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
- A window should open that allows you to uninstall software in Windows.
Should I write 'Add/Remove Programs' or 'Add or Remove Programs?'
Unless you're talking about very early versions of Microsoft Windows (Windows 98 or Windows ME), you should be referring to this section as 'Add or Remove Programs.'
With Windows Vista and Windows 7, if you're writing about uninstalling and managing software in Windows, you should refer to this section as 'Programs and Features.' With Windows 8 and Windows 10, it should be referred to as 'Apps & features.'
Related pages
Control Panel, Operating system terms, Uninstall