Phantom Entries in add/remove

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rfalter · #1 Post by **rfalter** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:55 pm

I have an entry for PC Doctor, program removed. How do I remove the phantom entry for it that remains in add/remove programs?
Thanks.

#2 Post by **GomJabbar** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:32 pm

I had this happen recently after using System Restore. Just reinstall the program, then uninstall it again.

If you have some strange entries in Add or Remove Programs, that could be a result of installing PC Doctor 5 that came out between Oct. and Dec. of last year. The version available now should not cause that problem. If you think you have that problem, post back. If you only have the one phantom entry, then the solution I posted above should fix it.

rfalter · #3 Post by **rfalter** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:00 am

I reinstalled PC Doctor5, manually removed all pieces of PC Doctor, but it still shows in the add/remove list.

And yes, other programs need to be reinstallled to get back add/remove capability, but this is a phantom entry, nothing to reinstall.

#4 Post by **GomJabbar** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:52 am

Sorry that didn't work for you. Searching around, I found a couple of solutions. Tweak UI, which is one of the Power Toys modules from Microsoft is reported to be able to fix this problem. Alternatively you can manually edit the registry. Take your pick...

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/down ... rtoys.mspx

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/247501]

#5 Post by **jdhurst** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 7:48 am

For some programs, I also recall that if you click on it in Add/Remove Programs, it will complain it is not there to remove, and then ask you "Do you wish to remove from the Add/Remove Programs list?" That works for me most times. ... JDH

rfalter · #6 Post by **rfalter** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:54 am

I have latest version of Tweak UI, cannot seem to find anything in there that lets you clear unwanted entries.

PatrickE · #7 Post by **PatrickE** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:31 pm

You can try the program ccleaner. I have had some luck using it's uninstall option to remove phantom entries from add/remove.

#8 Post by **GomJabbar** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:25 pm

rfalter wrote:I have latest version of Tweak UI, cannot seem to find anything in there that lets you clear unwanted entries.

Well, I am not sure. I based that information on the following:

From: Microsoft® Windows® XP Inside Out, Deluxe Edition

In some cases, a poorly written uninstall routine may leave a phantom entry behind in the list of installed programs, even after it has successfully removed all traces of the program itself. To remove an item from the list in this case, you can use Microsoft's unsupported (but highly recommended) Tweak UI utility. For details about Tweak UI, see "Customizing Windows XP with Tweak UI," page 327.

I found this also, while doing a Google search: Remove Uninstalled Software from Add/Remove Control Panel

Finally, here is some other software to accomplish this task, although I cannot vouch for any of it:
http://www.filesland.com/software/addre ... grams.html

#9 Post by **carbon_unit** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:17 am

CCleaner or Registry Mechanic will clean out the phantom entries.

raabjerg · #10 Post by **raabjerg** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 2:20 pm

You can also try the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility from Microsoft:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

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