Sometimes during the uninstallation of Windows applications, failures occur, as a result of which, even after the procedure is completed, the program remains in the list of installed applications. Repeated attempts to run the uninstallation wizard will cause an error message with information about the absence of files required for correct removal and the impossibility of completing the procedure. The non-existent program still remains on the list. Below is a step-by-step instruction on how to manually eliminate traces of deleted programs.
Instructions
Step 1
The first step on the "Start" button, in the main menu, start the control panel. If you are using Windows XP, then for this you need to go to the "Settings" section of the main menu.
Step 2
In the Control Panel window, run the Add / Remove Programs utility.
Step 3
The utility will make a list of installed applications, in which you need to find the name of the one that was uninstalled with an error. You will need this name in the next steps. Now you won't need this utility for a while, but do not close it.
Step 4
Further actions must be performed in the Windows Registry Editor. To run it, press the key combination CTRL + R, in the Open Program dialog that opens, type "regedit" (without quotes) and press Enter.
Step 5
Now, be sure to save a copy of the registry before you start editing it - in the "File" menu of the menu, select "Export" and save the copy, specifying your current date as the name. If something goes wrong, then you will have the opportunity to restore the current state of the registry by loading this file through the "Import" item in the editor menu.
Step 6
After that, in the left pane of the editor, go sequentially to these folders: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE => SOFTWARE => Microsoft => Windows => CurrentVersion => Uninstall
Step 7
Having opened the Uninstall section, look in the left pane for a name (key) similar to the name of the program to be uninstalled - it does not have to be exactly the same. To make sure that you have found the very same program, click this key, find in the list of its parameters (in the right pane) the one called DispiayName. It should contain the full name of the program - you can check it against an unclosed installation utility for uninstalling programs.
Step 8
After making sure that this key is specific to the program you need, delete it - close the list of options, right-click the key and select "Delete" in the context menu.
Step 9
Now it remains to make sure that the removed program is no longer in the list of installed programs. Close the Add / Remove Programs wizard and reopen it to give it a chance to compile the list of installed programs again.
