Rid your Add/Remove Programs dialog box of pesky, out-dated entries

If you frequently install new software programs, and then remove them when you’ve finished so as not to clutter up your system, you may be surprised to see them still appear in your Add/Remove Programs list. Sometimes a program’s uninstall operation doesn’t completely remove all traces of the program from your system. Luckily, with a simple registry edit, you can remove these programs from the list.

Caution: Since making changes to the registry with the Registry Editor can be dangerous, we strongly suggest that you back up the registry before you perform the operations outlined here.

To remove previously uninstalled programs from the Add/Remove list:

1. Log on to the computer as a user with Administrator rights.
2. Select Start | Run, type regedit in the Open text box and click OK to open the Registry Editor.
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall. A list of all the programs available displays in your Add/Remove Programs list.
4. Select an entry from the list on the left and press the [Delete] key.
5. Click Yes in the confirmation message box to remove it.
6. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows; the item is now gone from the Add/Remove Programs list.