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Programs disappear from Add/Remove

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by mr. h

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I have an interesting problem with Program entries disappearing from my Add/Remove programs dialog box. This has happened at least three times. It doesn't appear to have any rhyme or reason to it. I've taken off downloaded programs (WEB) and installed programs and it seems to be random. When I remove a program, every entry on the list vanishes. The software still functions, but it is not listed on Add/Remove. I the only way to remove the software is with its Uninstall option. Anyone have any idea? I'm running Win98SE, the MS site doesn't seem to helpful about this.

3 replies

by thechas

Some uninstaller has taken over the uninstall functions for all software.

Further, it has a bug in it that deletes the entire registry key with the uninstall list, and not just the specific entry.

I have 171 file names with uinst in the file name on my W98 box, so I can't necessarily clue you in as to which program might be the culprit.

You might try running System File Checker (SFC) from the run box, and see if Windows finds any "rouge" programs.

You also might run Lavasoft's AdAware (www.lavasoftusa.com) and look for any "spyware" that may be on your system.

Chas

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