TechTipsApp

Technology tips blog

  • Articles
    Categories
    • Tech news
    • Internet
    • Social Network
    • Google
    • Geeky Tips
    • Android
    • Windows 10
    Top Posts
    • Install Windows XP from USB
    • Install Windows 7 from USB
    • Open Facebook When It's Blocked
    • Partition Hard Drive Without Formatting
    • Reset Windows 7 Password
    • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy policy
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Conduct & Copyright Policy

Uninstall Useless Windows Components and Programs in XP

Tanmay Windows Leave a Comment

Too many useless programs in your computer can make it slow. Cause, some Windows applications run at the background automatically and consumes a significant amount of physical memory. You should always uninstall such programs to prevent your computer from running slow. Well, it is quite easy to remove any program from the ‘Add or Remove Programs’ option under the Control Panel. But if the program is not listed there, you should follow some advanced method to uninstall the useless components from your Windows computer.
What does happen when you install a program in Windows? It adds some entries in the registry like ‘Display name’, ‘Display Icon’, ‘Publisher’ etc. But, another important entry, UninstallString is also added to the registry when installing a program into Windows. It holds the execution path of the uninstallation process and plays the key role for uninstalling a program.
Case 1: The program is not listed at ‘Add or Remove Programs’ list but at Windows Registry:
If you can’t find the program at the ‘Add or Remove Programs’ list, you can use the registry information to uninstall it.

How to Uninstall Programs Using Registry Editor

Open the Registry Editor ( pres Win + R, type "regedit" and hit the Enter key) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Uninstall
registry-editor-uninstall-programs
Expand the ‘Uninstall’ key using the ‘+’ sign and find out the program that you want to uninstall. Click on it. On the right-panel, you should see the entry named as UninstallString. Double-click on it.
uninstall-string
The ‘Edit String’ pop-up dialog box appears. In the ‘Value data’ field, you can see the path to uninstall the program. Simply, copy it.
edit-uninstall-string
Open the command prompt and paste the string that you copied and hit the Enter key to execute. The un-installation wizard should appear. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process. (Tip: Automatically close non-responding programs.)
Case 2: The program is not listed at both ‘Add or Remove Programs’ list and Registry:

Some Widows components still can’t be uninstalled. They appear neither in the ‘Add or Remove programs’ list nor in the Windows registry. In such a case, you can uninstall them from the Windows Components list.
Go to Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs and choose ‘Add/Remove Windows Components’ from the left pane.
uninstall useless windows components
Case 3: The program is not available at ‘Add or Remove Programs’, Windows Registry or Windows Components list:
Again, some Windows programs do not appear the Windows components list. As for example, you can’t see Windows Messenger, Wordpad or similar utilities in the list of Windows components wizard. Hence, you can’t uninstall them simply. But there is a catch. Windows XP has a setup information file called as sysoc.inf. This file controls which program should appear in the Windows Components Wizard. Now, you can edit this file to make the invisible items visible.

How to Uninstall Programs by editing sysoc.inf

The sysoc.inf file is generally located into the C:>Windows>Inf folder. Find out the sysoc.inf file and keep a backup so that you can revert to the original if any problem arises. Once done, open it with Notepad.
uninstall invisible windows components
Some lines contain a word HIDE (or hide) which indicates that the program is invisible in the Windows Components Wizard. As for example, look at the line Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7. This indicates that the game Pinball is invisible in the Windows Components list. Just delete the word HIDE and save the file. After editing, the line should look like this: Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,7.
Now the ‘Pinball’ entry will appear in the list. And then you can perform the un-installation process from the Remove Windows Component wizard.
The programs are short named in the sysoc.inf which is hard to understand. Here is the list of short names with their corresponding program name.

AccessOpt : Accessibility Wizard
CommApps : Communications components, including Chat,
Hyperterminal, and Phone Dialer
AutoUpdate : Windows Automatic Update
MultiM : Multimedia components, including Media Player,
Volume Control, and Sound Recorder
TerminalServer : Terminal Server
dtc : Distributed Transaction Coordinator
MSWordPad : WordPad
msmsgs : Windows Messenger
dom : COM+
WBEM : Windows Management Instrumentation
Pinball : Pinball game

So, you can make the programs visible which you need to uninstall by editing the sysoc.inf file.
Note: It is not guaranteed that all the program will be permitted to uninstall. You may still not be able to uninstall some Windows Components.
However, the above processes will help you to uninstall many useless Windows components and programs which consumes a good amount of disk space and physical memory and decelerate the system performance.

Post Tags: Program, Windows XP
Similar Articles from This Blog
How to Install Windows XP from USB Flash/Pen Drive {Simple Method}
How to Install Windows XP from USB Flash/Pen Drive {Simple Method}
Alternative Way to Install Windows XP from USB Drive
Alternative Way to Install Windows XP from USB Drive
Clone Your Existing Operating System Into Virtual Machine
Clone Your Existing Operating System Into Virtual Machine
How to Mount Any Folder As Virtual Drive in Windows
How to Mount Any Folder As Virtual Drive in Windows
Reduce the Time of Shutting Down in Windows XP
Reduce the Time of Shutting Down in Windows XP
How to Acquire Lost Windows XP Product Key
How to Acquire Lost Windows XP Product Key

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Us

Tech Tips App is a technology blog, looking forward to broaden the mental horizons of technical geeks round the web. Striving hard to quench your technical thirst, we have put our best efforts on the line of exhaust to satisfy your versatile technical vocabulary.

Recently Published

  1. Partitioning Hard Drive in Windows 7 Without Formatting
  2. How to Find My Contacts on Google Map
  3. Introducing SMS Organizer by Microsoft is the Best SMS App
  4. How to Fix Windows Update When It Gets Stuck
  5. How to Get Rid of Windows 10 Automatic Repair Loop [Solved]
  6. Best Antivirus for Windows 10 (Is Windows Defender Good Enough?)
  7. Best Facebook Messenger Bots to Get more out of Messenger
  8. How to Fax a Document From Your Smartphone
  9. Top Social Media Platforms You Should Always Know About
  10. Bitcoin vs Altcoin: Where to Invest? – Guide For Dummies

© 2021 Tech Tips App All Rights Reserved  Post Sitemap