Program Is Not Listed in Add/Remove Programs After Installation

Symptoms

After you install a program on your computer, the program is not listed in the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. Also, other programs that are installed on your computer and that were previously listed in Add/Remove Programs may no longer be listed.

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Cause

This problem can occur if the program you installed creates a registry key name that is longer than 60 characters in length. Add/Remove Programs only lists program names it locates up to the point it encounters this situation.

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Resolution

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods:

Uninstall the Program

The installation program may detect that this program is already installed on your computer and provide an option to uninstall it. When this program is removed, the other missing programs in Add/Remove Programs are listed again.

Run the Uninstall Program Included in the Uninstall Folder

Some programs create a folder under the Winnt folder that contains a "$" character at the start and end of the folder name. This folder may contain an uninstall program that you can run to remove the program you previously installed on your computer. Note that these folders are usually hidden, and that you may need to configure Windows Explorer to view hidden files and folders. To do so, right-click Start, click Explore, click Options on the View menu, and then click Show all files.

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Use the Uninstall Command Displayed in the Registry

Use Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) to view the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
Double-click the UninstallString registry value, copy the contents of the Value Data box by selecting the contents and pressing CTRL+C, and then quit Registry Editor.
Click Start, click Run, press CTRL+V to paste the uninstall command, and then click OK.

Shorten the Registry Key Name

Run Regedit.exe to view the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

Click the registry key for the program you installed, click Rename on the Edit menu, and then use a name with less than 60 characters. Note that if the DisplayName value is longer than 32 characters, it is not displayed. To rename it, double-click DisplayName and use a name up to 32 characters in length.

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