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Are there applications in your Install / Uninstall list (in the Add/Remove Programs dialog box) that you’ve already deleted from your system? Or that, when you select them and click the Add / Remove button, give you a message that the uninstallation can’t proceed? Sure, you could leave them there and forget about them, but if you like to keep things neat and tidy, you’ll be happy to know you can remove unwanted items from this list.

The easiest way to remove items is using Tweak UI, one of the Microsoft PowerToys. You can download it from the MS web site. If you don’t have Tweak UI, or you want to learn how to be really cool, you can remove items from the Install / Uninstall list by editing the Windows 95 Registry. (As always, back it up first. If you don’t know how to back up your registry, either a. be superhumanly careful screwing around in there or b. learn how and back it up first!)

Open the Registry Editor (Select Start | Run, type “regedit” and click OK.) and navigate your way to

HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Uninstall

Under the Uninstall key, right-mouse click the item you want to get rid of, and select Delete. Click Yes to confirm, then repeat these steps to delete other items.
When you’re finished, close the Registry Editor. The next time you open the Add / Remove Programs dialog box, you’ll find that those unwanted items are gone.