Using Add or Remove Programs Tool in Windows

The Windows operating system lets you control which programs, updates and features to install, remove or change. The tool is called Add and Remove Programs in Windows XP while Vista and Windows 7 users will find the said tool as Uninstall or change a program tool. The Add or Remove Programs tool is located in the Control Panel of Windows or you can simply type appwiz.cpl in the run command window and then hit enter key on your keyboard to open the tool to modify, add, remove programs.

In some cases, removing or uninstalling a program using Add and Remove programs will not work or does not work well in removing the files or components added by applications. You can read in the sections below why and what you can do to remove properly what you really wanted to remove.

If you tried removing a program using Add or Remove Programs tool but the removal fails, the installation of the application is maybe corrupted. This is true only if the installer has bug or you have a program that interferes with the installation of software.

To sort this problem, you need to temporarily disable the real-time monitoring of antivirus, firewall or other programs that can interfere with the install process. Please note that you will only do this if you are quite sure that the installer is safe to install. Your antivirus program should detect something on the executable file during the download process or when you insert the installation disk.

Next, ensure that you have the latest installer of the program that you are trying to remove then start installing it again so the corrupted installation is fixed. When the installation wizard prompts in rebooting the computer, please do so.

Finally, start removing the program again using Add or Remove Programs tool.

I hope you are not trying to remove in add remove programs an adware spyware software. If you are, proceed to reading the page 2 of this article. If you are removing a legitimate program, you should know that a non-corrupted installation of programs may also fail to remove if the application is running in the background. Try to shutdown the application or other applications that may be using any module or components of the program that you are trying to remove. Example: When removing antivirus programs that have installed add-ons for browser and e-mail programs, it is best to close the browser or e-mail client. Manually stop the protection of the antivirus program or disable the self-protection of the antivirus program.

When the program is still not removed, you should try using the removal tool that the software vendor may have published. For example, Norton programs can be removed using the Norton Removal Tool, AVG users might want to use AVG Remover. Also, the website or support page of the software vendor may have published important removal instruction so spend some time to visiting the vendor's website or support forums before using another work-around.