The Windows Add/Remove Programs tool is the tool provided by Microsoft to uninstall programs that have been added to a Windows PC. If all goes well, a user can open this tool, select the program to be removed and all of the program components will be removed, the registry entries will be deleted or disabled and everyone is happy.

What Happens When This Doesn’t Happen?

Somewhere along the line, reality will intrude on this scene and the Add/Remove Programs tool won’t work properly. Either it doesn’t “see” the program you want to remove, or it doesn’t work at all. What’s going on here?

Some programs, particularly anti-virus programs, can affect the way the Add/Remove Programs tool works. In some cases, the A/V software can prevent the Add/Remove Programs tool from working altogether. The Add/Remove Programs tool may display a “blank” list of programs or may labor fruitlessly to come up with a list of installed programs on the computer.

Anti-virus interactions should always be considered when a “management” program of some type isn’t working properly. A/V programs have a habit of not making nice with other programs that have a lot of “authority” such as the Add/Remove Programs tool. Some clever malware authors use system components to add, remove or hide programs, so A/V software tends to get very suspicious of these kinds of operations.

If you’re experiencing a problem with a seemingly dead Add/Remove Programs tool, you can quickly check this out by disabling your A/V software (temporarily, of course) and re-starting your computer. If your Add/Remove Programs tool comes up dandy, then you know that the A/V software is exerting some kind of additional control over the Add/Remove Programs tool. You can either disable the A/V when you need to install or uninstall programs, or you can try a third-party software removal tool like Perfect Uninstaller.

Perfect Uninstaller works hard to get all of the unwanted programs off of your computer, quickly and permanently. Perfect Uninstaller doesn’t take “no” for an answer, so you can be sure that you have the programs you want on your computer, and the programs you don’t want are gone for good. You don’t have to put up with a lot of trash on your computer. With Perfect Uninstaller, you can remove the garbage you don’t want and it’s gone for good!

Photo Credit: Jon Dawson, via Flickr