Progams not listed on add/remove but useable

Banks89 · 22 May 2011

Hi there,

Bit worried I've messed up my PC here :s My system: I've got 2 partitions, C drive being for the OS and D drive having my programs installed. I reinstalled Windows over the top the C drive with the impression that everything on my C drive would be wiped and replaced with the new system, and all the stuff on the D drive would be untouched (i.e. music, documents and program install files).

The other day I upgraded from 32 bit to 64 bit Windows 7 however now on the Add/Remove programs list no progams appear, yet I can still use some of them. For example I can use Steam by running the .exe in the install folder but doesn't appear on Add/Remove, and for example Itunes doesn't work at all using the same idea.

Basically, have I screwed up my PC and the partitions from upgrading, a bad install or should I just reinstall all the programs from scratch?

If required, here are my system specs:

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System Information
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Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: P55M-UD2
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.8GHz
Memory: 12288MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 12284MB RAM

Thank you in advance!

Kind regards

theog · 22 May 2011

Reinstall all the programs from scratch.

Trucidation · 22 May 2011

Banks89 said:

I reinstalled Windows over the top the C drive with the impression that everything on my C drive would be wiped and replaced with the new system, and all the stuff on the D drive would be untouched (i.e. music, documents and program install files).

Reinstalling in C: doesn't wipe C: unless you specifically format the drive. You do lose program associations and stuff though, even if the folders remain. Which can get messy as you've found out. (I don't even want to think about the registry since you basically reinstalled on top of it.)

You're on the right track with your data in D: (good job keeping them separate), but even reinstalling the programs won't always work 100% - the old folders from previous installations are presumably still there, so the installers may recycle stuff in them. Not a big deal most of the time, but if you want to be absolutely sure you can format C:, install windows 64 on the now clean C:, and reinstall your programs. Assuming you have the installer on hand, I'd recommend doing this to save yourself headaches in the future.