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So i recently got myself into a sticky situation, it seems like windows 'forgot' about a program I had installed (some drives changed letters / not really sure what happened).. I could find files that it created, but in 'Programs' and 'Add/Remove Programs' it is not there.

Also, when I use the 'programs' installer, it says it cant install because it exists already (to some extent), and I can un-install because windows doesn't know it exists.

BUT! I have an executable of the 'program' that works.

So I am wondering what the difference is between an executable, and what windows considers to be, and keeps track of, a 'program'.

This is definitely the kind of program that would show up in 'add/remove programs', as I have several other very similar ones from the same company that show up there, and I know it used to show up there.

I am not looking for wikipedia answers, I am interested in what exactly a 'program' is. What are the necessary pieces that make up a 'program' as far as windows is concerned?

e wagness
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    Add/Remove Programs only lists those which are registered on the list - something installers do. That list is kept separately from the actual executable file(s) which make up the program. – Adam D. Ruppe Jun 11 '15 at 19:57

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For a program to show up in "add/remove programs", it needs to be installed. Typically, this is done through an installer that takes care of registering the program with windows and modifies the environment so that the program functions properly. It may modify the registry to store user preferences for example...

When you have just an executable, it's not necessarily installed. It may be standalone. Some programs don't absolutely need to be installed even if it's the canonical way to add a program in the Windows system. That's why it may work. Another executable may fail because it relies on modifying the state of the system to work properly.

I hope it helps :)

Jouan
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  • Could you elaborate on what it means to 'register' with windows? I actually already found some what seems to be some pretty useful docs on the matter but any extra insight would be apreciated. Essentially at this point I am trying to remove all traces of the program, as installers and such think parts of the program still exist, presumably in 'registry editor' / program registration / environment land. – e wagness Jun 11 '15 at 20:11
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    If you look in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall, each key correspond to an installed program. That's what the installers modify to register programs. Removing all traces of a program can be hard if you don't have the installer. Short of formatting your drive, I think you may want to reinstall your program and uninstall it cleanly. – Jouan Jun 11 '15 at 21:01
  • thank you so much, its hard to google things when you dont know the right terms and such. For some reason I cant re-install. This is licensed software for music studio programs, so theres a little more 'verification and overhead' going on than just something simpler. I dont really expect to get any specific help, but you have pointed me in a great direction. Side note: can you think of a reason that is registry related that would not allow something to install? *install again that is – e wagness Jun 11 '15 at 21:34
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    It's possible for an installer to inspect the registry. And I think they do in order to present to the user the option to repair or uninstall instead of just installing. Deleting the key in the registry might allow you to reinstall. But it may be looking at something more also... Despite the fact that installer behavior is fairly standardised, it's, in the end, up to each installer how it wants to behave... – Jouan Jun 11 '15 at 21:58