Usually, installing and uninstalling programs goes without a hitch. Considering they’re the first and last steps involved in using any application, you’d hope they go smoothly. But there are times when a tool stubbornly refuses to remove itself when asked, or a Registry key has busted, prevent you from installing your favourite utility. Don’t worry about a third-party app to fix things — Microsoft has you covered.
Recently I was trying to update iTunes on my Windows PC, but after multiple uninstalls and installs, the process would always stuff up when trying to load a component called “Apple Software Update”. Rebooting didn’t help either.
Fortunately, Microsoft’s “Program Install and Uninstall troubleshooter” can address a lot of common issues that prevent software from installing or uninstalling correctly — including my problem with iTunes.
Here’s what it fixes, according to the company’s support article:
- Corrupted registry keys on 64-bit operating systems
- Corrupted registry keys that control the update data
- Problems that prevent new programs from being installed
- Problems that prevent existing programs from being completely uninstalled or updated
- Problems that block you from uninstalling a program through Add or Remove Programs (or Programs and Features) in Control Panel
The program works on the most recent versions of Windows, starting from 7 (sorry Vista users).
It’s a bit strange the troubleshooter isn’t built into the operating system and the download page is somewhat bare, considering the tool’s usefulness. Ah well, at least you know about it now.
Fix problems that block programs from being installed or removed
[Microsoft]
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