Is there some way to get Windows to recognize previously installed programs in the 
All Programs list?  I have a lot of prior installations in C:Programs that aren't 
showing up on the list of All Programs nor in Control Panel Add/Remove.  Short of 
going and removing all of those and reinstalling, is there anything I can do to have 
them show up?  Some work, some don't, and the ones that don't, I will have to re-install, 
but for example, Fox-it reader is there and still works, but I had to go and open 
the folder to use it today.

As always, thanks.  Juliane

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re: Programs in C not listed in All Programs Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 6:59 am Posted by Ricer46 (22013 messages posted) You should just be able to double click on your pdf file, and Foxit will open. If you insist on opening from the All Programs list (I very seldom use it), then create a folder in the c:\documents and settings\username\start menu\programs folder and within that folder create a shortcut to open Foxit. On Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 5:26 am, Juliane wrote: >Is there some way to get Windows to recognize previously installed programs in the >All Programs list? I have a lot of prior installations in C:Programs that aren't >showing up on the list of All Programs nor in Control Panel Add/Remove. Short of >going and removing all of those and reinstalling, is there anything I can do to have >them show up? Some work, some don't, and the ones that don't, I will have to re-install, >but for example, Fox-it reader is there and still works, but I had to go and open >the folder to use it today. > >As always, thanks. Juliane [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Programs in C not listed in All Programs Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 7:21 am Posted by Juliane (153 messages posted) So could I drag and drop all my other programs into that folder? And what about Add/Remove Programs - will that also recognize and uninstall programs that don't have their own uninstall? Thanks! On Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 5:59 am, Ricer46 wrote: >You should just be able to double click on your pdf file, and Foxit will open. If >you insist on opening from the All Programs list (I very seldom use it), then create >a folder in the c:\documents and settings\username\start menu\programs folder and >within that folder create a shortcut to open Foxit. > > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Programs in C not listed in All Programs Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 7:41 am Posted by Ricer46 (22013 messages posted) "So could I drag and drop all my other programs into that folder?" You can drag and drop all of your program shortcuts to that folder, but you might want to right click and copy them to that folder. As for the add remove, that's not an issue unless you want to remove one. Simplest way would be to re-install. I think there might be a way to fix it by editing the registry, but I've got simpler ways to deal with problems like that, and have never bothered figuring out how to fix that problem that way. You can search Google just as well as I can, so if that's important to you go for it. On Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 6:21 am, Juliane wrote: >So could I drag and drop all my other programs into that folder? And what about >Add/Remove Programs - will that also recognize and uninstall programs that don't >have their own uninstall? > >Thanks! > > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Programs in C not listed in All Programs Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 11:37 am Posted by Rich Kurtz (12246 messages posted) What do you mean by previously installed programs? Previous to what? More info would help. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Programs in C not listed in All Programs Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 12:04 pm Posted by Juliane (153 messages posted) Oh, I'm sorry! I just assumed that everyone here already saw my previous posts about being completely locked out of Windows! :) I ended up having to do a "new" install after several repair/reinstalls. I started with XP Pro SP2, but my CD-ROM was SP1, so after all the fireworks were over, I had to update to SP2. Now I have this format: C:WINDOWS also C:WINDOWSXPPRO (the prior install) Both of those files list my programs but none of those programs are given in the Programs list or in Add/Remove programs. Some of the programs will open, but Office applications won't, and I had to reinstall Java and Flash, and re-activate Foxit. When I use the program again, if it works, I am putting a shortcut on the desktop, but that doesn't seem to carry over to the programs list. No big deal, really, just wanted to know if there was an easy tweak. I don't think I want to mess with the registry right now, although I did install ERUNT and copied the registry and saved it. :) On Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 10:37 am, Rich Kurtz wrote: >What do you mean by previously installed programs? Previous to what? More info would >help. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Programs in C not listed in All Programs Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 5:08 pm Posted by Rich Kurtz (12246 messages posted) No, didn't know about or remember your previous thread, sorry. I do understand what you mean now though. The copy of XP in C:\WINDOWSXPPRO was the previous install and C:\Windows is your current, new install. Since you did not do an install over (Repair Install) the old, the programs that were installed and available there will not run until you reinstall them under the new copy of XP. You may get some of them to run buy creating shortcuts to them in Programs or on your desktop but any associated registry entries will be missing so they may not run correctly. Best bet is to reinstall the ones you use. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Programs in C not listed in All Programs Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 5:44 pm Posted by Juliane (153 messages posted) I understand. They need to be in the registry and are not currently there, just "shadows" of their former selves. :) If it were you, would you delete the previous Windows install folder completely, or just leave it there and leave it alone? I'm a little leery of having the 2 of them on one HD. Yet I don't want to delete any files I might need. I don't know if Windows cannibalizes itself or ignores a previous install. And since I did at least 2 repairs/reinstalls before the complete install, that WIN XP folder may also have its own set of corrupted files... Juliane On Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 4:08 pm, Rich Kurtz wrote: >No, didn't know about or remember your previous thread, sorry. > I do understand what you mean now though. The copy of XP in C:\WINDOWSXPPRO was >the previous install and C:\Windows is your current, new install. Since you did not >do an install over (Repair Install) the old, the programs that were installed and >available there will not run until you reinstall them under the new copy of XP. You >may get some of them to run buy creating shortcuts to them in Programs or on your >desktop but any associated registry entries will be missing so they may not run correctly. > Best bet is to reinstall the ones you use. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Programs in C not listed in All Programs Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 6:47 pm Posted by Markus (4 messages posted) Hi Juliane, Like the other person was saying, you do need to reinstall all of your software from scratch. It's the only way. However, the method that you used is not really the right way to do things. When Windows crashes it is because core operating system files and the system registry become corrupted. Adware, Spyware or a Virus can also caused corruption of data, apart the the usual problems they cause. If Windows is so far gone that you need to reinstall it, never install OVER the original installation - or in other words, a repair. This won't fix anything, trust me. It's a waste of time. You MUST do a clean install. The method you used placed the entire contents of your C:\ drive in a separate folder (as a backup) and then Windows was reinstalled from scratch. You want to avoid this method, because any virus, adware or spyware that may have been located on your drive are now backed up in that backup folder. These files could cause a problem again. The right way to go about this is to first back up all of your document files, emails, email settings, address books, browser bookmarks, game saves, etc. etc. onto a CD, USB memory stick, floppy or other type of exterior storage media. If you have additional partitions on your hard drive, for example D:\ or another letter, then it's even easier. Just back up your files to that partition. Don't backup the entire contents of the C:\ partition because it's far too much data and a total waste of time. Only back up the essential stuff I mentioned. You might also have music or video files, so back those up as well. Once you are done you can perform a proper clean install of Windows. If you don't have multiple partitions yet, you need to create some. I suggest 4 or more. For this it's best you use a hard drive installation utility from the hard drive maker. They are free to download from the manufacturers website. You must boot the computer with this program and partition the drive. After that, reboot and reinstall Windows from scratch. If you already had the additional partitions before, you need to use the Windows installation program to reformat C:\ (only). If you created brand new partitions with the had drive utility software, then you don't really need to format C:\ because it's already empty and formated (but you can do it anyway). By formatting, any data located on C:\ will be erased, along with any adware, spyware or viruses. This clean install will ensure that you don't have an unnecessary problems. Now you only need to install your drivers (video, audio, etc.) and your other software. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Programs in C not listed in All Programs Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 8:08 pm Posted by Juliane (153 messages posted) Thank you. I will re-read your very informative message tomorrow, but wanted to let you know I had received it tonight. I didn't have any spyware or viruses, unless they are the best viruses ever written, because no scan, with any software or online application, ever showed anything. Windows just started going haywire for some unknown reason. Maybe there was malware at some point, but I never got any notice of it. Anyway, my HD is already partitioned into C and what used to be E, but then the current install re-named it D and that's where my older files were put. This partitioning thing seems over my head but I will do some research and see what I can understand...thanks again and I'll keep you apprised on what I do...At least the crashes don't frighten me any more... :) [Reply or follow-up to this message] Tip: Use one of the [Reply or follow-up to this message] links above to add a message to this thread Search this forum Start a new thread on a different subject Report abuse of the forum Return to the Windows XP Discussion Forum