Uninstall Additional Windows Components
Some Windows components are installed by default and normally cannot be uninstalled by going to Start / Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs / Add/Remove Windows Components. This little trick makes some of those components visible on that list and available for removal. Open Windows Explorer and drill down to the C:\WinNT\inf direectory (your Windows installation folder might vary slightly). Find the file called sysoc.inf and double-click it to open it in Notepad.
Note: If you don't see the file, go to Tools / Folder Options / View and select Show hidden files and folders, then uncheck Hide protected operating system files.
Some of the lines in the file have the word hide towards the end. This switch prevents them from appearing in the uninstall list. Remove the word hide from the desired lines, but be careful to leave both the comma before and after in place. Save the file and check out the Windows components uninstall list again to see the results.
Some Windows components are installed by default and normally cannot be uninstalled by going to Start / Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs / Add/Remove Windows Components. This little trick makes some of those components visible on that list and available for removal. Open Windows Explorer and drill down to the C:\WinNT\inf direectory (your Windows installation folder might vary slightly). Find the file called sysoc.inf and double-click it to open it in Notepad.
Note: If you don't see the file, go to Tools / Folder Options / View and select Show hidden files and folders, then uncheck Hide protected operating system files.
Some of the lines in the file have the word hide towards the end. This switch prevents them from appearing in the uninstall list. Remove the word hide from the desired lines, but be careful to leave both the comma before and after in place. Save the file and check out the Windows components uninstall list again to see the results.
