Missing Programs in Programs and Features (Control Panel)

laura32

New Member
Messages
2
Hi guys, hope you can help me with this please because I don’t really know what to do to solve it.

I have a Vaio running Windows 8.1. but coming with Windows 8 preinstalled. I have recently noticed that most of the programs and apps (Adobe, Realtek, Sony folder, Intel, Avast, Java, Bluetooth…) on Programs and Features (Uninstall a Program) have vanished without knowing how. Only Microsoft apps are displayed there for some reason.

First, I run sfc /scannow and found some corrupted files that could not be fixed, so I decided to perform a full recovery (through Vaio Care that makes use of the Recovery partition) that restores the system to factory settings. After recovery, all programs and apps were in Programs and Features as expected. However, after removing either the preinstalled version of MS Office 2013 or the preinstalled games, most programs and apps disappeared again. I run again sfc /scannow, Avast and Malwarebytes and they found no issues at all. I also tried System Restore, but it did not fix anything. Only MS Office 2013, Avast and Malwarebytes are currently installed on the drive, along with Windows automatic updates (including Windows 8.1), and I have not used any “cleaner” or “optimizer” tools.

I found a potential cause for this. Apparently, the uninstaller for a program can incorrectly remove registry entries that are used by Windows and the Add/Remove Programs tool (Add/Remove Programs tool displays installed programs incorrectly), but I am not sure whether this actually applies to my case or to Windows 8.1. After performing the recovery, I uninstalled the preinstalled MS Office 2013 (through Programs and Features) and the preinstalled Games (WildTangent) that can only be removed by clicking on each uninstalled.exe file of every single game. I contacted Microsoft Desk help and they told me that it has indeed something to do with the registry, but I don’t know how to fix it. Although there is a Fix the Problem tool for some Windows versions, there is no such a tool for Windows 8.1. I suspect that the removal of MS Office and Games make cause this, but I am not sure about it. I don't think that Avast or Malwarebytes are the problem.

Could someone help me, please? I would be really grateful if someone could tell me the way to display again all the programs and apps or to prevent the same from happening again if I decided to perform a full recovery. Please let me know if you need further details on this.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
Hello Laura, and welcome to Eight Forums.

I'm not sure what will add them back to "Programs and Features" other than reinstalling the programs to repair them.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hi Brink, thanks for your answer. I have been thinking of performing a full recovery again and not to uninstall anything to see what happens. I don't think that Windows updates may have caused this, so I guess that it may be something related to the removal of preinstalled MS Office 2013 or Games. What do you think?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
If you have a recovery point to go back to, then that may be faster than reinstalling the affected programs.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Strange problem you have. I think Brink might be right and the safest option is to reinstall all the programs that don't show up in the control panel or restoring from a previous restore point.

If you feel comfortable with the registry editor (Run : regedit), the uninstall registry keys should be found at :
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall (for 32 bit applications if you're using Windows 8 64 bit)
More info at : Uninstall Registry Key (Windows)

Try to check if the keys for the missing programs are still there first. And compare them to valid entries (that still show up in control panel). It is possible that something corrupted those entries and now windows refuses to process them correctly. A long shot, but it's still worth checking.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (x64)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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