Removing Windows Components (Advanced)

There are some Windows components (such as the Windows Media Player, multimedia components, Hyperterminal and more) that are intentionally hidden so that they can't be easily uninstall by using the 'Add or Remove Programs' applet from the Control Panel. The reason for this is that you can disable certain Windows system functionality by uninstalling some of this software.

I don't recommend removing any of these components, by doing so you can disable your Windows OS. In fact the only reason why I am sharing this tip is for those individuals that might have a real reason to uninstall these components for troubleshooting reasons.

To uninstall these components, you have to modify a text file called 'Sysoc.inf'. You have to remove the word 'Hide' (make sure you leave the commas) from the line of text.

For example:
Hidden
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
Unhidden
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7

To unhide these components:

• Open the Notepad, then open the following file: C:\Windows\Inf\Sysoc.inf
• Press Ctrl+H, and replace the string ,hide, with ,,
• Save the file.
• Open the 'Add or Remove Programs' control panel.
  
• The hidden components will appear in 'Add/Remove Windows Components'.

Below is a list of the hidden options, and what they are:

• AccessOpt: Accessibility Wizard
• com: COM+
• CommApps: Communications components (including: Chat, Hyperterminal, and Phone Dialer)
• dtc: Distributed Transaction Coordinator
• iis: Internet Information Server
• msmsgs: Windows Messenger
• MSWordPad: WordPad
• MultiM: Multimedia components (including: Media Player, Sound Recorder, and Volume Control)
• Pinball: Pinball game
• Starter: Starter Edition Optional Component
• TerminalServer: Terminal Server
• WBEM: Windows Management Instrumentation