I was wondering how would one remove entries from "Remove Programs" during the setup process after flashing your phone. Also, how would one remove registry entries from the registry during the initial setup process after flashing your phone? I have cabs that install during this time, but I don't want them showing up in "Remove Programs," and I have a feeling that being able to remove registry entries is somehow tied to this. Thanks!
The easiest thing to do with the 'remove programs' list is to re-pack the cabs so that they're not uninstallable. Then you don't get all that extra crap loaded, like the uninstall files in \windows\appmgr as well as the appinstall reg keys.
If you have sk tools, use the 'installed programs' tool and then select 'remove uninstall info' to get rid of that crap. It's hard to do manually, because in addition to the file in appmgr and a bunch of reg keys, there's also an entry in the software management database, which is a ***** to remove unless you have a database editor and know what you're doing.
The reg keys are easy to find. Check out the adobe flash sys package rgu. It actually has the uninstall reg keys in at, near the end. I always delete those. It's funny, cuz it's obvious microsoft got it from a cab.
Thanks! I'll have to look into repackaging cabs then.
Related
Hi folks,
My first post on the list here. Hopefully I've come to the right place.
I have a M1500 SPV pocket pc device. I would like to customize the Start Menu items by removing two of them -Active Sync and Internet Explorer. I have made a cab file which makes changes to the registry and would like (if possible) to delete the above mentioned items from the start menu via making a change to the registry. I know I can delete the shortcut links from the Start Menu folder but I would prefer to do it via a registry edit if possible. Or if possible, use the same cab to delete the shortcuts from the Start Menu (not sure if this is possible!?)
I'm also looking for a way to hide *all* programs from the Start->Programs screen. Any ideas how to achieve this via a registry hack?
Best Regards and thanks a lot for any help,
dav7
Dan - do you want to delete the start menu ("\windows\start menu" and all subfolders and entry on the start menu?)
Or remove most recently used entries on the start menu?
Or programs in "\windows\start menu"?
Registry isn't really your friend here, other then for the MRU list.
V
Hi vijay555,
Thanks for the quick reply. I only want to remove certain programs from Start Menu, this one...
>Or programs in "\windows\start menu"?
I know if I delete those programs from My Device->Windows->Start Menu then it will remove them from the Start Menu without deleteing the actual program. I was just wondering if there was a way to do that via the registry? i.e. perhaps there is a key in the registry somewhere that lists the items to put in the Start Menu following a hard reset?
I am also looking to hide all programs from the main Programs page i.e. the Programs screen\page that shows all the actual Programs. I was wondering if there is a way to do that via the registry?
I know for example I am able to hide things that reside in the Control Panel settings i.e. Connections->Beam. I was wondering if there is a similar way to do that in the Programs screen?
Hope that is clear! or clearer!
Cheers,
dav
dAV:
sounds like you want to edit your startmenu.
Get a file explorer like GSFinder/Resco etc.
navigate to \windows\start menu
and delete/move everything you want to clear out.
V
perhaps there is a key in the registry somewhere that lists the items to put in the Start Menu following a hard reset?
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heh problem is that the registry is reset when you do a hardreset
so it would just go back to default
same thing with the content of your \windows\start menu
all shortcuts would reappear after a hardreset
unless you made a program in the extented rom which removed them when it was run
Hi,
Thats basically what I'm trying to do. I've made a cab file which when run sets a lot of registry settings following a hard reset. As you said, after a hard reset the device is restored to its normal build. My cab runs right after a hard reset to make sure the device is configured the way I want it. Are there any keys in the registry which are responsible for configuring the Start Menu? I cant seem to find one for Start Menu, only the New Menu
An alternative approach is running an exe which deletes the Programs from the Start Menu folder...but I would prefer to parcel it all up in a tiny little cab file if possible...
Thanks again for any suggestions...
Cheers,
dav
i never seen anything like it in the reg
Thats a pity. I cant find anything either. I prefer to do as much as possible in either the CPF or a cab. exe's do the job but there big and more complicated to change. Neverthless seems I'm stuck with an exe for now. Oh well...
Cheers,
Dav
Hi, Dav!
Even though there is no registry solution, exe file is not your only option.
Cabs can contain a setup.dll that exports 4 functions which the system calls before and after installation or uninstall (separate function for each event).
Check MSDN for setup.dll specifics.
Get a cab file that will start up automatically after a hardreset to delete all the fies in the start menu? I think if you delete the files in the start menu, it will be removed in the Programs list. It is basically a short cut file.
levenum said:
Hi, Dav!
Even though there is no registry solution, exe file is not your only option.
Cabs can contain a setup.dll that exports 4 functions which the system calls before and after installation or uninstall (separate function for each event).
Check MSDN for setup.dll specifics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent! Thanks a lot, I'll look into that.
Cheers!
Dav
hanmin said:
Get a cab file that will start up automatically after a hardreset to delete all the fies in the start menu? I think if you delete the files in the start menu, it will be removed in the Programs list. It is basically a short cut file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Hanmin,
I think you are correct...if you delete *all* files and folders from the Start Menu it will remove the files which are directly situated in the Start Menu folder as well as all files in the Program folder which also resides in the Start Menu folder. This will remove items from both the Start menu and the Programs screen. This is ok for me though as luckily I want to also hide all Programs from the Program screen. A lot of the device functionality has to be hidden from the end users, to prevent them from fiddling with anything and to also hide things like Games etc...
Cheers,
Dav
Hi,
I've managed to get the setup.dll working. Its really useful and stops me needing an exe for many things. However, is it possible to get the dll to show a Dialog window? I've tried incorporating a dialog to the dll but it never seems to show up. I need the user to set a value and was considering doing it via the setup dll, but so far not been able to get the dialog, or even a Message Box to show up when called within the dll?
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Dav
Here is a line of code from Install_Init function that's working perfectly for me:
Code:
g_dlg = CreateDialog(g_hInst, MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDD_MSGDLG), hwndParent, MyDlgProc);
I save g_hInst in DllMain.
As for message boxes, just call them as usual, never had a problem there, but you need to make sure you put your code in the correct function or it will not be called at the right time.
Hello. I dont want remove the cab from my SD after installation. I saw in somewhere that it is possible, but i didnt find again. Can you send me the link? Or the cab to do the registry change.
Tks.
Easy, go here with any registry editor:
HKCR\cabfile\Shell\open\command
It should looks like: wceload.exe "%1" /nodelete
Just remove /nodelete.
yes, that's the proper way to do it. If, like me, you always need* the latest ROM and are often reflashing, remember you could also make your cabs read-only.
I found it was easier to do this in the long term as I have many cabs stored on my PC and sometimes I was forgetting to edit reg. in newly installed ROM and losing cabs!
*like a fish needs a bicycle, I sometimes think...
I have a few double entries (all functional) in Manila's program launcher (see pic) and want to get rid of them. Looking for the respective links, I didn't find any double entries in the Windows/Start menu. Also, the standard windows program launcher does not have any double entries.
Where, the heck, does Manila store the list of entries of its program launcher, and how to rebuild it? It looks like it must have cached these links from old installations somwhere. Soft reset and restart of tf3d didn't help, either.
In the registry, I found the list of "favourites" (HKLM\Software\HTC\Manila\ProgramLauncher), but no key for the complete list of programs (where you choose from to add to the "favourites" which comes up when you hit the program tab in tf3d).
A more detaield description can be found here: http://forum.thumbapps.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=110
Any clue?
Using a file explorer check the "\Windows\Start Menu" (or whatever it's called in German) folder for double entries. Check subdirectories too!
I think this is where Manila gets those entries.
surfsmurf said:
Using a file explorer check the "\Windows\Start Menu" (or whatever it's called in German) folder for double entries. Check subdirectories too!
I think this is where Manila gets those entries.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the first thing I did (as pointed out in the post). No double entries there.
But I discovered another thing: The links concerned are also in the Start menu (once). If I want to remove them (Settings...menu)..I get an error message "Element can not be moved".
Sorry I missed that in your post, oops.
What about \Windows\AppMgr, can you delete the program that won't uninstall from there?
surfsmurf said:
Sorry I missed that in your post, oops.
What about \Windows\AppMgr, can you delete the program that won't uninstall from there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, installing and uninstalling is no problem.
But what I discovered: the problem seems to be related to the manila patcher. I used manila patcher to replace the launch of the standard calender by Thumbcal. Now I deleted that patch and rebuilt it. That also resorted the program list, but didn't take care of the double entries, nor of the problem that the entry in the start menu cannot be deleted.
I found a solution to this problem. It occurred to me too, when I was organizing the startmenu by creating folders. Accidentally I copied one link to the folder, so the original remained. In this situation Manila gathers the links that are in the startmenu and displays them in the all programms list in TouchFLO 3D.
So if a programm is double entry, the .lnk exists twice in the windows startmenu.
^^ Where can you find the files?
I have a few themes, tweaks, etc that I know I won't ever uninstall. These over-write original manilla files etc. but they can be uninstalled, so I know the original files are stored somewhere. I wanted to know where they are at so I can delete them to save space
I think you need to goto settings and select remove programs
I don't want to remove the programs, just remove the uninstall information so I can free up space
My Device/Windows/AppMgr
This would be my suggestion but not 100% sure (maybe 78.2%)
Not sure but there is a folder here that might be another target you are looking for
My Device/Application Data/HTC/ProgLauncher
My Device/Application Data/HTC/MDS/InstallHistory.db
The file listed under the root directory named: ""mxip_swmgmt.vol" (Software Management) This files keeps a history of the installs to the device. You would have to use an editor to view (Which one....google it)....."mxip_system.vol" is another possible culprit.
Back up your device before you go and start messing with these type of files or what you are doing in general period. Also you mentioned "freeing up space"....You are probably saving yourself only 5-30KB of data....not worth the time and efforts for me....but....it's not my device
Solved! [tested]
I have found the solution to the various posts listed on not being able to get rid of an uninstalled prog in the remove progs window. Using MemMaid 2.3 go jump to/databases/database usage, highlight SwMgmtMetadataStore and click browse, highlight offending entry and delete it. Then do and soft reset and you will find that the prog is no longer in the remove prog window. Hope this helps.
Reference:
Code:
[url=http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsmobile/thread/7bad6dc7-d042-4bc2-8516-c9eeaeb5af58/] http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsmobile/thread/7bad6dc7-d042-4bc2-8516-c9eeaeb5af58/[/url]
[Search Tags: Install, installed, app, application, remove, uninstall, program, programs, unwanted, registry, database, unable, how to, info, information, solution, problem, fix, storage, memory, dump]
DJwa163 said:
I have found the solution to the various posts listed on not being able to get rid of an uninstalled prog in the remove progs window. Using MemMaid 2.3 go jump to/databases/database usage, highlight SwMgmtMetadataStore and click browse, highlight offending entry and delete it. Then do and soft reset and you will find that the prog is no longer in the remove prog window. Hope this helps.
Reference:
Code:
[url=http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsmobile/thread/7bad6dc7-d042-4bc2-8516-c9eeaeb5af58/] http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsmobile/thread/7bad6dc7-d042-4bc2-8516-c9eeaeb5af58/[/url]
[Search Tags: Install, installed, app, application, remove, uninstall, program, programs, unwanted, registry, database, unable, how to, info, information, solution, problem, fix, storage, memory, dump]
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You are awesome, I have several badly written programs that annoy me in the list, and I can now get rid of them.
I haven't seen any mention as to whether it's ok to keep the apps that are installed on the SD Card when updating. Will they still work or should I uninstall before the update and then reinstall after? Thanks.
the apps still work, you just need to re-copy the shortcuts to windows\startmenu etc... i've had no problems
But...... if the apps have information in the registry then the information will be wiped and they wont work. Also there is no unistall information. Best to reinstall all apps again.
thanks, I suppose it's easy enough to reinstall if they didn't work but I would definitely try installing a new shortcut and see what happens. Thanks again
Heres what i did for those apps i keep on the storage card.
create links in the windows\start menu folder to the programs,
then apply those to home quicklinks,
then browse in a reg editor to
hklm\software\htc\manila\home
find the quicklink you just created and edit the path and icon path to point not to the link in start menu, but to the exe itself on the storage card.
Once all quicklinks are set up to my liking, use ceregistry editor to export the entire hklm\software\htc\manila\home key, then use wincecabmanager to make it into a cab.
Then, after a hard reset, run the cab and all the quicklinks are back, pointing directly at the .exe's on the storage card.
Takes a little setting up to begin with, but now i have about 30 pre defined quicklinks, of which around ten of them point to my 'sd card\always on' folder, where programs that dont need to be installed live, and its easy to do a quick export/import using ceregistry editor and wincecab manager to update my quicklinks cab if i make any changes.
[EDIT - just found the settings export function on cookies hometab editor, i wont be manually exporting teh quicklinks from now on. Hometab layout and quicklinks exported/imported at a click]