Adding and Removing Windows Components

This procedure is for Win 9x. Click here for XP instructions.

To see what components are installed, open the Control Panel, select the Add/Remove Programs Icon and select the Windows Setup tab. See Fig 1.

Fig 1

STOP HERE! Do not click on anything until you read the following:

WARNING ... You must understand what the boxes to the left of each selection means. If you click on the box, the selection is changed and may remove desired components or add unwanted components.

Notice each box.
First, the ones with white background and no check mark indicate that the selection is not installed. If you click a checked box, it will uncheck (deselect) the item and uninstall it (Remove) from your windows environment. If you see an item you do want to remove, then uncheck the box.
Second, some boxes are checked with a white background. This indicates that all sub parts of that feature are installed.
Third, some boxes are checked with a gray background. This indicate a partial installation.
To see how many sub components are available as well as how many are installed, click the words or icon on the item to look at. DO NOT CLICK THE BOX!!! IT WILL CHANGE IT. After an item is selected, the statement of 2 of 2 (Fig 1) or 5 of 7 (Fig 3) may appear on the bottom line.

To view the sub components, after selecting an item, click Details. If the Details button is grayed out, there are no subs. For the subs to Accessibility in Win 98, see Fig 2. As you select each item, a description is listed for you.

Fig 2

When done looking or changing selections, click OK and you will return to the previous window to look for more selections. See Fig 3. In my Accessories example, there are 5 of 7 possible items installed.

Fig 3

Each version of Windows carries different selections, but all have extra mouse pointers somewhere. Desktop themes as shown in Fig 3 were added in Win 98. In Win 95, you had to buy the extra program Windows Plus. Win 98 included some basic themes and Plus for 98 had some extra themes.

Look through all the items, changing selections only at the lowest level so only a single item is selected. If the Details button is black, there are sub components. BTW, this same selection process works for all Windows programs with sub parts like Microsoft Office.

When you finish selecting/deselecting, click OK until you get to the top level.(Fig 1), click OK at the bottom. You may be asked to insert the Windows CD to complete the process and restart the computer. Any added items will be added to the start menu (usually in Accessories). Likewise any removed programs will be gone.