Bulk Crap Uninstaller vs Windows Settings: Safely Find Hidden Apps and Leftovers

The numbers come from one author's PC, and the gap is not "99 apps Windows forgot." Here is what the test found, where it needs caution, and how to repeat the exercise without breaking your system.

Why one PC showed two different counts​

The author has cloned the same SSD across several machines for years. The laptop still carried software for ASUS motherboards and Corsair fans that it had never used. That is a good stress test for any inventory tool.

TweakTown's explanation is that Settings lists programs whose installers registered themselves with Windows. BCU also surfaces:

• Unregistered programs.
• Entries from older versions.
• Its own built-in tweaks.

Read that as the author's explanation, not a full technical definition of what Settings can enumerate. The practical point is that the two numbers measure different things, so they were never going to match.

Reading BCU's colour coding​

BCU colours its rows to show what each entry is:

• Green: a verified certificate.
• Blue: an unverified certificate.
• Pink: an unregistered application.

Softpedia's earlier review of BCU describes the same scheme: green for certified installers, a bluish tint for unverified ones, and a red or gray highlight for unregistered or uninstaller-less apps. The colour mapping may vary by BCU version.

On the test PC, a block of pink rows numbered 2.03.20 through 2.03.45 belonged to AsusFanControlService. None of them appeared in Settings. A Certificate column spells out the signing status in words, so you can sort by it and find unsigned entries. A Startup column flags apps that launch at boot.

Treat these as clues rather than verdicts. A blue row is not malware, and a green row is not automatically safe to remove.

The test uninstall​

The author ticked two items:

1. GameSDK Service, an ASUS leftover from a desktop.
2. 3D Viewer, which the author never opens.

BCU suggested two related entries from the same ASUS package, 4.02.32 and 4.03.02. The author left those alone. The author then clicked "Uninstall quietly." BCU ran both uninstallers back-to-back, and the progress window showed "Yes" in the Quiet column for each.

"Quiet" support varies by program. Project-facing guidance notes that a silent uninstall may do nothing if the selected app doesn't support quiet removal. Your results may differ from this two-app run.

What the leftover scans found​

The post-uninstall scan was modest:

• 3D Viewer left nothing behind.
• GameSDK Service left two registry keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing. Both were rated "Questionable," and the author left them unselected.

The more interesting result came from Tools > Clean up "Program Files" folders. That tool scans the Programs folder for old applications that haven't been fully removed. On the test PC it flagged 17 candidates. RivaTuner Statistics Server and Audacity still had folders there even though neither appears in Installed apps. Most candidates were empty, so no gigabytes came back. The benefit was a Program Files folder that matches what is actually installed.

Settings was not simply worse. The Corsair iCUE 5 uninstaller removed its whole 752 MB folder, so BCU had nothing to flag. Most uninstallers clean up after themselves well enough, and that is why the author still uses Settings for single removals.

Confidence ratings are not permission to delete​

BCU rates leftovers from "Very good" down to "Bad," and it pre-checks the "Good" and "Very good" ones. The test showed why you shouldn't accept those picks blindly. BCU rated C:\Program Files\ModifiableWindowsApps as "Very good." Windows uses that folder for certain packaged PC games whose install files can be modified, for example for mods. The author unchecked it.

Unticking "Hide items with bad confidence" showed shared parent folders such as Adobe, AMD, Google, Realtek and Microsoft.NET. BCU warns before you modify low-confidence items, and the author's answer is almost always no.

Other sources point the same way:

• Admin365's guide says to skip or investigate anything lower than high confidence, because false positives are common when products share a vendor name or folder.
• WindowsForum's earlier coverage of How-To Geek's testing notes that BCU itself warns that leftover detection can be error-prone and is geared toward power users.

A cautious routine​

1. Install BCU with winget install -e --id Klocman.BulkCrapUninstaller in Terminal, or download a setup file from the project's GitHub releases page. Accept the UAC prompt. BCU asks for administrator rights each time it opens.
2. Compare Settings' app count with BCU's list, and sort by Certificate and Startup.
3. Tick only the apps you recognise and no longer need. Check any suggested related entries before accepting them.
4. Use "Uninstall quietly" where supported. If you want a safety net, create a System Restore point when BCU offers.
5. At the leftover scan, remove only items you can identify. Skip "Questionable" or low-confidence entries, shared runtimes (Visual C++ redistributables, .NET), driver tools from AMD, Realtek or Lenovo, and AppData folders for apps you might reinstall. Those AppData folders often hold settings or licence files.
6. Click Export to keep a record of the list before deleting. The export is only a log, not a backup.
7. Accept BCU's offer to back up registry entries before removal. Files and folders go to the Recycle Bin, so they can be restored. The author notes that this holds only if the bin is not disabled or full.

Caveats before you install​

• One-PC results. The 160, 259 and 17 figures describe a heavily cloned system. A clean install will show a much smaller gap.
• Unknown BCU version. The article doesn't say which release it tested.
• Antivirus detections. Users commenting on the v6.3 release page reported the installer being flagged by antivirus. One user reported a Microsoft EDR detection, and another reported a VirusTotal hit. One maintainer-side commenter scanned the installer with Microsoft's tools, saw no alerts, and submitted it to Microsoft as a suspected false positive. These are community reports, not confirmed findings, but they are a reason to download from the official project and verify what you run.
• Disclosure. TweakTown's page carries an affiliate disclosure. The piece itself is a first-person test rather than a shopping pitch.

Where BCU fits​

For single removals, Settings is fine. BCU earns its place when you are clearing many apps at once or auditing a PC that has been cloned, upgraded and migrated for years. The author follows a BCU pass by reviewing startup entries and services. That is a sensible next step, provided you change only what you understand.