Windows 7 How to clear uninstalled programs from Notification List?

[Ultravires]

Hi is there any way to remove uninstalled programs from the Notifications List? I have several programs that i have uninstalled, however when i go to the notifications list the uninstalled programs are still showing up and there is no option to remove them from the notifications list. If anyone one knows of an easy method to solve this problem please respond. TIA.

 

[Tepid]

I have not tested this in Win7,,, but should work as it does in Vista.

Link Removed

Oh BTW, both fixes (also see a couple posts down) that are posted. Removes all entries, so anyone who uses it will have to go back in and recustomize your regualrly used entries when you run this fix.

 

[reghakr]

Hello and welcome,

I ran across this once before and was never resolved.

Could you give me the name of the program you uninstalled?

Also, go to Stat > Run, type msconfig, click on the Startup tab and see if the entry still exists here.

There may be a registry hack, but give me that information first.

 

[Tepid]

I have not tested this in Win7,,, but should work as it does in Vista.

How do I clear past items from the Customize Notifications dialog box in Windows XP?

This program will also work in Win7, I just tested it.
I wrote this myself, it will clear all of the Link Removed
Those that you still have installed will automatically be put back of course when the run again.

Reghakr, this has nothing to do with msconfig or startup programs.
This task is not part of any normal uninstall process. So the icons of old apps will remain there after uninstall till you do this.

In otherwords,,, click the systray arrow and then customize. All old apps that have been uninstalled will still be there.

Oh BTW, both fixes that are posted. Removes all entries, so anyone who uses it will have to go back in and recustomize your regualrly used entries when you run this fix.

 

[reghakr]

Tepid,,

In all my years of computing, I have never had this problem

That's why thought it might be the startupreg entry in the registry.

Look for a posting called TXWProxy and you'll see what I mean.

 

[Tepid]

Yeah,, you have had this issue, but you never noticed it.

Install a program like LightScreen (nice screen capture tool)

When you click Hide on it, it will minimize to the systray.
Now quit the app and uninstall it.
Go look at the Notification List for the systray.
The App icon will still remain there with no way to remove it.

******
I ran another test and found that the app still remains in the Add/Remove Apps list after uninstalling.
If this is what you are referring to, you may be able to uninstall it again and when it can't find the uninstall app, it will ask if you want to remove the entry.
Or get CCleaner.

 

[reghakr]

Sorry no I have never had that issue, believe me I would have remembered before trying to answer a poster's question regarding that same scenario.

Not to mention the fact that a pop up dialog box appears in the notification area stating" "this program will no longer start with Windows"

Also, good uninstallers have a feature to tell you to close the running app before uninstall can procede.

If the executable exists, yes the icon might appear.

Let's just leave it at that and see if the issue is resolved.

 

[Tepid]

If the executable exists, yes the icon might appear.

I will drop it after this, but this is incorrect and you need to test this so that you know it is incorrect

 

[reghakr]

Could you provide a download link?

 

[mike2k9]

I understand what the OP is saying now as I just noticed it myself. Not really a problem, just more of an inconvenience. Note my screen shot, the 2 applications that are marked have been completely removed from my system. A search for anything related to either of those apps yields no results, yet there is no way to remove them from the "Customize" notification area. How can this be removed from here?

Link Removed

 

[reghakr]

I see exactly what you mean Mike.

It seems if you do not remove the run at startup feature which places the icon in the tray, when uninstalling it remains.

I also use Nexstart and Woekshelf, but they do not appear in my list because I have prevented them from running on startup.

If this is truly what the OP means and Trepid was referring to, I apologize.

I've searched the registry, but found nothing, but the Registry can only search for String values,

I have another program called Regseeker and I'll give that a try and get back to you.

I also belive if you have disabled Action Center (turnedoff) advanced settings this may be the reason why they are not removed.

I located one the the prograams listed in the Notification area icons in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\MSConfig\startupfolder. I deleted the entry, rebooted and it's gone.

 

[Tepid]

I also belive if you have disabled Action Center (turnedoff) advanced settings this may be the reason why they are not removed.

Incorrect. This has been a problem since XP atleast. This does not only affect Vista/7.

The reg key is as follows....

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify]
"PastIconsStream"=-
"IconStreams"=-

 

[mike2k9]

I found a fix for this. Not the best solution but it does work. I'll post when I get home later tonight

 

[reghakr]

Tepid,

Here is a screenshot of my notification area where I have uninstalled these programs and tried your solution

Maybe you could come across a little less harsh than by calling people wrong and incorrect

This is a support forum to help others not dish their comments.

 

[Tepid]

I apologize if that is how it is coming across. The program that I listed in an earlier post does exactly this. It is just a batch file packaged with iexpress. You have to delete the regkeys and kill the explorer process then log off and back on or it won't work.

to test the batch file....
place the following in notepad and save it as test.cmd to your desktop and run it, follow prompts.

REG DELETE "HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify" /f /v "PastIconsStream"

REG DELETE "HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify" /f /v "IconStreams"

taskkill /F /IM "explorer.exe"

pause

shutdown /l

Any items that have been uninstalled, or placed themselves in the systray but don't run at startup will be removed.
Anything that is still installed and also set to run at startup will remain. or be put back upon login.

P.S. this script does not work in XP. the registry keys were moved in Vista.

Also, the reason I package my fixes (when I can) into exe's like I do is to save time and hassle of certain prompts and to automate the process a little bit. As well as place an EULA. the things I write are tested thoroughly so shouldn't be a problem, but there is always that weird junk that just seems to pop up, that of course, someone will try to blame on the program/script causing an already existing unseen issue.

 

[reghakr]

OK, no problem,

I have used the command exactly as described and went back into the Notification Area Icons and they are all still there.

I don't know what's going on

Even stranger, I went in and started changing all entries to Show Icon and Notifications. When I clicked on one of the uninstalled programs a tool tip appears telling me that "This notification icon is not currently active,, it will be shown the next time it becomes active......................WTF?

Clickng on Restore default icons behavior does nothing.

 

[Tepid]

Yeah, then you have a problem with your Notifications List.
I promise the script I wrote is well tested and works in both Vista and 7, not in XP..

There should not be any reason for it to not work, other than maybe run it as an admin.

Also,,, try this Link Removed , run it as an admin, I promise it is virus free.
Match the Hash, if it doens't match delete and re-download.

 

[reghakr]

Excellent,

Now that worked

Why the .exe and not the .cmd?

Who cares, I'm upping your rep.

Thanks.

Another thing I find strange with Windows 7 is the fact that even though a registry hack is added or removed from the HKCU branch, you still need to reboot or possibly log off as you have stated.

 

[Tepid]

Thanks, I am glad we were able to work that out. I think the reason might be, that the EXE incorporates the sleep.exe file and I set a 5 second delay to kill explorer before logging off. If you didn't wait at the pause in the cmd file for at least 5 sec, this may have caused it to not work. Just a thought.

 

[davehc]

This is what I do:
1. Open the Start Menu.
2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.
3. If prompted, click on Continue in the UAC prompt.
4. In regedit, go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify

5. In the right pane, highlight both IconStreams and PastIconsStream.
6. Right click on these two and click on Delete. traynotify
7. Click on Yes for the confirmation prompt
8. Close regedit.
9. Stop and Restart explorer.exe in the Task Manager. (This is very important, or the registry will be rewritten on your next reboot)