Windows XP Tips & Tricks

Uninstall Hidden Windows Components

The "Sysoc.inf" file is an information file that controls what Optional Components are available in the AddRemove Windows Components menu. This allows for the addition or removal of Windows Components. Some may wish to add\remove components for security reasons, for restriction reasons or just to reduce the overhead of their computer. (click) the Start Button >>> Control Panel >>> Add or Remove Programs >>> Add\Remove Windows Components, now it's possible to see the windows components available normally for adding or removing. There are hidden windows components. In order to reveal these components it's necessary to edit the "sysoc.inf" file. (right-click) Start Button >>> Explore >>> "C:\Windows\Inf\sysoc.inf". To edit it: (right-click) "sysoc.inf" >>> Open >>> highlight & copy the word "Hide" >>>  Replace >>> (right-click & paste) "hide" in the "Replace What" box >>> leave the "Replace With" box empty >>> Replace All >>> Save & Close the file. Now, Hidden Windows Components will be available for removal or installation. Be very careful about the components chosen for change. If you don't know what something is,  find out before making a change or leave it alone. With hidden options available you can remove things like Hyper Terminal, Pinball, Windows Messenger, Chat, Wordpad and others. A few components are not able to be removed like COM+, Distributed Transaction Coordinator, Microsoft Fax and Windows Media Player these are core components. The System Optional Components Manager is accessible through the Command Prompt. The command is: "sysocmgr /i:sysoc.inf" an alternative command is "sysocmgr /i:%windir%\inf\sysoc.inf". There are several switches\arguments that can be used along with this command. These switches will appear if the required "/i:" is not used.