Do I need to use the Windows XP - Add or Remove Program - control panel to install programs? Every Windows XP user guide I've ever read says to use this control panel to install programs. The directions for any new program I get say just click on whatever Install program that came with the program, and makes no mention of the Add or Remove Program control panel. I wonder if 10 years ago the Add or Remove Program control panel was necessary, but now can be safely ignored installing modern programs. Can I trust program installers to safely interact with Windows?
I know removing a program often needs it.
Add or Remove Program control panel necessary for Installs
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pschroeter
- Silver Member
- Posts: 283
- Joined: 2007 Jan 27, 00:46
You can use control panel to install new programs, but it makes no difference, if you
- use the control panel
- double click the installer in Explorer
- use the run command in the start-menu
In the days of Windows 95 many programs came on a floppy disk, so there was no autorun-function at all, and many CDs did not not have autorun-functionality at that time. So using the control panel was just a help for newbies, because, browsing from the install option there only exe-files, which where named setup, install or similar were filtered; that was and is the whole functionality. In fact, using the control panel for installing is much to laborious, it is just there out of historical reasons.
For uninstalling it again does not matter, if you go via control panel or the uninstall link in the start menu for the given program. The latter is mostly quicker to reach, but there are programs, which do not provide a uninstall link and sometimes drivers, which do not have an entry in the start menu at all, have a control panel entry for uninstalling. So if you have both options, use the one you prefer, there is no difference in functionality.
- use the control panel
- double click the installer in Explorer
- use the run command in the start-menu
In the days of Windows 95 many programs came on a floppy disk, so there was no autorun-function at all, and many CDs did not not have autorun-functionality at that time. So using the control panel was just a help for newbies, because, browsing from the install option there only exe-files, which where named setup, install or similar were filtered; that was and is the whole functionality. In fact, using the control panel for installing is much to laborious, it is just there out of historical reasons.
For uninstalling it again does not matter, if you go via control panel or the uninstall link in the start menu for the given program. The latter is mostly quicker to reach, but there are programs, which do not provide a uninstall link and sometimes drivers, which do not have an entry in the start menu at all, have a control panel entry for uninstalling. So if you have both options, use the one you prefer, there is no difference in functionality.