Even careful Windows users may accumulate a good number of software programs over the years. Some of these are used daily or weekly, while others may sit idly on the hard drive for months or years without any use.
It is certainly possible to use a program just once every six months or once a year, but some of these may not be needed anymore. The old web browser that you no longer use, a program that you tried and forgot to remove, or a game that you no longer play.
While you can go through the list of programs manually, you may also use the “last used” metric to find these programs easily.
Windows 11’s own list in the Settings app under Apps > Installed apps shows the install date, but not last used date. For that, you need to look elsewhere.
Using Last-Used to find old installed programs
Wise Program Uninstaller is a free program for Windows that is a popular option when it comes to the removal of applications on Windows systems. It is compatible with Windows 11 and also older versions of Windows, down to Windows XP.
It needs a moment on first run to display the installed programs. Each ist listed with its name, size and installation date. Next to that is the last used metric.
Wise Program Uninstaller may display date ranges, such as “within 1 week”, “7 month(s) ago”, or “1 year ago” there.
A click on the last used column header sorts the data accordingly. One click displays the programs that were not used for a long time at the top. Note that the information may be missing from some apps. This is the case, for instance, when they were never run.
All that is left now is to select one or multiple apps for removal. Hit the uninstall button in the program interface afterwards and keep the settings. A System Restore Point is created in that case and a leftover scan is run after the actual removal of the applications from the Windows PC.
Note: Wise Program Uninstaller uses the default uninstaller of the selected applications. You may need to interact with them to commence the removal. You may want to save all open work before you start using the app, as automatic restarts may happen, depending on the software that you remove.
Most unused programs are not problematic, apart from them using disk space. Removing them may still be beneficial, especially if your system is low on free disk space or will be in the future.
Do you keep a keen eye on the list of installed programs on your systems? What is the program that you have not used in a long time that is still on your PC’s hard drive? Feel free to leave a comment down below.
May want to make a full system image before a major declutter; the last time I started uninstalling programs “willy-nilly,” shared .dll’s went missing.
You mentioned years ago a Nirsoft program: “Executed Programs List.” The tool may be complimentary since it lists programs that may be “hidden” from plain view. I think Process Explorer has a window for showing similar information.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/executed_programs_list.html
I didn’t install Wise, but I do have a number of older programs; one I noticed this morning was the HDDLLF Tool. Glad to have the article; opened the portable app, went to the site, and they have a later version.
https://hddguru.com/software/HDD-LLF-Low-Level-Format-Tool/
I think I’ve used it twice to fix totally bummed USBs.
Still have the original Wordle.
I use one computer like a map for other computers I set up. If someone wants a video processor or a file syncing program, I can readily see a program I’ve used and found valuable. Maybe something like Pazera Audio Extractor. Simple tools that would be difficult to find.
Geek Uninstaller and CopyQ out-of-date. ClipGrab needed an update. WinGet misses some of these, I think.
Would Wise pick up programs like CopyQ?