If you try to remove objects from your Windows 2000 Professional system through the Add/Remove Programs object in the Control Panel, some of the installed components, such as games and other accessories, don’t show up in the components list. In order to provide a common base of applications on each system for support reasons, Microsoft hid these files. Having Solitaire on your system, however, may not seem like a good way to simplify support. Here’s how to unhide these applications.

1. Open the hidden folder %systemroot%\Inf. Locate and make a backup copy of the file Sysoc.inf. Double-click Sysoc.inf to open it in Notepad. Check each line for “,HIDE,” and delete the word HIDE, leaving the commas on either side, and save the file.
2. Go to Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs.
3. Click Add/Remove Windows Components. Note that the previously hidden applications now appear. You still can’t remove some of the applications (such as Fax), but at least you can remove games and other accessories you might not need.