I have just got my first PC (from a lifetime of macs). I find I am wasting too much time on freecell etc (current record 25 games in a row without a loss). However I would get much more work done without them. Any way of cleanly removing them from the PC?
Go to the Add/Remove control panel, choose ‘Windows Components’, select ‘Accessories & Utilities’ and click the ‘Details’ button.
Uncheck ‘Games’ …
thanks, will have a go.
still a problem jasg
you are right it is easy to uninstall by unchecking the box when I am feeling virtuous. It is jusy as easy to reinstall it by checking the box again when I feeling lazy. It seems to be in the system somewhere even if it is not in the games section. I need a more permanent drastic solution
If you remove that component that it should be removed from your system: reinstalling it requires you to insert the Windows CD-ROM again. There’s nothing you can do to remove the option to install it.
You could always try willpower rather than relying on the PC.
it didn’t require me to reinsert the system file - I suspect that XP is so bloated it has most of these files within it already. If I had will-power I wouldn’t have emailed this to you 
Open the file c:\windows\inf\sysoc.inf in Notepad. Scroll down until you see the following line:
Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,7
Add the word HIDE between the last two commas so that it reads like this:
Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,HIDE,7
This should prevent the Games heading from appearing in Add/Remove Programs. Of course you’ll have to forget how to reverse the process, but that would be true of any method short of destroying the PC.
In my experience it doesn’t help. If I’m going to waste time, I’ll even resort to playing with icons if I have to. I’m so weak.
Destroying the PC, oooh yesss
dedicated computer hater