How can I get the software information form the windows registry ?

Question

I want to get the information of the software installed on my computer. For example, the software name, the software language, the software version . How can I get them from the Registry ?

Answer 1

Much of the registry is undocumented and there is a lot of information not stored there. I suspect that most of the information you need (if not all of it) can be obtained using documented APIs and other methods. Take a look at the WMI and setup APIs.

Answer 2

This key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

holds the information that shows up in Add/Remove Programs, and is therefore a good source of information re: which applications are installed.

Microsoft offers some scripting that can process this info:

How to enumerate the software products that can be uninstalled on a computer