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I have java, .net, visual c++, MSXML preinstalled on my new windows 7 laptop. In the past I've found I don't use java or .NET for any essential applications and have uninstalled them.

is there a way I can find out which of my installed applications use any of java, .net, visual c++, MSXML?

Alternatively is there anywhere I can find out what windows 7 applications require them, or can anyone suggest some popular applications that use them that I may have preinstalled/may want to install.

edit: part of the point of this post is to build up a list of popular applications dependent on the java etc... as there doesn't seem to be one anywhere else on the web :b

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Why remove java / .net other than the fact you don't like it? Over time I'm sure you will come across an installer or web page that requires .net/java – James.Elsey Jan 7 '10 at 17:02
every time it updates it tends to add about 100MB, sometimes a lot more. When I uninstalled all java updates on my last laptop I managed to save between 0.5 and 1 gig of disk space. – wheresrhys Jan 7 '10 at 17:50
Disk space is cheap these days. Must be an OLD laptop. – Iain Jan 7 '10 at 17:51
Yep it's cheap, but if you have about 60gig of music, 40 gig of pictures, operating system (maybe 2 or 3 if you want to do testing of web sites across platforms) plus a number of web development and graphics packages installed a standard laptop hard drive of about 250GB quickly fills up – wheresrhys Jan 7 '10 at 18:53
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2 Answers

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Answer: You could always try removing them, seeing what breaks, and searching for replacements as needed. If no replacements found, reinstall pieces until it works again.

Commentary: Personally, I'd say it's better to just keep them. The disk space argument is weak since it's such a small percentage of your available space.

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the VC++ and msxml libraries are needed for IE. Also, you are better off keeping .net, as Microsoft is migrating more and more of their software to it (and, hopefully, eventually everything will run on .net, allowing us to finally switch to a new processor architecture).

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