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System and Framework Apps

These two categories are the ones you cannot remove. O&O AppBuster shows them anyway, because knowing what is on your PC is worth something even when there is nothing to decide.

Both have the status Unremovable, and neither is ever recommended for removal.

System apps​

Type: System App

System apps are components of Windows itself. The shell, the settings interface, the security prompts, the account infrastructure — much of what you experience as "Windows" is delivered as system apps.

System apps are important components for running Windows itself and other apps. They are displayed for information only and can not be uninstalled.

Removing one would not tidy up your PC; it would break it. So O&O AppBuster does not offer to.

Framework apps​

Type: Framework App

Framework apps are runtime libraries that other apps depend on. Typical examples are the Visual C++ runtime packages (Microsoft.VCLibs.*), the .NET Native framework, and the UI framework packages that Store apps build on.

Framework apps are the basis for the executability of all Windows apps. They are displayed for information only and can not be uninstalled.

A framework app usually has no user interface at all. It is there so that other apps can run, and several versions of the same framework can be installed side by side because different apps need different versions.

Why show them at all?​

Three reasons:

  1. Completeness. A list of "the apps on this PC" that quietly omits a third of them is misleading. O&O AppBuster shows you what is actually there.
  2. Disk space. Frameworks in particular accumulate. Seeing that five versions of the same runtime take up a noticeable amount of space explains where your disk went, even if the answer is "and that is fine".
  3. Diagnosis. When an app refuses to start, being able to check whether the framework it needs is present — and in which version — is genuinely useful.

Hiding them​

On most PCs these two categories together are a large part of the list, and they are the part you can do nothing about. To get them out of the way, switch off:

View → Show system and framework apps

The notice above the list will tell you how many apps are being hidden, and Show all brings them back with one click.

Alternatively, use the System and Framework Smart Views to look at nothing else when you specifically want to.

If Windows lets you remove one and O&O AppBuster does not​

Occasionally Windows itself offers an uninstall option for something O&O AppBuster classifies as a system app. That difference is intentional: O&O AppBuster errs on the side of not offering removals whose consequences it cannot judge.

If you are certain you want to remove such a component, use the Windows mechanism for it — and create a system restore point first.