Will disabling Windows Contacts / Calendar affect Outlook Contacts

[a.k.a.]

Hello all,

My understanding is that there ARE ways in the registry of disabling /
turning off some of the Vista components that are outmoded by an install of
MS Office, such as Calendar and Contacts.

For Calendar, for instance, you browse to...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Windows

....and create a DWORD value called TurnOffWinCal (for WinCal.exe), and set
it to 1.

There's probably a similar way to disable Contacts, but I may have to wade
through the subfolders of Windows\Winsxs in order to find the name of the EXE.

The question is, has Office 2007 been built in such a way that Contacts or
Business Contact Manager in Outlook 2007 sit atop the preexisting Windows
Contacts component of Vista? Or can Contacts be safely disabled without
consequence to the corresponding Outlook components?

The same question applies to Windows Calendar....

Best wishes,

a.k.a.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Outlook has nothing to do with either Windows Contacts or Windows Calendar.
It is not clear from your post what you want to accomplish, nor why you
think you need to edit the registry to do so. Outlook will handle these
tasks by default unless you set your Default Programs otherwise.

 

[a.k.a.]

Russ, that's precisely the point. I want to get rid of Windows Contacts &
Windows Calendar, because they become superfluous when Outlook is installed.
Unfortunately, there's no other way to do so unless you go into the registry
-- in Vista there's no longer the sysoc.INF file edit as there was in XP that
would "reveal" these components to Remove Programs so that they can be
removed more easily.

Outlook has nothing to do with either Windows Contacts or Windows Calendar.
It is not clear from your post what you want to accomplish, nor why you
think you need to edit the registry to do so. Outlook will handle these
tasks by default unless you set your Default Programs otherwise.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hello all,

My understanding is that there ARE ways in the registry of disabling /
turning off some of the Vista components that are outmoded by an install
of
MS Office, such as Calendar and Contacts.

For Calendar, for instance, you browse to...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Windows

...and create a DWORD value called TurnOffWinCal (for WinCal.exe), and set
it to 1.

There's probably a similar way to disable Contacts, but I may have to wade
through the subfolders of Windows\Winsxs in order to find the name of the
EXE.

The question is, has Office 2007 been built in such a way that Contacts or
Business Contact Manager in Outlook 2007 sit atop the preexisting Windows
Contacts component of Vista? Or can Contacts be safely disabled without
consequence to the corresponding Outlook components?

The same question applies to Windows Calendar....

Best wishes,

a.k.a.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Why do you need to remove a core component of the OS? If for some reason you
think you really need to, you should ask in a Vista group, not an Outlook
group.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Russ, that's precisely the point. I want to get rid of Windows Contacts &
Windows Calendar, because they become superfluous when Outlook is
installed.
Unfortunately, there's no other way to do so unless you go into the
registry
-- in Vista there's no longer the sysoc.INF file edit as there was in XP
that
would "reveal" these components to Remove Programs so that they can be
removed more easily.

Outlook has nothing to do with either Windows Contacts or Windows
Calendar.
It is not clear from your post what you want to accomplish, nor why you
think you need to edit the registry to do so. Outlook will handle these
tasks by default unless you set your Default Programs otherwise.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hello all,

My understanding is that there ARE ways in the registry of disabling /
turning off some of the Vista components that are outmoded by an
install
of
MS Office, such as Calendar and Contacts.

For Calendar, for instance, you browse to...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Windows

...and create a DWORD value called TurnOffWinCal (for WinCal.exe), and
set
it to 1.

There's probably a similar way to disable Contacts, but I may have to
wade
through the subfolders of Windows\Winsxs in order to find the name of
the
EXE.

The question is, has Office 2007 been built in such a way that Contacts
or
Business Contact Manager in Outlook 2007 sit atop the preexisting
Windows
Contacts component of Vista? Or can Contacts be safely disabled without
consequence to the corresponding Outlook components?

The same question applies to Windows Calendar....

Best wishes,

a.k.a.

 

[a.k.a.]

Russ,

Not to sound peevish, as you are free to disagree about these things, but to
many people, Windows Calendar, Windows Contacts, WordPad, and a dozen other
components are bloat once MS Office is installed. I might make an exception
for Windows Mail, simply because it's a good newsgroup reader, but even there
I have doubts: If you look in the registry entry for Windows Mail in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, it has a subkey called "Outlook NewsReader," which could
suggest that MS has finally put the superior newsreader functionality that
was in the old Outlook Express (now Windows Mail) into Outlook 2007 itself,
in which case, Windows Mail is certainly superfluous too.

You've heard this a million times, and it shouldn't be a surprise to get a
question like this: The apps mentioned above aren't "core" components of
Windows. They're "redundant" components, and it's frankly very annoying that
MS has paternalistic practices like preventing users from uninstalling these
redundant components. It makes even less sense when MS itself is the provider
for the replacement apps found in Office.

Anyway, enough nit-picking. Yes, I'll take this to the Vista forum. Your
first post answered the question amply, so thanks again.

a.k.a.

Why do you need to remove a core component of the OS? If for some reason you
think you really need to, you should ask in a Vista group, not an Outlook
group.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Russ, that's precisely the point. I want to get rid of Windows Contacts &
Windows Calendar, because they become superfluous when Outlook is
installed.
Unfortunately, there's no other way to do so unless you go into the
registry
-- in Vista there's no longer the sysoc.INF file edit as there was in XP
that
would "reveal" these components to Remove Programs so that they can be
removed more easily.

Outlook has nothing to do with either Windows Contacts or Windows
Calendar.
It is not clear from your post what you want to accomplish, nor why you
think you need to edit the registry to do so. Outlook will handle these
tasks by default unless you set your Default Programs otherwise.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hello all,

My understanding is that there ARE ways in the registry of disabling /
turning off some of the Vista components that are outmoded by an
install
of
MS Office, such as Calendar and Contacts.

For Calendar, for instance, you browse to...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Windows

...and create a DWORD value called TurnOffWinCal (for WinCal.exe), and
set
it to 1.

There's probably a similar way to disable Contacts, but I may have to
wade
through the subfolders of Windows\Winsxs in order to find the name of
the
EXE.

The question is, has Office 2007 been built in such a way that Contacts
or
Business Contact Manager in Outlook 2007 sit atop the preexisting
Windows
Contacts component of Vista? Or can Contacts be safely disabled without
consequence to the corresponding Outlook components?

The same question applies to Windows Calendar....

Best wishes,

a.k.a.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

What you are attempting is still inadvisable. These Windows apps add
trivially to whatever "bloat" you imagine exists. While they may not be core
componenents, they are in fact integral components of the OS, and many other
apps do have dependencies on them. In the past Outlook has shared many
undocumented dependencies with Outlook Express. We have been told of no such
dependencies in Outlook 2007, but that doesn't mean that none exists.
Microsoft never documents those things. To my knowledge no one has felt the
need to be our guinea pig and disable those functions and find out. So let
us know what happens.
No, Outlook 2007 has no news reader capability. No version of Outlook ever
will. Outlook will continue to call whatever news reader you designate as
your default. But that does not mean you have to keep Windows Mail as your
news reader. There are many better news readers.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Russ,

Not to sound peevish, as you are free to disagree about these things, but
to
many people, Windows Calendar, Windows Contacts, WordPad, and a dozen
other
components are bloat once MS Office is installed. I might make an
exception
for Windows Mail, simply because it's a good newsgroup reader, but even
there
I have doubts: If you look in the registry entry for Windows Mail in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, it has a subkey called "Outlook NewsReader," which
could
suggest that MS has finally put the superior newsreader functionality that
was in the old Outlook Express (now Windows Mail) into Outlook 2007
itself,
in which case, Windows Mail is certainly superfluous too.

You've heard this a million times, and it shouldn't be a surprise to get a
question like this: The apps mentioned above aren't "core" components of
Windows. They're "redundant" components, and it's frankly very annoying
that
MS has paternalistic practices like preventing users from uninstalling
these
redundant components. It makes even less sense when MS itself is the
provider
for the replacement apps found in Office.

Anyway, enough nit-picking. Yes, I'll take this to the Vista forum. Your
first post answered the question amply, so thanks again.

a.k.a.

Why do you need to remove a core component of the OS? If for some reason
you
think you really need to, you should ask in a Vista group, not an Outlook
group.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Russ, that's precisely the point. I want to get rid of Windows Contacts
&
Windows Calendar, because they become superfluous when Outlook is
installed.
Unfortunately, there's no other way to do so unless you go into the
registry
-- in Vista there's no longer the sysoc.INF file edit as there was in
XP
that
would "reveal" these components to Remove Programs so that they can be
removed more easily.

:

Outlook has nothing to do with either Windows Contacts or Windows
Calendar.
It is not clear from your post what you want to accomplish, nor why
you
think you need to edit the registry to do so. Outlook will handle
these
tasks by default unless you set your Default Programs otherwise.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hello all,

My understanding is that there ARE ways in the registry of disabling
/
turning off some of the Vista components that are outmoded by an
install
of
MS Office, such as Calendar and Contacts.

For Calendar, for instance, you browse to...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Windows

...and create a DWORD value called TurnOffWinCal (for WinCal.exe),
and
set
it to 1.

There's probably a similar way to disable Contacts, but I may have
to
wade
through the subfolders of Windows\Winsxs in order to find the name
of
the
EXE.

The question is, has Office 2007 been built in such a way that
Contacts
or
Business Contact Manager in Outlook 2007 sit atop the preexisting
Windows
Contacts component of Vista? Or can Contacts be safely disabled
without
consequence to the corresponding Outlook components?

The same question applies to Windows Calendar....

Best wishes,

a.k.a.

 

[a.k.a.]

Russ,

I just realized that vLite will create a clean install disc that removes
these components, and it's very good at warning of known dependencies. I'll
check in the vLite forums, but didn't see any conflicts mentioned when I made
a test disc yesterday. It requires a clean install, though, which is
something of a chore.

Lenovo says the same thing about the supposed dependencies surrounding its
OEM preload, and then it issues the Base Software Administrator on the Q.T.,
which allows you to create an installation without these preload components.

Besides, in Server 2008, which is the Vista OS for all intents and purposes,
Calendar, Contacts and Mail are all disabled by default, though you have the
option of turning them on.

If I run into any problems, I'll be the first to acknowledge the warning you
gave.

a.k.a.

What you are attempting is still inadvisable. These Windows apps add
trivially to whatever "bloat" you imagine exists. While they may not be core
componenents, they are in fact integral components of the OS, and many other
apps do have dependencies on them. In the past Outlook has shared many
undocumented dependencies with Outlook Express. We have been told of no such
dependencies in Outlook 2007, but that doesn't mean that none exists.
Microsoft never documents those things. To my knowledge no one has felt the
need to be our guinea pig and disable those functions and find out. So let
us know what happens.
No, Outlook 2007 has no news reader capability. No version of Outlook ever
will. Outlook will continue to call whatever news reader you designate as
your default. But that does not mean you have to keep Windows Mail as your
news reader. There are many better news readers.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Russ,

Not to sound peevish, as you are free to disagree about these things, but
to
many people, Windows Calendar, Windows Contacts, WordPad, and a dozen
other
components are bloat once MS Office is installed. I might make an
exception
for Windows Mail, simply because it's a good newsgroup reader, but even
there
I have doubts: If you look in the registry entry for Windows Mail in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, it has a subkey called "Outlook NewsReader," which
could
suggest that MS has finally put the superior newsreader functionality that
was in the old Outlook Express (now Windows Mail) into Outlook 2007
itself,
in which case, Windows Mail is certainly superfluous too.

You've heard this a million times, and it shouldn't be a surprise to get a
question like this: The apps mentioned above aren't "core" components of
Windows. They're "redundant" components, and it's frankly very annoying
that
MS has paternalistic practices like preventing users from uninstalling
these
redundant components. It makes even less sense when MS itself is the
provider
for the replacement apps found in Office.

Anyway, enough nit-picking. Yes, I'll take this to the Vista forum. Your
first post answered the question amply, so thanks again.

a.k.a.

Why do you need to remove a core component of the OS? If for some reason
you
think you really need to, you should ask in a Vista group, not an Outlook
group.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Russ, that's precisely the point. I want to get rid of Windows Contacts
&
Windows Calendar, because they become superfluous when Outlook is
installed.
Unfortunately, there's no other way to do so unless you go into the
registry
-- in Vista there's no longer the sysoc.INF file edit as there was in
XP
that
would "reveal" these components to Remove Programs so that they can be
removed more easily.

:

Outlook has nothing to do with either Windows Contacts or Windows
Calendar.
It is not clear from your post what you want to accomplish, nor why
you
think you need to edit the registry to do so. Outlook will handle
these
tasks by default unless you set your Default Programs otherwise.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hello all,

My understanding is that there ARE ways in the registry of disabling
/
turning off some of the Vista components that are outmoded by an
install
of
MS Office, such as Calendar and Contacts.

For Calendar, for instance, you browse to...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Windows

...and create a DWORD value called TurnOffWinCal (for WinCal.exe),
and
set
it to 1.

There's probably a similar way to disable Contacts, but I may have
to
wade
through the subfolders of Windows\Winsxs in order to find the name
of
the
EXE.

The question is, has Office 2007 been built in such a way that
Contacts
or
Business Contact Manager in Outlook 2007 sit atop the preexisting
Windows
Contacts component of Vista? Or can Contacts be safely disabled
without
consequence to the corresponding Outlook components?

The same question applies to Windows Calendar....

Best wishes,

a.k.a.