How to disable add-ins

First, check with the add-in's developer

To remove an add-in, first check with the developer to see if there's an uninstall routine or other procedure they recommend. PPTools, for example, includes its own uninstaller in Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs.

If there are no specific removal instructions from the developer, choose Tools, Add-Ins from the main menu bar. In the Add-Ins dialog, click the add-in you want to remove to highlight it, then click Remove.

This should remove the add-in from at least the current PowerPoint session, but in some cases, the add-in may re-load itself in the future.

If you still find that it loads, or if the add-in prevents PowerPoint from opening (so you can't use PowerPoint's Add-Ins dialog box) keep reading, but if you're not comfortable with editing the registry, stop now. ALWAYS back up the registry before making any changes.

Make sure PowerPoint isn't running

Sometimes a "zombie" copy of PowerPoint ... dead, invisible, but still in memory ... can cause problems.

• Press Ctrl + Alt + Del then choose to start Task Manager
• Go to the Processes tab in Task Manager
• If you see POWERPNT.EXE on the processes list, click to select it, then click the End Task button.

Disable COM add-ins

1. Start REGEDIT
2. If you have a 32-bit version of Windows, navigate to
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Powerpoint\Addins
   If you have a 64-bit version of Windows, navigate to
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\Powerpoint\Addins
3. Click on the add-in you want to modify.
4. In the frame on the right, right-click LoadBehavior and select Modify
5. Note the current value then disable the add-in by entering 0 (zero). To re-enable the add-in, change it back to the previous value.
6. Repeat the same process from step 2, this time starting at HKEY_CURRENT_USER instead of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

Leave REGEDIT open. You'll use it again for the next step.

Disable PPA/PPAM add-ins

NOTE: Below, x.0 represents your Office version.

Office 97 = 8.0, Office 2000 = 9.0, Office 2002 = 10.0, Office 2003 = 11.0, Office 2007 = 12.0, Office 2010 = 14.0, Office 2013 = 15.0 and so on. That's right; there's no 13.0.

1. If you have a 32-bit version of Windows, navigate to
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\x.0\Powerpoint\Addins
   If you have a 64-bit version of Windows, navigate to
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\x.0Powerpoint\Addins
2. Click on the add-in you want to modify.
3. In the frame on the right, right-click AutoLoad and select Modify.
4. Change the value to 0 (that's zero; hex or decimal, doesn't matter)
5. Repeat the same process starting at HKEY_CURRENT_USER instead of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

If you prefer, you can right-click the Path entry and change it, for example, by adding an X at the beginning. That will prevent PowerPoint from finding and loading the add-in. PowerPoint 2007 and later will whine about this at startup, complaining that they can't find the add-in file. Earlier versions simply go quietly about their business. Either way, the add-in does not load.

Give it a try

Quit REGEDIT, start PowerPoint up again and see if this has solved the problem. You may have to disable all add-ins, then re-enable one at a time until the problem re-appears to determine exactly which add-in caused the problem in the first place.

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