http://www.iamnotageek.com/a/111-p1.php

"You can use the Regsvr32 tool (Regsvr32.exe) to register and unregister object linking and embedding (OLE) controls such as dynamic-link library (DLL) or ActiveX Controls (OCX) files that are self-registerable."

"To uninstall the files type: regsvr32 -u file.dll"

Also see :
http://www.freevbcode.com/ShowCode.asp?ID=5259

Nedvis & Paraghs,

Thank you for your replies to my question!

Unfortunately, from what I can tell, all of the links you provided refer to tools that require me to have the DLL files present in order to unregister the DLLs and remove them from my Registry. I *don't* have the DLL files any more. My dilemma is how to remove the DLL references from my Registry when the DLL files themselves are no longer present.

Thanks,

MJ.

..."how remove the DLL references from my Registry when the DLL files themselves are no longer present?"

Sorry to bother you with a questions like this:
How do you know there are references to the DLL files in WIndows registry ? From reading MRU ( most recently used) menu lists in your VisualBasic application ?
There is a good MRU registry cleaner : MRU blaster http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/mrublaster.html
It can clear MS Visual Studio 6 reference lsit among other things.

You might wish to run any of Windows Registru cleaners  capable of removing from Win registry all pointers to nonexisting files.

good luck
nedvis

> How do you know there are references to the DLL files in WIndows registry ?

When I'm in Visual Basic, I do Project / References, and I see a list of "Available References," that is, DLLs that the project I'm working on can reference. However, many of the DLLs that show up in the References list are no longer installed on my computer. (I know that because when I click on the items in the "Available References" list, VB shows me the location of the references, and in some cases, the location refers to a file or directory that has long since been deleted.)

I could deal with having references to non-existent files if the situation were limited to MRU lists--as I used new files, the non-existent files would fall off the MRU list. However, that's not my problem. The "Available References" list in Visual Basic is quite long--something like 500-600 items. As a result, it takes 5-6 seconds to load the "Available References" dialog box, which is a pain. More importantly, though, it's hard for me to find the valid references amid the clutter of references to DLL files that no longer exist.

Thanks again,

MJ.

That's exactly what I thought? Huh, I'm not really familiar with VB.
Could this be the answer:  Removing project items

When you remove an item, it is permanently deleted from the project list—you can't undo the Remove action; however, this action doesn't delete a file if it exists on disk. Before removing an item, make sure remaining code in other modules and user forms doesn't refer to code in the removed item. To remove an item, select it in the Project Explorer, then choose Remove <Name> from the File menu. Before you remove the item, you'll be asked whether you want to export it. If you click Yes in the message box, the Export File dialog box opens. If you click No, VBA deletes the item.

http://arcgisdeveloperonline.esri.com/ArcGISDeveloper/ArcGISDevHelp/DevelopmentEnvs/COM/VB6/VBASpecifics.htm

or this ( LACanadian post ) :
http://www.developerfusion.co.uk/forums/topic.aspx?id=10583

sorry
nedvis

What's happening?