Editing Openai/694562f4-9158-8001-8764-12c0f1ed968a (section)

== gpt-5-2 ==
=== User: I recently installed Office because I needed it for some university assignments and I realized Skype For Business was i… ===
I recently installed Office because I needed it for some university assignments and I realized Skype For Business was installed too, but unlike Outlook and and some other apps, I can't uninstall it and it doesn't even show up on either Settings or Control Panel. Furthermore, it now runs on startup (because I accidentally opened it once), and, although I already turned it off in the app options, it doesn't show up in the task manager.

Is there any solution? Do I have to reinstall/repair Office for it to show up properly? Is there any way to remove everything besides word, powerpoint and excel?

=== Assistant: This is expected behavior with Skype for Business SfB when it is installed as part of a Microsoft Office / Microsoft 36… ===
This is expected behavior with Skype for Business (SfB) when it is installed as part of a Microsoft Office / Microsoft 365 suite, especially university-licensed builds. It is not a standalone app, which is why it does not appear in Apps & Features or Control Panel and cannot be uninstalled individually.

Below is the correct, supported way to deal with it—no guesswork or unsafe registry hacks required.

==== Why you cannot uninstall it normally ====
* Skype for Business is installed inside the Office Click-to-Run package
* It does not register itself as a separate Windows application
* Startup behavior is controlled by Office + registry, not Task Manager
* Disabling it in the app UI does not fully stop auto-launch in all builds

Reinstalling or repairing Office will not make it appear separately. That will not help.

==== Option 1 (Recommended): Prevent Skype for Business from ever starting ====

===== Step 1: Disable via registry (effective even if Task Manager does not show it) =====
# Press Win + R
# Type regedit and press Enter
# Navigate to:

<syntaxhighlight>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Lync

</syntaxhighlight>

(If <code>Lync</code> does not exist, create it)
# Create or modify the following DWORD (32-bit) value:

<syntaxhighlight>Name: DisableAutoRun
Value: 1

</syntaxhighlight>
# Close Registry Editor and reboot

This stops Skype for Business from starting for good.

===== Step 2: Ensure Outlook is not launching it (if Outlook exists) =====

Even if you never open Outlook, Office can still wire them together.

Open Outlook → File → Options → Advanced
* Uncheck: - Register Skype for Business as the IM app

Restart.

==== Option 2: Remove Skype for Business from Office entirely (clean solution) ====

This is the only way to truly remove it.

===== You must reinstall Office using a custom configuration =====

Microsoft intentionally hides component-level uninstalls from the GUI.

====== What this does ======
* Removes Skype for Business permanently
* Keeps Word, Excel, PowerPoint
* No hacks, fully supported

===== High-level steps =====
# Uninstall Office
# Reinstall using Office Deployment Tool (ODT) with Skype excluded

====== Minimal config example ======

<syntaxhighlight lang="xml"><Configuration>
  <Add OfficeClientEdition="64">
    <Product ID="O365ProPlusRetail">
      <ExcludeApp ID="Lync" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Outlook" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="OneNote" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Access" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Publisher" />
    </Product>
  </Add>
</Configuration>

</syntaxhighlight>

This installs only Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

If you want, I can:
* Generate the exact XML for your Office version
* Tell you which Product ID your university license uses
* Provide copy-paste commands to reinstall cleanly

==== Option 3: Hide it and forget it exists (lowest effort) ====

If you do not want to reinstall:
* Registry method (Option 1)
* Ignore the files on disk
* No performance impact once auto-run is disabled

==== Summary (what you should do) ====

| Goal                     | Best Option               |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------- |
| Stop startup             | Registry fix (Option 1)   |
| Fully remove Skype       | Reinstall Office with ODT |
| Keep Word/Excel/PPT only | ODT reinstall             |
| Repair Office            | ❌ Will not help           |

===== Bottom line =====
* No, repairing Office will not fix this
* No, Skype for Business cannot be uninstalled alone
* Yes, you can remove everything except Word/Excel/PowerPoint
* Yes, you can permanently stop it without reinstalling

If you want, tell me:
* Windows version
* Office version (365 / 2019 / 2021)
* University license or personal

I will give you the exact commands with zero trial-and-error.