missing add/remove programs option

[grant87]

for some reason the add/remove programs option has `gone missing` from my control panel. i need to uninstall norton antivirus because that won`t scan or update virus definitions and i keep getting norton error messages. strangely when i switch my control panel to `category view` the add/remove programs option is there but does nothing when clicked. i believe i`ve done nothing to cause this and i`ve spent hours in different forums searching for an answer but to no avail. please can anybody help with this strange occurence. CHEERS.

[Overclocked Doc]

Could this be an "Administrative" issue? Check your account settings to be sure that you have Administrative rights.

[grant87]

thanks for the suggestion but i`ve checked and i am the `computer administrator` on my pc

[Miz]

First, to check whether the Add/Remove applet is alive and well, go to Start>Run, type in "appwiz.cpl" (without the quotes) and click OK (or press Enter).

If the Add/Remove applet starts, then it's a problem with the shortcuts. The easiest and most immediate way to fix it is to go to C:\Windows\System32 folder, find the appwiz.cpl file and put a shortcut to it somewhere handy.

If it doesn't start, you can try replacing it with a new copy through System File Checker. Rather than running the whole SFC routine, you can go to Start>Run, type in "msconfig" (without the quotes), click OK and on the General tab, click the "Expand File" button. Tell it you want to extract appwiz.cpl, tell it to extract it from either C:\I386 or your XP CD (which you'll need to put in the CD drive) and tell it to extract it to C:\Windows\System32.

[grant87]

hi,
thanks for the help but as yet it has been to no avail. what i did try from your info though was to `search` for appwiz.cpl and it was found and the panel came up when clicked from the search results list (which is more than it was doing before) but it`s empty, as if i have no programs in my pc. i haven`t been able to progress any further than this as when i click on the left side `add/remove programs` option i get asked to send an error reprt to microsoft because it `cannot run a dll as an app`. ho hum.

[grant87]

i`ve just found out that my `set program access and defaults` option isn`t working now. nothing happens when clicked!!

[charliet]

grant87, I am having the same exact problem as you ( or so it sounds ). When I open add/remove programs, the window opens, but there is a message (where the program listings would normally be) that says 'There are no programs installed on this computer'.
I don't have any answers for you, but I am curious if you have been having problems with browser hijackers , adware, spyware, etc.
I did not have the add/remove prog. problems until after the adware/spyware problem and am curious if the 2 things could be related. I've used Microsoft, LavaSoft adware,spyware remover programs and neither seems to totally rid this computer of ALL.

[joberti]

I'm having the exact same problem. Can anyone please help?


------------------------------------------------------------------------

for some reason the add/remove programs option has `gone missing` from my control panel. i need to uninstall norton antivirus because that won`t scan or update virus definitions and i keep getting norton error messages. strangely when i switch my control panel to `category view` the add/remove programs option is there but does nothing when clicked. i believe i`ve done nothing to cause this and i`ve spent hours in different forums searching for an answer but to no avail. please can anybody help with this strange occurence. CHEERS.

[kadafiTCD]

Go to this site http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm and download the Fix Add/Remove located just under the download link for Regseeker 1.35 Beta. You can also download Regseeker if you wish, it's a nice Registry cleaning tool. Just remember to always back up the registry before you do anything.

The text above was taken from www.techsupportforum.com.

Also there may be some spyware or viruses at work here go to www.trendmicro.com and do a free housecall virus scan on your pc immediately.

Kadafi

[bookworm]

Just one small point, did you turn off System Restore before doing you security checks, restore points can't be scanned, also the best way to scan is in Safe Mode.

Hope this helps.

[Medlog77]

I just noticed this same problem. My windows media player won't open and tells me to reinstall and dosen't let me do that either because it says my windows is the wrong version. I thought I would uninstall it and see if that helped but the Icon in the control panel for add/remove programs although there, didn't have the right picture to it and would not open. I exited control panel and opened it back up and it was totally gone.

I have the file "appwiz.cpl" and downloaded the file Fix Add/Remove like listed in this thread with no success. I also did a virus and spyware check and still no fix. Not sure what else I should do.....

[kousonh]

Try going into control panel and double click on Folder Options, click on the View tab, find the folder that says Hidden Files and Folders and select the radio button that says show hidden files and folders.

[DaveSlinger]

I see this is coming in a little late but maybe it can help someone else with the missing add-remove programs problem. I had the same problem after a bad install or something. I was working on another problem with Microsoft and they inadvertently swerved into fixing this proble also. Here is what was done. The add remove programs showed up again at the bottom of the Control Panel list. I sorted by name to put it back near the top of my classic view list. Here you go-
Before we start troubleshooting, I would like to explain that Windows updates are safe and effective in most situations. Based on the troubleshooting results, the issue can be caused by the following factors.

1. Third party program conflicts.

2. Some corrupt system files or registry keys.

We may need some time to narrow down the root cause of this issue. Thank you for your understanding.

To continue troubleshooting, let's perform the following steps.

Step 1: Re-registry the library files in Internet Explorer

==============================

1. Close all instances of Internet Explorer.

2. Click Start, and then click Run.

3. Type in "regsvr32 URLMON.dll" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.

4. When you receive the "DllRegisterServer and DllInstall in urlmon.dll succeeded" message, click OK.

Please repeat steps 2 through 4 for each of the following files (in step 3, replace Urlmon.dll with each of the file names below):

regsvr32 URLMON.dll

regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll

regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll

regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll

regsvr32 Browseui.dll

regsvr32 Shell32.dll

regsvr32 scrrun.dll

regsvr32 msxml.dll

regsvr32 mshtml.dll

regsvr32 jscript.dll

regsvr32 vbscript.dll

Step 2: Reset Internet Explorer (IE) Settings

=========================

1. Click Start, click Run, type Notepad.exe, and then click OK.

2. Copy and Paste the following context between "------------" lines to the boot.ini file:

Note: Not include "-----------" lines.

-------------------

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0000031A-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}]

@="ClassMoniker"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0000031A-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\InprocServer32]

@="ole32.dll"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0000031A-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\ProgID]

@="clsid"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\CLSID]

@="{0000031A-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"

------------------------------

3. Click File, and then click Save.

4. In the Save in box, click Desktop.

5. In the File name box, type fix01.reg.

6. In the Save as type box, click All Files, and then click Save.

7. Click File, and then click Exit.

8. On the desktop, double-click fix01.reg, and then click Yes to add the information to the registry.

9. Click OK to confirm that the information in the fix01.reg file has been added to the registry.

10. Restart the computer.

Good luck...
DAVE

[vanessapurdue]

Hello Dave! It looks like I came to the right place. All of a sudden (and I just removed a program - yahoo messenger - this AM) I no longer have the "remove program" feature. (I can view my programs; however, there's nothing to click on to remove them from my computer.)

I attempted to follow your steps but found that I was "lost" after I saw the Notepad screen. (It is blank.) What exactly do I type on this blank screen?

Thank you, in advance, for any/all help you can give me.

Vanessa

[kopykat7913]

Well I have the problem of the add/remove button missing, so I tryed to do your option but when i get to

regsvr32 mshtml.dll

the box pops up and says:
mshtml.dll was loaded, but the DllRegisterServer entry point was not found. This file cannot be registered.

I tryed to continue without it and did the rest of the steps without a problem but in the end nothing changed. What now?


--Jack