Add/Remove Programs tool displays installed programs incorrectly

When you install and uninstall programs, the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel may display the installed programs incorrectly. The Currently installed programs box may contain only a single text string, or may display a large blank space before the program entries. Other display problems may include that there are no listed programs. Additionally, one of the following error messages may appear:

Message 1
Message 2

This problem may occur if the uninstaller for a program incorrectly removes registry entries that are used by Windows and the Add/Remove Programs tool.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

To have us fix this problem for you, go to the "Fix it for me" section. If you prefer to fix this problem yourself, go to the "Let me fix it myself" section.

Fix it for me

To fix this problem automatically, click the Fix it button or link. Click Run in the File Download dialog box, and then follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.



Notes

• If the Add/Remove Programs tool still does not function properly after you run the Fix it solution, please perform an in-place upgrade. For more information about how to perform an in-place upgrade, see the "More Information" section.
• This wizard may be in English only. However, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.
• If you are not on the computer that has the problem, save the Fix it solution to a flash drive or a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem.

Then, go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Let me fix it myself

To resolve this problem, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, and then type CMD.
2. At the prompt, type REGSVR32 APPWIZ.CPL.
3. If this fails, look for the registry entries that are listed below. To resolve this issue, check the registry for the following keys and values. Re-create any missing keys or values. Note that these keys use the system drive letter. You may have to adjust these entries to match the configuration of your computer.
   • [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{00000535-0000-0010-8000-00AA006D2EA4}]
     "ADODB.Recordset"
   • [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{00000535-0000-0010-8000-00AA006D2EA4}\InprocServer32]
     "C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\ado\msado15.dll"
   • [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{00000535-0000-0010-8000-00AA006D2EA4}\InprocServer32]
     "ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
   • [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{00000535-0000-0010-8000-00AA006D2EA4}\ProgID] "ADODB.Recordset.2.5"
   • [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{00000535-0000-0010-8000-00AA006D2EA4}\VersionIndependentProgID]
     "ADODB.Recordset"
   • HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2048EEE6-7FA2-11D0-9E6A-00A0C9138C29}
     "Microsoft OLE DB Row Position Library"
   • HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2048EEE6-7FA2-11D0-9E6A-00A0C9138C29}\InprocServer32
     "C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Ole DB\oledb32.dll" "ThreadingModel"="Both"
   • HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2048EEE6-7FA2-11D0-9E6A-00A0C9138C29}\ProgID
     "RowPosition.RowPosition.1"
   • HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2048EEE6-7FA2-11D0-9E6A-00A0C9138C29}\VersionIndependentProgID
     "RowPosition.RowPosition"
   • [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{352EC2B7-8B9A-11D1-B8AE-006008059382}\InProcServer32]
     "%SystemRoot%\System32\appwiz.cpl"
4. Follow the steps in one of the following procedures, as it applies to your computer, and then test to determine if this issue is resolved. If the issue is resolved, skip the remaining steps. If the issue is not resolved, go to step 5.
   • To resolve this issue with Internet Explorer 6.0 installed, repair Internet Explorer 6.0:
     1. Click Start, and then click Run.
     2. Paste the following command in the Open box, and then click OK:
        rundll32 setupwbv.dll,IE6Maintenance "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Setup\SETUP.EXE" /g "C:\WINDOWS\IE Uninstall Log.Txt
        Because this command is case sensitive, Microsoft recommends that you copy the command from this article, and then paste the command in the Open box.
   • To resolve this issue with Internet Explorer 5.0 or 5.5 installed, repair Internet Explorer 5.0 or 5.5:
     1. Click Start, and then click Run.
     2. Paste the following command in the Open box, and then click OK:
        rundll32 setupwbv.dll,IE5Maintenance "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Setup\SETUP.EXE" /g "C:\WINDOWS\IE Uninstall Log.Txt
        Because this command is case sensitive, Microsoft recommends that you copy the command from this article, and then paste the command in the Open box.
5. Perform an in-place upgrade:
   
   Note Before you perform an in-place upgrade, make sure that you back up your data. For more information about the risks of performing an in-place upgrade, see the "More Information" section.
   1. Run Winnt32.exe from the \I386 directory on the Windows 2000 installation CD-ROM.
   2. When the Windows 2000 Setup screen appears, click Upgrade to Windows 2000.
   3. Allow installation to complete.

If the Add/Remove Programs tool still does not function properly, shows no content, or if you want to try to fix this issue without upgrading to later versions of Internet Explorer, check the following registry keys to make sure that they contain entries: Note If the previous registry keys are blank, the Add/Remove Programs tool may also be blank.

Use the command line REGSVR32 [path\filename] to register each of the following files: If the Add/Remove Programs tool displays incomplete information or is blank, verify the file dates. Where possible, register the following files: If the Add/Remove Programs tool can draw the dialog user interface, but does not display any installed program contents, check the registry for the presence of the following key: If this registry key is missing, copy the following text to a text file, save the file with a .reg extension, and then double-click the file on the affected computer to return the proper entries.

For Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00:

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. The following list includes all the registry keys that are used by Add/Remove Programs. These keys must be set by registering Appwiz.cpl, but they are provided here for cross-reference to confirm that the registration completed successfully.

• [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{352EC2B7-8B9A-11D1-B8AE-006008059382}]
  @="%DESC_ShellAppMgr%"
• [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{352EC2B7-8B9A-11D1-B8AE-006008059382}\InProcServer32]
  @="SystemRoot%\System32\appwiz.cpl" (REG_EXPAND_SZ)
  "ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
• [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0B124F8C-91F0-11D1-B8B5-006008059382}]
  @="Installed Apps Enumerator"
• [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0B124F8F-91F0-11D1-B8B5-006008059382}\InProcServer32]
  @="SystemRoot%\System32\appwiz.cpl" (REG_EXPAND_SZ)
  "ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
  
  Note This key is only available in Microsoft Windows XP.
• [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CFCCC7A0-A282-11D1-9082-006008059382}]
  @="Darwin App Publisher"
• [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CFCCC7A0-A282-11D1-9082-006008059382}\InProcServer32]
  @="SystemRoot%\System32\appwiz.cpl" (REG_EXPAND_SZ)
  "ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
• [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Approved]
  "{352EC2B7-8B9A-11D1-B8AE-006008059382}"="Shell Application Manager"
• [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Approved]
  "{0B124F8F-91F0-11D1-B8B5-006008059382}"="Installed Apps Enumerator"
  
  Note This key is only available in Microsoft Windows XP.
• [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\App Management\Publishers\Darwin App Publisher]
  @="{CFCCC7A0-A282-11D1-9082-006008059382}"
• [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Approved]
  "{CFCCC7A0-A282-11D1-9082-006008059382}"="Darwin App Publisher"
• [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ControlPanel\InProcCPLs]
  "appwiz.cpl"=""

  Registry entries that are used once ARP is running.

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppInstallPath
  Reads INF file. Code reads INF file name. INF section used is "AppInstallList"
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer\Terminal Server\EnableAdminRemote
  Set to 1 while ARP is running. Tells TS that ARP is running.
  Set to 0 when ARP exits.
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Management\Publishers Enumerates app publishers
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Wx86\cmdline
  Reads to determine if wx86 is enabled.
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\NewShortcutHandlers
  Enumerated to obtain list of "new-link" handlers. It looks like these handlers may add a link for a given item - for instance, to the Start menu, desktop, or other items.
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Shutdown\ForceReboot
  Read to determine if a restart is required after running setup.
  Presence of value means must-reboot == true.
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\MS-DOSOptions

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Did this fix the problem?

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