My Add/Remove Programs window 'suddenly'
has many more entries than it used to - many are smaller program modules
that
make up more comprehensive applications (one example is Norton AV, which
shows up as multiple small programs).

Most (over 95% of the entries) have only the default icon associated with
the entry, only a few have the normal icon one would expect for the program.

When I click on most (again over 95%) of the entries, there is no remove or
change button at all. A few of the MS updates have a remove button but
that's about it.

This is not the 'white space' or 'hidden programs' issue - it may be
registry damage, but I don't know what caused it - I don't go to Add/Remove
that often, so no idea when this changed. Major software updates over the
past months have been IE7, multiple Symantec updates.

I've run several different malware and AV programs, no hits.

My registry key at HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall
has only a single entry for PC Doctor 5, that was installed very recently -
all the other subkeys are gone.

If anyone can help with a couple of things, it would be greatly appreciated
- one is: "where is Add/Remove getting the limited information that it's
displaying"? It appears that it might be at
HKLM\Software\Classes\Installer\Products, as the subkeys there seem to match
the fragmented entries I see in ARP.

Second is any thoughts on repair or recovery? I've tried system restore,
but none of my backups go back far enough. Thanks in advance.

Rob7 wrote:
> My Add/Remove Programs window 'suddenly'
> has many more entries than it used to - many are smaller program modules
> that
> make up more comprehensive applications (one example is Norton AV, which
> shows up as multiple small programs).
>
> Most (over 95% of the entries) have only the default icon associated with
> the entry, only a few have the normal icon one would expect for the program.
>
> When I click on most (again over 95%) of the entries, there is no remove or
> change button at all. A few of the MS updates have a remove button but
> that's about it.
>
> This is not the 'white space' or 'hidden programs' issue - it may be
> registry damage, but I don't know what caused it - I don't go to Add/Remove
> that often, so no idea when this changed. Major software updates over the
> past months have been IE7, multiple Symantec updates.
>
> I've run several different malware and AV programs, no hits.
>
> My registry key at HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall
> has only a single entry for PC Doctor 5, that was installed very recently -
> all the other subkeys are gone.
>
> If anyone can help with a couple of things, it would be greatly appreciated
> - one is: "where is Add/Remove getting the limited information that it's
> displaying"? It appears that it might be at
> HKLM\Software\Classes\Installer\Products, as the subkeys there seem to match
> the fragmented entries I see in ARP.
>
> Second is any thoughts on repair or recovery? I've tried system restore,
> but none of my backups go back far enough. Thanks in advance.

Add/Remove buttons
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/arp.htm

--
Joe =o)

Thanks very much - a great site. Problem is that something has erased
nearly all of the entries in the uninstall key - so there's nothing to edit
and fix that way.

I've had some success by trying to reinstall selected programs, and picking
'repair' as the installer option - that's starting to clean it up, but I
really wish I could figure out what erased the registry entries in the first
place.

Thanks for the assist!

"Elmo" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Rob7 wrote:
>> My Add/Remove Programs window 'suddenly'
>> has many more entries than it used to - many are smaller program modules
>> that
>> make up more comprehensive applications (one example is Norton AV, which
>> shows up as multiple small programs).
>>
>> Most (over 95% of the entries) have only the default icon associated with
>> the entry, only a few have the normal icon one would expect for the
>> program.
>>
>> When I click on most (again over 95%) of the entries, there is no remove
>> or
>> change button at all. A few of the MS updates have a remove button but
>> that's about it.
>>
>> This is not the 'white space' or 'hidden programs' issue - it may be
>> registry damage, but I don't know what caused it - I don't go to
>> Add/Remove
>> that often, so no idea when this changed. Major software updates over
>> the
>> past months have been IE7, multiple Symantec updates.
>>
>> I've run several different malware and AV programs, no hits.
>>
>> My registry key at
>> HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall
>> has only a single entry for PC Doctor 5, that was installed very
>> recently -
>> all the other subkeys are gone.
>>
>> If anyone can help with a couple of things, it would be greatly
>> appreciated
>> - one is: "where is Add/Remove getting the limited information that it's
>> displaying"? It appears that it might be at
>> HKLM\Software\Classes\Installer\Products, as the subkeys there seem to
>> match the fragmented entries I see in ARP.
>>
>> Second is any thoughts on repair or recovery? I've tried system restore,
>> but none of my backups go back far enough. Thanks in advance.
>
> Add/Remove buttons
> http://windowsxp.mvps.org/arp.htm
>
> --
> Joe =o)

Thanks for the suggestions. I've not deleted the log files from installs -
rather it seems clear that something I installed has erased the registry
entries in the Uninstall key.

Nothing on disk scan either. I am able to reinstall programs, and by
selecting the repair option in the installer, I've made some progress in
cleaning up the mess, but a bit frustrating to have to do that for all
programs. I'm still puzzled about what did the erase in the first place...
thanks for the assist.

"Kathea Banshou" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news4E8703A-5528-4212-BA0C-(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Rob7" wrote:
>
>> My Add/Remove Programs window 'suddenly'
>> has many more entries than it used to - many are smaller program modules
>> that
> <snip>
>
>> When I click on most (again over 95%) of the entries, there is no remove
>> or
>> change button at all. A few of the MS updates have a remove button but
>> that's about it.
> <snip>
>
>> If anyone can help with a couple of things, it would be greatly
>> appreciated
>> - one is: "where is Add/Remove getting the limited information that it's
>> displaying"? It appears that it might be at
> <snip>
>>
>> Second is any thoughts on repair or recovery? I've tried system restore,
>> but none of my backups go back far enough. Thanks in advance.
>
> I don't know the entire answer, but I thought I'd offer what I can and a
> suggestion or two.
>
> 1. When a program installs (if the programmer did his/her job), it
> creates
> a log file that is used during the uninstall process. The log file lists
> what was put where and what registry key was written, edited, added to,
> etc.
> so that uninstallation can reverse the process. Did you recently delete
> a
> bunch of files? Unfortunately I don't know where in the registry the
> uninstall information is stored other than the key you mentioned.
>
> 2. Suggestions for recovery:
> a) Have you run the disk repair/scan utilities to make sure your hard
> drive
> is free of bad blocks? Damaged file lists, bad blocks where the logs
> are/were located, etc. could feasibly cause difficulties during
> uninstall.
> b) Can you install or reinstall programs? If you can re-install the
> programs, try doing that to one or two and seeing if this fixes the
> problem.
> If you can successfully install, you can probably uninstall. If you
> CANNOT
> install programs (particularly those using the Microsoft installer), you
> may
> have a corrupt crypto service.
> c) I doubt this one will work but I'm throwing it out there: Try using
> the
> uninstall option in the individual program group on your start menu.

Rob, I am having the same problem. Any chance that you did any windows
updates before this happens. I am working on 3 pcs and the same happen after
I did 56 updates.
--
JorgeG.


"Rob7" wrote:

> Thanks very much - a great site. Problem is that something has erased
> nearly all of the entries in the uninstall key - so there's nothing to edit
> and fix that way.
>
> I've had some success by trying to reinstall selected programs, and picking
> 'repair' as the installer option - that's starting to clean it up, but I
> really wish I could figure out what erased the registry entries in the first
> place.
>
> Thanks for the assist!
>
> "Elmo" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Rob7 wrote:
> >> My Add/Remove Programs window 'suddenly'
> >> has many more entries than it used to - many are smaller program modules
> >> that
> >> make up more comprehensive applications (one example is Norton AV, which
> >> shows up as multiple small programs).
> >>
> >> Most (over 95% of the entries) have only the default icon associated with
> >> the entry, only a few have the normal icon one would expect for the
> >> program.
> >>
> >> When I click on most (again over 95%) of the entries, there is no remove
> >> or
> >> change button at all. A few of the MS updates have a remove button but
> >> that's about it.
> >>
> >> This is not the 'white space' or 'hidden programs' issue - it may be
> >> registry damage, but I don't know what caused it - I don't go to
> >> Add/Remove
> >> that often, so no idea when this changed. Major software updates over
> >> the
> >> past months have been IE7, multiple Symantec updates.
> >>
> >> I've run several different malware and AV programs, no hits.
> >>
> >> My registry key at
> >> HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall
> >> has only a single entry for PC Doctor 5, that was installed very
> >> recently -
> >> all the other subkeys are gone.
> >>
> >> If anyone can help with a couple of things, it would be greatly
> >> appreciated
> >> - one is: "where is Add/Remove getting the limited information that it's
> >> displaying"? It appears that it might be at
> >> HKLM\Software\Classes\Installer\Products, as the subkeys there seem to
> >> match the fragmented entries I see in ARP.
> >>
> >> Second is any thoughts on repair or recovery? I've tried system restore,
> >> but none of my backups go back far enough. Thanks in advance.
> >
> > Add/Remove buttons
> > http://windowsxp.mvps.org/arp.htm
> >
> > --
> > Joe =o)
>
>
>