Cannot open Add or Remove programs in XP

[Guest]

Hello,

I am using XP Pro with SP2.

A few months ago I suddenly found that I was unable to open Add or Remove
programs and have been unable to open it ever since then.

The only possible cause of the problem I can think of is that around that
time I started experimenting with various computer tuneup software and
registry cleaners...

The message I get when I try to open Add/Remove Programs is titled RUNDLL
followed by:

An exception occurred while trying to run
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLLC:\WINDOWS\system32\appwiz.cpl"

Can you advise me how to fix please? Thanks so much!

 

[BillW50]

Hello,

I am using XP Pro with SP2.

A few months ago I suddenly found that I was unable to open Add or
Remove programs and have been unable to open it ever since then.

The only possible cause of the problem I can think of is that around
that time I started experimenting with various computer tuneup
software and registry cleaners...

The message I get when I try to open Add/Remove Programs is titled
RUNDLL followed by:

An exception occurred while trying to run
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLLC:\WINDOWS\system32\appwiz.cpl"

Can you advise me how to fix please? Thanks so much!

A few months back? Probably too late to use System Restore to fix it.

 

[Rich Barry]

This might apply to WinXP as well
http://searchwinit.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid1_gci825013,00.html

 

[Rock]

Hello,

I am using XP Pro with SP2.

A few months ago I suddenly found that I was unable to open Add or Remove
programs and have been unable to open it ever since then.

The only possible cause of the problem I can think of is that around that
time I started experimenting with various computer tuneup software and
registry cleaners...

The message I get when I try to open Add/Remove Programs is titled RUNDLL
followed by:

An exception occurred while trying to run
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLLC:\WINDOWS\system32\appwiz.cpl"

Can you advise me how to fix please? Thanks so much!

Another example of why one should not use a registry cleaner.

 

[Guest]

:
Another example of why one should not use a registry cleaner.

Hey thanks Rock, As a rather ignorant user rather than a software expert, I
am only familiar with the arguments for using Registry Cleaners. Can you
direct me to information on why one should not use them? I have to learn
about this.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Rich, I used the link, followed the instructions there, did a
successful Command Prompt but the problem remains...

 

[Guest]

Right Bill, Even if it was a recent problem, I would not expect System
Restore to fix it as whenever I try to use System Restore, it tells me "That
restore point is not available." Consequently I have little faith in System
Restore...

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM]

:
Another example of why one should not use a registry cleaner.

Hey thanks Rock, As a rather ignorant user rather than a software expert,
I
am only familiar with the arguments for using Registry Cleaners. Can you
direct me to information on why one should not use them? I have to learn
about this.

Any thread about Registry cleaners in this newsgroup would tell you that
Registry cleaners are very dangerous. They should only be used by someone
who really know what they are doing. The misinformation that cleaning the
Registry will speed up the machine is a total hoax. At the best it will
speed up startup of the computer by a few thousandths of a second. You
would never notice it. They will often delete Registry entries that they
don't recognize and cause all sorts of problems that may never get fixed
except by a clean install of Windows and all programs.

Do you have an Undo file for the Registry cleaner?

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the warning Frank, No, unfortunately, whilst I could have saved
the deleted files, I chose not to do so. I am learning from bitter experience
here...

 

[mikeyhsd]

here is an answer regarding registry cleaner where MS is recommending usage of one.

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/article/registry_cleaner_why.htm

of course our resident net nanny does not agree with microsoft.





(e-mail address removed)



:
Another example of why one should not use a registry cleaner.

Hey thanks Rock, As a rather ignorant user rather than a software expert, I
am only familiar with the arguments for using Registry Cleaners. Can you
direct me to information on why one should not use them? I have to learn
about this.

 

[BillW50]

I have 4 Windows XP systems here and I use System Restore all of the
time. It is the best thing since sliced bread. It even backed me out of
one SP2 upgrade. It has never failed me yet.

 

[BillW50]

Well the truth is some registry cleaners wants to delete things they have no business deleting. This is a well known fact. I use them, but not without creating a System Restore point first. And no, even with over a thousand entries deleted, my system wasn't any faster.

--
Bill
here is an answer regarding registry cleaner where MS is recommending usage of one.

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/article/registry_cleaner_why.htm

of course our resident net nanny does not agree with microsoft.





(e-mail address removed)



:
Another example of why one should not use a registry cleaner.

Hey thanks Rock, As a rather ignorant user rather than a software expert, I
am only familiar with the arguments for using Registry Cleaners. Can you
direct me to information on why one should not use them? I have to learn
about this.

 

[Rock]

Right Bill, Even if it was a recent problem, I would not expect System
Restore to fix it as whenever I try to use System Restore, it tells me
"That
restore point is not available." Consequently I have little faith in
System
Restore...

There are a variety of reasons why System Restore doesn't work, but it's not
the norm that it doesn't. There is something wrong with your system. Maybe
you should fix it. It's a useful tool.

See the troubleshooting tips on Bert Kinney's System Restore Page.
http://bertk.mvps.org/index.html

 

[Rock]

:
Another example of why one should not use a registry cleaner.

Hey thanks Rock, As a rather ignorant user rather than a software expert,
I
am only familiar with the arguments for using Registry Cleaners. Can you
direct me to information on why one should not use them? I have to learn
about this.

We regularly get posts in here where some unexplained problem has occurred
and a registry cleaner was recently used. The problem is that you are at
the mercy of what the cleaner things should be removed. If something that
was needed is removed the system experiences problems at a later time, and
in some cases you don't even realize what caused it.

Search the posts in this newsgroup for registry cleaner to read all you
would like to read on what the majority of knowledgeable computer tech
support people think about it - overwhelmingly don't use one.

Unused entries in the registry as a rule don't cause problems. The XP
registry consists of hundreds of thousands of entries. Removing a handful
of unused entries doesn't help, but the potential for problems when the
wrong item is removed is real. So there is only a down side to it.

The only way a registry cleaner can be of use is to scan but not fix, when
there is a particular problem with some software, and you can't pinpoint it,
but believe it's registry related Examine what the cleaner flags to see if
something might be related, then research the issue, and decide. Manually
edit the registry to change what needs to be changed. Prior to making any
changes at the least create a system restore point and separately save a
copy of the registry key to be changed from inside the registry editor via
File | Export. The registry is backed up with system restore.

I also recommend saving a copy of the complete registry using ERUNT.
Properly set up one can restore the full registry from the Recovery Console.

ERUNT
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/erunt.txt

Installing and Using ERUNT
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_eruntuse.html
http://www.winxptutor.com/regback.htm

Here is one ongoing blog about the use of registry cleaners.
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.html

For the most part those tune up utilities don't add much value. Many things
can be done just as well with the tools native to XP. What is a better
investment is to learn how to maintain a system properly.

 

[Guest]

Rock/mikeyhsd/Frank, Thank you all so much for your wise advice about
registry cleaners. I am learning not to look for and trust quick fixes to
registry problems that I didn't even have! In the meantime, I do have a real
problem -- I still cannot open Add or Remove Programs. Will I have to
reinstall the operating system?

 

[mikeyhsd]

have not heard of that particular problem before. where someone posted a ix./

might search the ms knowledge base and/or google.



(e-mail address removed)



Rock/mikeyhsd/Frank, Thank you all so much for your wise advice about
registry cleaners. I am learning not to look for and trust quick fixes to
registry problems that I didn't even have! In the meantime, I do have a real
problem -- I still cannot open Add or Remove Programs. Will I have to
reinstall the operating system?

 

[BillW50]

I personally wouldn't worry too much if my add/remove programs wasn't
working. As I use the free ZSoft's Uninstaller as a replacement. It is
so much faster. Just a suggestion.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Uninstallers/ZSoft-Uninstaller.shtml

 

[Rock]

Rock/mikeyhsd/Frank, Thank you all so much for your wise advice about
registry cleaners. I am learning not to look for and trust quick fixes to
registry problems that I didn't even have! In the meantime, I do have a
real
problem -- I still cannot open Add or Remove Programs. Will I have to
reinstall the operating system?

Do some reading in these Google searches to see if anything helps:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Can't+run+add+remove+programs+windows+xp

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=...windows xp&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wg

Is the system clean of malware? How do you check?

Assuming the system is clean and nothing in the Google searches helps you
could try a repair install. Programs and data should be preserved, but
you'll need to revisit windows update for all the updates. Even though the
repair install is non destructive you should be prepared for the worst and
have a full and complete backup. But then that's a given with computers,
always have a full and complete backup. That should be the case at all
times. Here's a link on how to do a repair install.

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Lastly, you might want to think about getting a drive imaging program and
image the system to an external hard drive. I currently use Acronis True
Image Home (ATI), version 10. Image the system regularly for backup, and
then if a software or hardware install creates problems you can't recover
from or there's a hardware failure the system can be quickly restored.

ATI can create images on a partition or drive basis. Images can be full,
incremental or differential, so the time/space needed for subsequent images
is reduced. Restores can be made on a file, partition or drive basis. It
also does file backup and drive cloning.

You can buy a preassembled external drive, or put one together for much less
cost from a bare drive and an external drive enclosure. A 320GB setup like
this costs less than $100. The cost of ATI is anywhere from $30-$50
depending on where you get it and the specials going at the time. This is a
good, but low cost, backup/recovery solution.

 

[Guest]

Rock,

You rock! you are a genuine example of a saint to provide so much helpful
advice and information. Thank you so much!

The problematic computer is at my workplace. it's not actually my
computer... I have been feeling bad about it as one day I will leave, who
knows when. My successor will inherit the problem if I have not fixed it.
However, my employers are rather stupid in not providing any backup
facililties as you suggest is wise to do. So I am thinking I will leave the
XP Add/Remove problem. I am pretty sure now that I caused it with a reg
cleaner. (I use Windows Defender to deal with malware at my work. It seems to
do a good job). If I can't find a fairly easy fix I am inclined to the
solution suggested by BillW50. JV16 Power Tool has a good Add/remove programs
facility. I will pay the $20 to install it. It's a small price to pay for my
reckless stupidity.

However, for my home computer, I will get acronis, I was already intending
to do so. I've got the 300GB ext HD. And for sure I will follow all the links
you kindly provide to relevant information. Thanks again friend. Really, you
know, I see that much of my "problem" has been in my head -- a concerned
attitude about what I had done. I am not concerned anymore. I just needed to
discuss it with people like you who know what they are talkng about.
Thanks mate!
Max

 

[Guest]

Good comment Bill,

I am relaxed enough now about the whole thing that if I can't find a fairly
quick and easy way to get add/remove programs working, I will do what you
suggest, The jv16 Power Tool has a remove programs tool that apparently works
in exactly the same way as the Microsoft version.

Thanks mate!
Max