Registry problem: "Error while deleting key"

[Robert Colgan]

Hi. When trying to uninstall a program, I got an error message ("Error
1402: Could not open key [key...]) etc. After backing up the registry,
I went into regedit, found the key, and tried to delete it manually.
When I try to open it, I get an "Error while opening key" message, and
"Error while deleting key" when I try to delete it.
It seems like something is corrupted in the registry, but I'm no
expert there, and I wouldn't want to mess with it, besides not knowing
where to begin. Can anyone help me out?

The key, if it matters, is:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Implemented Categories
and also
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Programmable

 

[R. McCarty]

Registry Keys/Values have privileges assigned to them. Certain groups
or individual users may not have "Rights" to modify or delete a key. To
overcome that you have to Right Click the Key name, Click Permissions
add your login name to the ACL ( Access Control List ) and then grant
yourself full privileges. Some keys/values are locked and only allow you
to change from Safe Mode.

 

[VanguardLH]

in message

Hi. When trying to uninstall a program, I got an error message
("Error
1402: Could not open key [key...]) etc. After backing up the
registry,
I went into regedit, found the key, and tried to delete it manually.
When I try to open it, I get an "Error while opening key" message,
and
"Error while deleting key" when I try to delete it.
It seems like something is corrupted in the registry, but I'm no
expert there, and I wouldn't want to mess with it, besides not
knowing
where to begin. Can anyone help me out?

The key, if it matters, is:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Implemented Categories
and also
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Programmable

Right-click on the item and change its permissions to allow Everyone
(or your account) all permissions. Then delete it. Obviously you
need to be logged in under an admin account to be changing
permissions.

Was the following related to the GUID that you mention above? You
didn't provide any of the subkeys, like the inproc server program.

http://www.internetsecurityzone.com/Entities/?_{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}

 

[Robert Colgan]

Registry Keys/Values have privileges assigned to them. Certain groups
or individual users may not have "Rights" to modify or delete a key. To
overcome that you have to Right Click the Key name, Click Permissions
add your login name to the ACL ( Access Control List ) and then grant
yourself full privileges. Some keys/values are locked and only allow you
to change from Safe Mode.

Hi. When trying to uninstall a program, I got an error message ("Error
1402: Could not open key [key...]) etc. After backing up the registry,
I went into regedit, found the key, and tried to delete it manually.
When I try to open it, I get an "Error while opening key" message, and
"Error while deleting key" when I try to delete it.
It seems like something is corrupted in the registry, but I'm no
expert there, and I wouldn't want to mess with it, besides not knowing
where to begin. Can anyone help me out?

The key, if it matters, is:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Implemented Categories
and also
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Programmable

Thanks, I tried that, but I get an "Unable to save permission
changes...Access is denied" message. (I am using an administrator
account.)
Also, when I click "Advanced" and go to the Owner tab, under Current
Owner it says "Unable to display current owner." Is that significant?

 

[R. McCarty]

Boot to Safe Mode and retry the ACL changes/deletion.

Registry Keys/Values have privileges assigned to them. Certain groups
or individual users may not have "Rights" to modify or delete a key. To
overcome that you have to Right Click the Key name, Click Permissions
add your login name to the ACL ( Access Control List ) and then grant
yourself full privileges. Some keys/values are locked and only allow you
to change from Safe Mode.

Hi. When trying to uninstall a program, I got an error message ("Error
1402: Could not open key [key...]) etc. After backing up the registry,
I went into regedit, found the key, and tried to delete it manually.
When I try to open it, I get an "Error while opening key" message, and
"Error while deleting key" when I try to delete it.
It seems like something is corrupted in the registry, but I'm no
expert there, and I wouldn't want to mess with it, besides not knowing
where to begin. Can anyone help me out?

The key, if it matters, is:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Implemented Categories
and also
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Programmable

Thanks, I tried that, but I get an "Unable to save permission
changes...Access is denied" message. (I am using an administrator
account.)
Also, when I click "Advanced" and go to the Owner tab, under Current
Owner it says "Unable to display current owner." Is that significant?

 

[Robert Colgan]

Boot to Safe Mode and retry the ACL changes/deletion.

Registry Keys/Values have privileges assigned to them. Certain groups
or individual users may not have "Rights" to modify or delete a key. To
overcome that you have to Right Click the Key name, Click Permissions
add your login name to the ACL ( Access Control List ) and then grant
yourself full privileges. Some keys/values are locked and only allow you
to change from Safe Mode.

Hi. When trying to uninstall a program, I got an error message ("Error
1402: Could not open key [key...]) etc. After backing up the registry,
I went into regedit, found the key, and tried to delete it manually.
When I try to open it, I get an "Error while opening key" message, and
"Error while deleting key" when I try to delete it.
It seems like something is corrupted in the registry, but I'm no
expert there, and I wouldn't want to mess with it, besides not knowing
where to begin. Can anyone help me out?
The key, if it matters, is:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Implemented Categories
and also
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Programmable

Thanks, I tried that, but I get an "Unable to save permission
changes...Access is denied" message. (I am using an administrator
account.)
Also, when I click "Advanced" and go to the Owner tab, under Current
Owner it says "Unable to display current owner." Is that significant?

No luck once again; I logged in under Administrator and went to
permissions but it already showed Administrator as having all
privileges. I also went to the Ownership tab under Advanced, and it
displayed the owner as
"S-1-5-21-3287201994-1979570389-645809190-1011"; I was able to change
the owner to GEOFFREY\Administrator and GEOFFREY\Administrators, but I
still couldn't delete it. (GEOFFREY is my computer's name )
Maybe this isn't a permissions problem?

 

[VanguardLH]

in message

Hi. When trying to uninstall a program, I got an error message
("Error
1402: Could not open key [key...]) etc. After backing up the
registry,
I went into regedit, found the key, and tried to delete it
manually.
When I try to open it, I get an "Error while opening key" message,
and
"Error while deleting key" when I try to delete it.
It seems like something is corrupted in the registry, but I'm no
expert there, and I wouldn't want to mess with it, besides not
knowing
where to begin. Can anyone help me out?

The key, if it matters, is:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Implemented Categories
and also
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Programmable

Registry Keys/Values have privileges assigned to them. Certain
groups
or individual users may not have "Rights" to modify or delete a
key. To
overcome that you have to Right Click the Key name, Click
Permissions
add your login name to the ACL ( Access Control List ) and then
grant
yourself full privileges. Some keys/values are locked and only
allow you
to change from Safe Mode.

Thanks, I tried that, but I get an "Unable to save permission
changes...Access is denied" message. (I am using an administrator
account.)
Also, when I click "Advanced" and go to the Owner tab, under Current
Owner it says "Unable to display current owner." Is that
significant?

Are you an administrator in a domain login for your host, or are you
logging on under a local admin account? Being an admin for your host
under a domain doesn't necessarily give you *full* admin privileges.

Did you use your admin-level account or did you relogin under the
Administrator account?

 

[R. McCarty]

One process for removing Registry keys like you have is to start at the
most indented key/value from the name key and work backwards.

- Name Key <--|
- Sub Key 1 ---|
<--- |
-Sub Key 2 * Start Here and set permissions and delete -|

Otherwise, I'd use a tool to reset the entire Registry Permissions back
to default.
http://winonline.blogspot.com/2005/11/reset-entire-registry-permissions-to.html
*I wouldn't do the global reset without an Image or verified backup.

Boot to Safe Mode and retry the ACL changes/deletion.

On Nov 1, 6:33 pm, "R. McCarty" <[email protected]>
wrote:
Registry Keys/Values have privileges assigned to them. Certain groups
or individual users may not have "Rights" to modify or delete a key.
To
overcome that you have to Right Click the Key name, Click Permissions
add your login name to the ACL ( Access Control List ) and then grant
yourself full privileges. Some keys/values are locked and only allow
you
to change from Safe Mode.

news:[email protected]...

Hi. When trying to uninstall a program, I got an error message
("Error
1402: Could not open key [key...]) etc. After backing up the
registry,
I went into regedit, found the key, and tried to delete it manually.
When I try to open it, I get an "Error while opening key" message,
and
"Error while deleting key" when I try to delete it.
It seems like something is corrupted in the registry, but I'm no
expert there, and I wouldn't want to mess with it, besides not
knowing
where to begin. Can anyone help me out?

The key, if it matters, is:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Implemented Categories
and also
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Programmable

Thanks, I tried that, but I get an "Unable to save permission
changes...Access is denied" message. (I am using an administrator
account.)
Also, when I click "Advanced" and go to the Owner tab, under Current
Owner it says "Unable to display current owner." Is that significant?

No luck once again; I logged in under Administrator and went to
permissions but it already showed Administrator as having all
privileges. I also went to the Ownership tab under Advanced, and it
displayed the owner as
"S-1-5-21-3287201994-1979570389-645809190-1011"; I was able to change
the owner to GEOFFREY\Administrator and GEOFFREY\Administrators, but I
still couldn't delete it. (GEOFFREY is my computer's name )
Maybe this isn't a permissions problem?

 

[Robert Colgan]

in message

Hi. When trying to uninstall a program, I got an error message
("Error
1402: Could not open key [key...]) etc. After backing up the
registry,
I went into regedit, found the key, and tried to delete it
manually.
When I try to open it, I get an "Error while opening key" message,
and
"Error while deleting key" when I try to delete it.
It seems like something is corrupted in the registry, but I'm no
expert there, and I wouldn't want to mess with it, besides not
knowing
where to begin. Can anyone help me out?
The key, if it matters, is:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Implemented Categories
and also
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Programmable
Registry Keys/Values have privileges assigned to them. Certain
groups
or individual users may not have "Rights" to modify or delete a
key. To
overcome that you have to Right Click the Key name, Click
Permissions
add your login name to the ACL ( Access Control List ) and then
grant
yourself full privileges. Some keys/values are locked and only
allow you
to change from Safe Mode.

Thanks, I tried that, but I get an "Unable to save permission
changes...Access is denied" message. (I am using an administrator
account.)
Also, when I click "Advanced" and go to the Owner tab, under Current
Owner it says "Unable to display current owner." Is that
significant?

Are you an administrator in a domain login for your host, or are you
logging on under a local admin account? Being an admin for your host
under a domain doesn't necessarily give you *full* admin privileges.

Did you use your admin-level account or did you relogin under the
Administrator account?

In safe mode there were the regular user name choices, plus
"Administrator", which I logged in to. I suppose that is the local
admin account.

 

[Robert Colgan]

One process for removing Registry keys like you have is to start at the
most indented key/value from the name key and work backwards.

- Name Key <--|
- Sub Key 1 ---|
<--- |
-Sub Key 2 * Start Here and set permissions and delete -|

Otherwise, I'd use a tool to reset the entire Registry Permissions back
to default.http://winonline.blogspot.com/2005/11/reset-entire-registry-permissio...
*I wouldn't do the global reset without an Image or verified backup.

Boot to Safe Mode and retry the ACL changes/deletion.

On Nov 1, 6:33 pm, "R. McCarty" <[email protected]>
wrote:
Registry Keys/Values have privileges assigned to them. Certain groups
or individual users may not have "Rights" to modify or delete a key.
To
overcome that you have to Right Click the Key name, Click Permissions
add your login name to the ACL ( Access Control List ) and then grant
yourself full privileges. Some keys/values are locked and only allow
you
to change from Safe Mode.

Hi. When trying to uninstall a program, I got an error message
("Error
1402: Could not open key [key...]) etc. After backing up the
registry,
I went into regedit, found the key, and tried to delete it manually.
When I try to open it, I get an "Error while opening key" message,
and
"Error while deleting key" when I try to delete it.
It seems like something is corrupted in the registry, but I'm no
expert there, and I wouldn't want to mess with it, besides not
knowing
where to begin. Can anyone help me out?
The key, if it matters, is:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Implemented Categories
and also
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Programmable
Thanks, I tried that, but I get an "Unable to save permission
changes...Access is denied" message. (I am using an administrator
account.)
Also, when I click "Advanced" and go to the Owner tab, under Current
Owner it says "Unable to display current owner." Is that significant?

No luck once again; I logged in under Administrator and went to
permissions but it already showed Administrator as having all
privileges. I also went to the Ownership tab under Advanced, and it
displayed the owner as
"S-1-5-21-3287201994-1979570389-645809190-1011"; I was able to change
the owner to GEOFFREY\Administrator and GEOFFREY\Administrators, but I
still couldn't delete it. (GEOFFREY is my computer's name )
Maybe this isn't a permissions problem?

Well now that I'm back out of Safe Mode, it does seem to have done
something -- the name key is still there but the subkeys that I
mentioned before, "Implemented Categories" and "Programmable", and
their contents are both gone. I tried the uninstallation again, but it
still didn't work, and I get the "Unable to delete" error message when
I try to delete the name key. I could try going back into Safe Mode to
delete the name key.

 

[VanguardLH]

One process for removing Registry keys like you have is to start at
the
most indented key/value from the name key and work backwards.

- Name Key <--|
- Sub Key 1 ---|
<--- |
-Sub Key 2 * Start Here and set permissions and delete -|

Otherwise, I'd use a tool to reset the entire Registry Permissions
back
to
default.http://winonline.blogspot.com/2005/11/reset-entire-registry-permissio...
*I wouldn't do the global reset without an Image or verified
backup.

On Nov 1, 6:56 pm, "R. McCarty"
<[email protected]>
wrote:
Boot to Safe Mode and retry the ACL changes/deletion.

On Nov 1, 6:33 pm, "R. McCarty"
<[email protected]>
wrote:
Registry Keys/Values have privileges assigned to them.
Certain groups
or individual users may not have "Rights" to modify or delete
a key.
To
overcome that you have to Right Click the Key name, Click
Permissions
add your login name to the ACL ( Access Control List ) and
then grant
yourself full privileges. Some keys/values are locked and
only allow
you
to change from Safe Mode.

news:[email protected]...

Hi. When trying to uninstall a program, I got an error
message
("Error
1402: Could not open key [key...]) etc. After backing up
the
registry,
I went into regedit, found the key, and tried to delete it
manually.
When I try to open it, I get an "Error while opening key"
message,
and
"Error while deleting key" when I try to delete it.
It seems like something is corrupted in the registry, but
I'm no
expert there, and I wouldn't want to mess with it, besides
not
knowing
where to begin. Can anyone help me out?

The key, if it matters, is:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Implemented Categories
and also
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{97DD9C11-2299-460C-BC4F-177C72FBDB5F}
\Programmable

Thanks, I tried that, but I get an "Unable to save permission
changes...Access is denied" message. (I am using an
administrator
account.)
Also, when I click "Advanced" and go to the Owner tab, under
Current
Owner it says "Unable to display current owner." Is that
significant?

No luck once again; I logged in under Administrator and went to
permissions but it already showed Administrator as having all
privileges. I also went to the Ownership tab under Advanced, and
it
displayed the owner as
"S-1-5-21-3287201994-1979570389-645809190-1011"; I was able to
change
the owner to GEOFFREY\Administrator and GEOFFREY\Administrators,
but I
still couldn't delete it. (GEOFFREY is my computer's name )
Maybe this isn't a permissions problem?

Well now that I'm back out of Safe Mode, it does seem to have done
something -- the name key is still there but the subkeys that I
mentioned before, "Implemented Categories" and "Programmable", and
their contents are both gone. I tried the uninstallation again, but
it
still didn't work, and I get the "Unable to delete" error message
when
I try to delete the name key. I could try going back into Safe Mode
to
delete the name key.

I forget the character but it is possible to name a registry key so
that it cannot be deleted using regedit.exe because of a parsing
problem. I believe it is the NUL character. The programmer can
specify any hex string they want as the keyname and that can include a
NUL character. When you try to delete the key, you are selecting it
and then trying to remove it but the displayed name is used but that
doesn't include the NUL character. Malware uses this. Some copy
protection schemes, too (I think I saw this scheme used for a subkey
used by SecureROM). Regedit won't give you the means to delete a key
that contains a NUL character.

SysInternals to the rescue again with their RegDelNul utility.