Add/Remove Programs - Change/Remove Button is Missing!

Discussion in 'Software' started by themediachick, Mar 20, 2008.

  1. themediachick

    themediachick Private E-2

    Hi all,

    I just went to uninstall a program and found that the Change/Remove button is missing for almost all entries in Add/Remove Programs.

    Out of curiosity, I just scanned the registry with CCleaner, and most of the programs I have installed showed up as an Uninstaller Reference Issue.

    Does anyone know how this could have happened, or what I need to do to fix it?

    During the past couple of days I've received some help here for something very minor, which I don't think is related. Here's the link to the thread:
    http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=154644

    Incidentally, a few hours ago I uninstalled a small program with no problems, so it's just occurred.

    Thanks!

    P.S. Running Windows XP with all updates.
     
  2. jujet84

    jujet84 Master Sergeant

    * "Quote"

    Click Start, Run and type REGEDIT. This starts the Registry Editor. Navigate to:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
    \SOFTWARE
    \Microsoft
    \Windows
    \CurrentVersion
    \Uninstall
    \<Program Name>

    <Program Name> here is Adobe Acrobat 5.0 - Taken as an example

    *

    In the right-pane, do the following:

    Double-click NoRemove (REG_DWORD) and set it to 0
    Double-click NoModify (REG_DWORD) and set it to 0

    If NoRemove is set to 1, the Remove button will be unavailable
    If NoModify is set to 1, the Change button will be unavailable
     
  3. themediachick

    themediachick Private E-2

    Thanks for your suggestion. I actually already searched and found that, but when I navigate to that part of the registry, here's all I have:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{3248F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0160050}
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{508CE775-4BA4-4748-82DF-FE28DA9F03B0}
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\HijackThis

    Everything else is missing. The first entry seems to be related to Java, and the second one Windows Live Messenger. I just don't understand how this suddenly occurred. Do I have any other option aside from a system restore?

    Thanks...:eek:



    ___________________________-



    Ok, I've been searching again & it seems that this is a common problem, but no one has found a fix. The one thing I did find that seems like it may be a possibility for me is something that I'm a little bit confused about. I'm familiar with what they're talking about, but not exactly sure what I should do to check. Could you take a look at this thread and let me know if you can guide me through?

    http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=625935&page=2

    Thanks!
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2008
  4. plodr

    plodr Major Geek Super Extraordinaire

    1. Start/Run then type in regedit
    Note: if you are going to be changing things in the registry, it is always a good idea to make a backup. We will get to exactly what to back up in a moment.
    2. Navigate to
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
    When you get to this point by clicking the + signs, it is time to backup
    click on Registry at the top and select Export registry file. Save it to your desktop so it is easy to find.
    3. Once you click the + sign in front Uninstall, you will see some things {letters and numbers}, followed by a listing of your installed programs.
    Click on one of the installed programs then
    In the right-pane, do the following:
    Double-click NoRemove (REG_DWORD) and set it to 0
    Double-click NoModify (REG_DWORD) and set it to 0

    Yours probably are currently at 1 that is why you can not remove nor change them.

    I would say do two or then then close regedit and look in ad/remove to see if the two or three that you worked on show the change. If so, go through all the steps again (you don't have to export the registry at this point) and when you are finished, all your programs should now have the Change/Remove button available.
     
  5. themediachick

    themediachick Private E-2

    Thanks plodr.....I think that's the same suggestion I got earlier, to which I explained that I've already tried & can't do it because the the programs are all missing when I check that part of the registry.

    I've been searching & searching for a fix for this & have found that it's not an uncommon problem. For the most part, unless the fix that you suggested works, you're out of luck. No one seems to be able to find a way to correct it other than doing a system restore. That's what I've ended up doing, & everything is fine again.

    From what I've been reading, this problem is usually caused because of a program's uninstaller corrupting the registry, mostly by removing entries that it shouldn't. That would make sense for me, since only a couple of hours earlier I uninstalled a program. Just surprised because it wasn't a big one at all. Oh well!

    Thanks for your help.... :)
     

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