uninstalling programs

On my windows 2000 computer I can't uninstall any program. I run an uninstaller and it tells me it could not open INSTALL.LOG

Any program I try to uninstall it says this. I checked the file, and it didn't seem corrupt. Have any ideas on how to help? My hard drive space is getting low and I need to clean house.



The specs for the computer are:
- Windows 2000 Service Pack 2
- Pentium4 2.0 Ghz
- 512 mb DDR RAM
- TDK VeloCD 48x16x48 CD/RW drive
- MSI GeForce 4 Ti 4600

 

Have you tried searching the hdd for 'install.log'? Since you're getting the message that it can't open the file it doesn't sound like it's missing, but rather either in the wrong place or corrupted (whether you can tell with the naked eye or not). If you have your Win2k disc, I would suggest exploring the disc (insert into tray>right click>explore) to see if you can find the file. If you have found it on the hdd(hard drive) and it is also on the disc then copy it from the cd to the hdd(in the same place as the old file, in other words, replacing it). To be honest I'm not sure this file is contained on the disc in an uncompressed form than can be copied but it is worth a shot. Happy hunting.

 

After looking at the file, it's just a directory of everything that the program installed during installation. How can my Windows 2000 disk have a file that tells me where I installed the Nightfire demo? I attached the INSTALL.LOG to this reply. I changed the extension because the forum software won't allow that extension.

I'm currently updating Windows 2000 to service pack 3 to see if that helps. Right now I have a lot of system instability as well.

 

Yep, you're right. The log file contains info on where things were installed and things of that nature so they can be uninstalled later. I was hoping there was a base, or core, file for it. The system instability may very well be your problem. Exactly what kind of stability problems are you having?

 

Every once in a while explorer.exe will crash and I end up restarting my computer. An example would be earlier today. I was copying about 1 gigabyt worth of data(video files) between two hard drives then halfway through it explorer crashed. It might have more to do with McAfee Viruscan and the real time scanner.

I have tons of processes and services running. Do you know the minimum I need to still have my computer work fine, and be part of a network? That would probably help a lot with instability. I know I have many unneccessary services running, but I don't know which ones I need.

 

That's actually odd to hear of Win2k crashing like that for it is one of, if not, the most reliable OS on the market. It sounds as though something is draining your resources or with all of the copying your system is scattered to the winds. Try defraging, and before you ask, the defrag that comes with Win2k will be more than adequate for the job. I recommend defraging once a week, or more if you do a lot of editing, deleting, or things of that nature that will scatter data across the hdd. For a list of system resources and what they do go to http://www.blackviper.com/. Here you will find a list of all of the resources that is included, what they do, and whether or not it is safe to turn them off. Also, are you getting any error messages just before the crash? Do the crash happen during the same operation over and over, or is it random?

 

For the most part Windows 2000 is a very reliable OS. It hasn't been crashing until recently. I don't use NT and 2000 that often because of campatibility with games, but I love many of the features not available in 9x/ME.

Crashing seems to be random for the most part. It crashed again last night while I was using the start menu. I usually have no programs running in the background. IT doesn't give me an error message other than explorer.exe crashed. I forgot exactly what is says, but I'll write it down next time it happens.

As for defragging: I use O&O religiously. I had less than ten fragmented files a few days ago until I used the internet (temporary internet files).

 

Ok, list the error the next time you get it. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say there is either a problem with the OS that needs to repaired or there is another program that is causing your headaches. Have you installed any new software just prior to your problem?

 

Also try going here: http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/win2000/n1007509751, they deal with annoyances within the windows OS. The explorer.exe problem has been addressed on this site.

 

The error message said that explorer.exe caused some errors and will now be closed. No numbers or anything.

Thanks for the links. I'll do that as soon as possible. As for install.log: I'll just wait it out. My computer is still usable, I just can't uninstall any programs automatically. Thanks for all the help.

 

Let us know how it goes. We don't like to rest until it's fixed.