Add or Remove Programs is not being populated.

Question

"Please wait while the list is being populated" just hangs there.

Answer 1

I have followed the steps above.  I have lots of sub-keys under the Uninstall key.  What next?

Answer 2

I have Uninstall registry entries, lots of them.  I ran the "regsvr32 appwiz.cpl" with and without the "-i" on the end.  And nothing.   Add remove programs just hangs with the "Please wait while the list is being populated..." message.  This is windows XP.   I just updated the memory from 512MB to 2GB, and also (this may be a clue), the system had filled up the hard drive.  I've removed a couple of GB now, and am creating a disk image, and going to restore it to a larger disk.  I suspect that something got corrupted when the file system filled?  Any ideas?

Answer 3

Try this first:

Start>Run>regsvr32 appwiz.cpl [enter]

If that doesn't work, per MVP Ramesh one of the most common causes for Add/Remove Programs being blank is that a recent install/uninstall routine may have wiped out the contents of the entire "Uninstall" registry key here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

Each sub-key stores the Display Name, UninstallString information for a program that you installed. Open Regedit.exe and navigate to the above key. Check if the "Uninstall" key is empty (contains no sub-keys). In that case, your best best is to rollback the system state using System Restore.

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MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!