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April 09, 2003 12:00 AM

Why can't I run the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs applet under Windows 2000 and later?

Windows IT Pro
InstantDoc ID #38595
Rating: (27)

A. The Control Panel Add/Remove Programs applet might stop running if your system is missing some required registry entries. To resolve this problem, you must add the necessary entries to the registry by performing the following steps:

  1. Start a command session by going to Start, Run and typing
    cmd
  2. Enter each of the following commands (click OK to each confirmation that appears):
    regsvr32 mshtml.dll
    regsvr32 shdocvw.dll -i
    regsvr32 shell32.dll -i 
  3. Close the command session by typing
    exit 

You should now be able to start the Add/Remove Programs applet. If the applet still won't run, you might be missing a file; to check, use the system file checker (SFC) to check for and replace missing or corrupt files by performing the following steps:

  1. Start a command session by going to Start, Run and typing
    cmd 
  2. Enter each of the following commands (the system might prompt you to enter the installation media during this process):
    sfc /purgecache
    sfc /scannow 
  3. Restart the computer.

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Comments
  • Anonymous User
    7 years ago
    Jul 24, 2005

    This is a life saver solution!!!! Thanks a lot!!

  • Anonymous User
    7 years ago
    Jul 23, 2005

    Great goodness.. thanks SO much for this article.. it was a last-chance attempt to fix my computer myself before taking it into the shop. I simply downloaded SP2 two days ago, and since then Explorer was encountering an error and had to close upon starting my computer.. everything i did had to be through Run commands and Command Prompt screens. I just wanted to thank you for this article.. truely saved me a lot of trouble.. if i had needed to reboot windows i would have lost my mind!

  • Anonymous User
    7 years ago
    Jun 01, 2005

    Thanks, Worked great and saved me much time!

  • Anonymous User
    7 years ago
    May 31, 2005

    Great thanks

  • Anonymous User
    7 years ago
    May 19, 2005

    Much appreciated for the reference\\support

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