Why can't I "Add/Remove Programs?"

December 21, 2007 3:16 PM

"Add/Remove Programs" in Control Panel won't let me remove some programs. Help!

My XP laptop has a gremlin. When I open the Control Panel and select "Add/Remove Programs," several of the apps do not have the "Change/Remove" option. Most do, but not all. (Naturally, the few I want to ditch don't have it.) Any suggestions?

BTW, one of the apps I want to remove (and reinstall) is the driver for my Microsoft Digital Media Pro keyboard. In the middle of a session the @$*&% keyboard will sometimes simply stop functioning. Letters, numbers, function keys and those dedicated buttons to launch e-mail and my browser - kaput. I have to reboot to bring it back to life.

Neither of these are brand-new problems, so I don't think it's something I recently installed. Any ideas will be mucho appreciated

posted by wordwhiz to computers & internet (9 comments total)

Sounds like malware.

Do a google search on the name of the software that won't uninstall, you should be able to find some instructions for uninstalling.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 3:47 PM on December 21, 2007

Might help.
posted by bjgeiger at 3:49 PM on December 21, 2007

It's definitely malware. If you follow the instructions step by step in this link, I will guarantee you it will correct the problem along with finding others problems you didn't even know you had. It's a little time consuming, but you will clean all the malware from you're computer that's a good thing. These guys know what they're doing.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 4:03 PM on December 21, 2007

It's not definitely malware. I have seen this happen because of a corrupted .NET framework installation, which was fixed by removing all traces of the framework using this tool. However, I can't make any guess as to whether that would help you.

I'd say malware is probably a better bet, in any case.
posted by crinklebat at 5:52 PM on December 21, 2007

Add/Remove Programs is not used to delete drivers. They don't usually show up there.

You need to get into the Device Manager, find the keyboard, and open its settings. One of the tabs allows you to delete the driver.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 5:59 PM on December 21, 2007

wordwhiz is saying these items do show up in Add/Remove, just that the option to remove them isn't there.

If you feel comfortable mucking about in the registry, you can look for the Add/Remove key for the program under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

There may be a DWORD value there called NoRemove set to 1. If it exists, changing that to 0 should give you back the option to remove it, assuming there's also an UninstallString entry to tell your system how to do so.
posted by JaredSeth at 6:13 PM on December 21, 2007

wordwhiz here. Thanks for all the input, folks. Why can't there just be a real-life "EASY" button?? (sigh)

A few updates and clarifications. I'll be surprised if it's malware. My antivirus (AVG) is up to date and scans for nasties nightly. I use Sygate Firewall and regularly run both Spybot and AdAware, and use Stealther and CS Lite while browsing.

fyi, the keyboard's install CD told me to go to the Control Panel and uninstall the software before reinstalling. That's where this all began. But I had previously noticed that several other apps were missing the remove/ uninstall buttons -- not just the most recent ones, either. Curious, yes, and annoying -- but nothing I can't live with.

I'm a little hesitant to muck about in the registry without adult supervision. I've been in there before (but not in a long time) and don't really relish a return visit. I will check out bjgeiger's and Mary Dellamorte's links and see what I come up with.

Bless the hive mind. You guys rock!
posted by wordwhiz at 8:56 PM on December 21, 2007

Oh yeah, the Add/remove programs list does display all my installed apps. But as JaredSeth noted, a select few are kissing the remove option.
posted by wordwhiz at 8:57 PM on December 21, 2007

argh... that's "missing," of course, not "kissing." Must. Go. Sleep. Now.
posted by wordwhiz at 8:59 PM on December 21, 2007