Huge blank space in WinXP "Add or Remove Programs"
lisa harkema
Programs" application, there is this huge blank space midway between
applications that has no buttons to remove it.
What is this huge blank space and how do I fix this?
A "normal" program seems to take up less than an inch of vertical
space in the WinXP "Add or Remove Programs" applet, and it has a
button or two to control the removal or repair of the programs.
This huge blank space takes up about two feet of vertical space (many
scrolls worth) and has no buttons to remove it. It _can_ be selected
so that may be the secret to removal.
Does anyone know what this huge blank selectable space is in the
add/remove programs applet and how to remove it?
Yves Leclerc
problem (usually when AutoCAD is installed.)
--
---
Y.
lisa harkema
<lisa.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>I don't know how to describe this but in my Windows XP "Add or Remove
>Programs" application, there is this huge blank space midway between
>applications that has no buttons to remove it.
I tried using the suggested WinXP command:
c:\> REGSVR32 APPWIZ.CPL
Which executed successfully but did not cure the huge (two feet long)
blank space in the Windows XP Add/Remove programs application.
Any other idea?
Alias
Might be adware/malware or even virus. Suggest you download, install and
then run "Spyware Doctor" from http://www.pctools.com/
I had something similar to what you describe here and Spyware Doctor was the
only thing that fixed it.
Alternatively, you can try doing a repair using your windows CD.
If both suggestions above fail, you may have to reinstall windows from
scratch.
-Alias
lisa harkema
<yveslecl...@sympatico.ca> wrote:
>Do you "happen" to have AutoCAD installed? Kelly's Korner has a fix for this
>problem (usually when AutoCAD is installed.)
No. I do not have AutoCad but I appreciate the help.
The huge blank space in Add/Remove Programs appears between:
CCleaner
<huge blank space>
Forte Agent
In the related section of the Windows XP registry:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
I find the following correlation:
CCleaner
DXM_Runtime
FileChecker_is1
Fontcore
Forte Agent
Where both the "DXM_Runtime" and "Fontcore" (whatever they are)
listings have only one line in the registry:
Name=Default Type=REG_SZ Data=(value not set)
Any idea what this blank space in add/remove programs is and how to
remove it?
Lisa
Eric
RemoveWhitespaceFromAddRemovePrograms.EXE
I don't remember where I downloaded it from, but it fixes that.
"lisa harkema" <lisa.h...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:heddi29llsa7srufl...@4ax.com...
John John
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=266668
John
lisa harkema
<Al...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>Use http://www.pctools.com/
I downloaded, installed, and ran the suggested Registry Mechanic
http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/download/
In the "Add/Remove Programs" section, it found 9 'problems' all of
which it listed as Low Priority/Value is Invalid" and which were
listed by their really long numerical designation.
When I tried to delete them with the Registry Mechanic, it wouldn't
delete them (it asked for a key of some sort).
Is there some trick to getting the Registry Mechanic to delete these
entries (how do I know they are what is causing the blank space)?
Lisa
LittleMoo
program that creates bad/poorly formatted uninstall information in the
registry.
X-Setup Pro helped me to fix it:
http://www.download.com/X-Setup-Pro/3000-2094_4-10535614.html?tag=lst-0-1
It's not free, but it's 30 day trial period should give you enough time to
work the problem out.
Download it, install it, run it, go to Wizards.
Click on Select Wizard, go to System, then to Software Installation Wizard.
Click on it.
Click next to get to the list of installed programs.
Some of the programs might look like they're installed twice, but they're
not so don't worry about them.
Now fire up Windows Add/Remove Programs. Make sure it's sorting by name.
With them side by side start going down the lists in both looking for
matches of installed programs in both X-Setup and Add/Remove programs.
After you find and match occurances of the program that's right above the
big space then the next entry in X-Setup should be your problem entry.
Verify this by going to the bottom of the big space and verifying that the
entry in X-Setup isn't either on the top or bottom of the big space or
anywhere else in Add/Remove Programs.
This will be your problem program, that put bad/poorly formatted uninstaller
information into the registry.
With this program selected in X-Setup click Delete.
Note: this won't delete the program, only the uninstall information of the
program in the registry.
Make sure that there aren't any more bad (mismatched) entries, then restart
your computer.
Your big space should be gone.
-Dan
"lisa harkema" <lisa.h...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:heddi29llsa7srufl...@4ax.com...
Rock
There are other ways to resolve this issue. You don't need a registry
cleaner. They can cause more problems than they solve.
--
Rock [ MVP User/Shell]
lisa harkema
wrote:
>Add/Remove Programs tool displays installed programs incorrectly
>http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=266668
I tried using that Microsoft-suggested WinXP command:
lisa harkema
wrote:
>I had a problem like this not too long ago - it's caused by an installed
>program that creates bad/poorly formatted uninstall information in the
>registry.
>
>X-Setup Pro helped me to fix it:
>http://www.download.com/X-Setup-Pro/3000-2094_4-10535614.html?tag=lst-0-1
Unfortunately I tried multiple times to download this
"Setup-8.1.100.zip" p rogram from
http://www.download.com/3001-2094_4-10535614.html but the results are
that "The compressed (zipped) folder is invalid or corrupted".
I'll try another location.
Lisa
John John
problem. The article describes a series of step to do until the problem
is resolved. It says:
1. Click Start, click Run, and then type CMD.
2. At the prompt, type REGSVR32 APPWIZ.CPL.
3. If this fails, ...
You stopped there, you have to go to the other steps until you get it
fixed, ultimately if you may need to reinstall Internet Explorer to fix
the problem, with Windows XP SP2 you have to reinstall SP2 to reinstall
IE. Maybe you should try to find
RemoveWhitespaceFromAddRemovePrograms.EXE that Eric suggested, it might
be the best way for you to fix this.
John
lisa harkema
>"Setup-8.1.100.zip" p rogram from
>http://www.download.com/3001-2094_4-10535614.html but the results are
>that "The compressed (zipped) folder is invalid or corrupted".
I found plenty of newer versions (version 8.1.110) of X-Setup-Pro at:
http://xqdc-x-setup-pro.en.softonic.com/ie/43126
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4083.html
http://www.x-setup.net/downloads/home.asp
etc.
I downloaded, unzipped, installed, and ran X-Setup-Pro.
Now I'm trying to figure out which option is supposed to fix the
add/remove programs blank white space.
Any suggestions?
Lisa
lisa harkema
>I downloaded, unzipped, installed, and ran X-Setup-Pro.
>Now I'm trying to figure out which option is supposed to fix the
>add/remove programs blank white space.
Oooh. I see LittleMoo provided full and complete instructions already.
I'll try them and report back in a few minutes.
Lisa
lisa harkema
wrote:
>program that creates bad/poorly formatted uninstall information in the
>registry.
Wow. Excellent instructions. You're probably the best on the Internet
as nobody writes instructions as well as you do. I followed them
perfectly for http://www.x-setup.net/downloads/home.asp
The first thing I noticed when I put the Windows Add/Remove Programs
list next to the X-Setup-Pro listing of installed programs was that
there were some programs that X-Setup-Pro noticed that Windows doesn't
seem to list, like:
- AOLIcon
Nonetheless, the program names listed between the last program before
the huge white space and the first program after the huge white space
in the add/remove programs panel are:
- ELIcon
- FileChecker v1.7
I didn't know what "AOLIcon" or "ELIcon" were, but, I knew what
"FileChecker" was so I went directly to the uninstaller in the hard
disk FileChecker installation directory and uninstalled the errant
JavaCools software by clicking on the supplied uninstaller.
The good news is that alone solved the problem!
I no longer have a huge space (two feet long) in the middle of my
windows xp add/remove programs control panel applet!
Apparently JavaCools "FileChecker" version 1.7 (Sept. 18, 2002) from:
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/filechecker.html
has a bug in it wherby it creates a bad display icon in the add/remove
programs applet that can only be removed by extraordinary means!
Someone should tell JavaCools.
Thank you for all your help!
Lisa
Download X-Setup-Pro, install it, run it, go to Wizards.
Click on Select Wizard, go to System, then to Software Installation
Wizard. Click on it. Click next to get to the list of installed
programs. Some of the programs might look like they're installed
twice, but they're not so don't worry about them. Now fire up Windows
Add/Remove Programs. Make sure it's sorting by name. With them side by
side start going down the lists in both looking for matches of
installed programs in both X-Setup and Add/Remove programs. After you
find and match occurances of the program that's right above the big
space then the next entry in X-Setup should be your problem entry.
Verify this by going to the bottom of the big space and verifying that
the entry in X-Setup isn't either on the top or bottom of the big
space or anywhere else in Add/Remove Programs. This will be your
problem program, that put bad/poorly formatted uninstaller information
into the registry. With this program selected in X-Setup click Delete.
Note: this won't delete the program, only the uninstall information of
the program in the registry. Make sure that there aren't any more bad
(mismatched) entries, then restart your computer. Your big add/remove
programs space should be gone.
lisa harkema
wrote:
>Search for and download this exe.
>RemoveWhitespaceFromAddRemovePrograms.EXE
>I don't remember where I downloaded it from, but it fixes that.
I downloaded and ran the RemoveWhitespaceFromAddRemovePrograms.exe
http://www.christensen-software.com/freeware/RemoveWhitespaceFromAddRemovePrograms.exe
Apparently this freeware from Christiansen Software renames blank
registry entries' display icons from:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstalll\<appname>\DisplayIcon
to
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstalll\<appname>\BackupDisplayIcon
Where "DisplayIcon" is changed to "BackupDisplayIcon".
This freeware from Christiansen Software reported:
Icon not found in file:
"C:\Program Files\windows media player\wmplayer.exe"
"C:\Program Files\windows media player\wmplayer.exe"
"C:\Program Files\NetWaiting\MOH.exe"
(Yes, the wmplayer was listed twice.)
But the blank space remained.
Any suggestions?
Lisa
lisa harkema
wrote:
>Search for and download this exe.
>RemoveWhitespaceFromAddRemovePrograms.EXE
>I don't remember where I downloaded it from, but it fixes that.
I downloaded and ran the RemoveWhitespaceFromAddRemovePrograms.exe
LittleMoo
-Dan
"lisa harkema" <lisa.h...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:53qdi2hs81hl8kn7f...@4ax.com...
D. Spencer Hines
software.
I would never install something called "JavaCool FileChecker" on my system.
DSH
"lisa harkema" <lisa.h...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:53qdi2hs81hl8kn7f...@4ax.com...
Lew/+Silat
"D. Spencer Hines" <pogue...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:eRZpFbc6...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> This is what you get by indiscriminately installing flakey third-party
> software.
>
> I would never install something called "JavaCool FileChecker" on my
> system.
>
> DSH
Hmmmm let me educate you then !
Javacool is a reputable site. They make spywareblaster and spywareguard.
They are recommended by everyone in the know about protecting your computer.
--
Lew/+Silat
lisa harkema
wrote:
>Glad to hear that this helped, and thanks for keeping us updated.
Hi Dan,
I hank YOU (and the others who advised me) and I thank both
X-Setup-Pro and JavaCools for allowing me to use their software, free
of charge.
JavaCools makes great stuff.
I did some more testing and found what I think is the problem in the
JavaCools FileChecker program. It doesn't seem to like being installed
into a non-program-files directory.
SOME BACKGROUND:
a) I never install into the "C:\Program Files" directory (ever).
b) Why not?
c) Because it's a royal mess, without any hierarchy, and sorted by
brand name, of all things.
I installed into c:\programs
Without even rebooting, I was able to reproduce the problem.
Can someone else confirm this?
Do this:
1) Download JavaCools FileChecker 1.7 (filecheckersetup.exe)
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/filechecker.html
2) DO NOT INSTALL IT INTO PROGRAM FILES
DO NOT INSTALL INTO A FLAT DIRECTORY
3) Install the full installation it into an intelligent hierarchy
such as c:\added\os\FileChecker
Now, the wierd part is that I installed and uninstalled JavaCools
FileChecker about a dozen times in this test, and, near the end, I was
getting DIFFERENT answers than in the beginning. In the end, it always
installed OK into the add/remove programs control panel, even if I did
put it in an intelligent software hierarchy.
So, I think I'd have to say this problem, if not reproduced by you, is
unreproducible (again) by me. Perhaps something that was missing (like
a display icon) was created in one of my tests and now exists where it
did not exist before???
Lisa (a bit more confused than I was before I started this testing)
lisa harkema
<pogue...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>This is what you get by indiscriminately installing flakey
> third-party software.
>I would never install something called "JavaCool FileChecker" on my system.
I think this bug is just like many software bugs in that it happens on
some systems and not on others.
The JavaCools folks (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com) are very well
respected, and, we should keep in mind this is freeware that we THANK
them for allowing us the privilage of using, free of charge.
The software from JavaCools is first rate, first class, and loved by
many. They supply us, free of charge, great programs such as
SpywareBlaster (kills spyware) and MRU-Blaster (removes most recently
used tattleware) and ID-Blaster Plus (removes more tattleware) and Doc
Scrubber (removes MS Word tattleware), etc.
In the case of the JavaCools FileChecker (reports tampering of
important files), it hasn't been updated since September of 2002 so I
can't blame JavaCools for bugs when run in recent WinXP service pack
updates.
Besides, we have not proven that FileChecker CAUSED the problem; all
we know is that removing FileChecker REMOVED the problem. The problem
may have been caused by some other factor (such as my daily use of
CCLeaner or MRU-Blaster registry cleaners).
I guess I could try to reproduce the problem by re-installing
JavaCools FileChecker .... OK ... you talked me into it ... I'll do
that and let you know if it returns.
Lisa
lisa harkema
I'm top posting so that the next person with the same problem gets the
solution sooner ...
Apparently, a huge blank space (mine is about two feet long) in the
WinXP Add or Remove Programs application is due to three causes:
1. (Verbatim from Kelly's Korner referenced below)
This is generally due to the DisplayIcon having a negative number.
From here you can either remove the negative number or remove the last
application listed: Start/Run/Regedit:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{}
2. (Verbatim from Alan Edwards' post referenced below)
The uninstall keyname for an application is greater than 63
characters.
Solution: Rename the keyname.
e.g. this is invalid
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234]
3. (Verbatim from Alan Edwards' post referenced below)
The DisplayName for the key is greater than 63 characters.
Solution: Shorten DisplayName
e.g. this is invalid
"DisplayName"="1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234"
*** Note that the invalid entry that can cause this is not necessarily
connected with the ones missing so you must check all entries.
In my particular case, I used "X-Setup Pro" as per Dan (LittleMoo) to
generate an accurate add/remove programs listing which I then compared
to the WinXP add or remove programs listing ... and finding that the
delta was JavaCools' FileChecker v1.7, I simply removed FileChecker
and the problem went away.
Thank you all for your help and I hope this thread helps many others
in the future.
Lisa & Rich
REFERENCES:
http://www.mcse.ms/archive54-2005-2-1425335.html
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_abc.htm
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_a.htm#ws
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/regs_edits/autocadaddremovefix.zip
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/regs_edits/autodesk-landdesktop3-addremovefix.zip
http://www.x-setup.net/downloads/home.asp (identified the problem)
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=266668 (too complicated for me)
http://groups.google.co.in/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/3632fda54259d28e?hl=en&
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support/browse_frm/thread/24a08ab9664f760/d4c4c860b2474284?lnk=gst&q=add+remove+programs+blank+space&rnum=11#d4c4c860b2474284
Lil' Abner
See http://forumz.tomshardware.com/software/Add-Remove-Programs-empty-space-ftopict170295.html
Short version: http://tinyurl.com/khof4
A couple of years ago I sent someone's machine home with the long blank
space still in there because I never could figure it out. But according
to this discussion, there IS a solution.
D. Spencer Hines
> On Sat, 7 Oct 2006 05:12:03 +0100, "D. Spencer Hines"
> <pogue...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>This is what you get by indiscriminately installing flakey
>> third-party software.
>>I would never install something called "JavaCool FileChecker" on my
>>system.
>
> I think this bug is just like many software bugs in that it happens on
> some systems and not on others.
>
> The JavaCools folks (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com) are very well
> respected, and, we should keep in mind this is freeware that we THANK
> them for allowing us the privilage [sic] of using, free of charge.
Horse Manure.
That is the root of the problem. Foolish people see something is FREE!!! --
so they leap before looking and install shoddy freeware, which turns out to
be malware, on their systems.
Fools Reap The Wages Of Sin -- By Installing Shoddy Freeware, Churned Out By
Careless Rampant Pogues, Who Want Gratis Beta Testers.
> The software from JavaCools is first rate, first class, and loved by
> many. They supply us, free of charge, great programs such as
> SpywareBlaster (kills spyware) and MRU-Blaster (removes most recently
> used tattleware) and ID-Blaster Plus (removes more tattleware) and Doc
> Scrubber (removes MS Word tattleware), etc.
Again, you'd never find me using something from a firm that calls itself
"JavaCools".
> In the case of the JavaCools FileChecker (reports tampering of
> important files), it hasn't been updated since September of 2002 so I
> can't blame JavaCools for bugs when run in recent WinXP service pack
> updates.
Right! So you shouldn't have installed it in the First Place.
Duhhhhh!
> Besides, we have not proven that FileChecker CAUSED the problem; all
> we know is that removing FileChecker REMOVED the problem. The problem
> may have been caused by some other factor (such as my daily use of
> CCLeaner or MRU-Blaster registry cleaners).
Or a fairy-gremlin could have done it while you were sleeping. <g>
> I guess I could try to reproduce the problem by re-installing
> JavaCools FileChecker .... OK ... you talked me into it ... I'll do
> that and let you know if it returns.
O.K. Good Luck
DSH
>
> Lisa
D. Spencer Hines
> On Fri, 6 Oct 2006 22:15:30 -0400, "LittleMoo" <This...@My.Email>
> wrote:
>
>>Glad to hear that this helped, and thanks for keeping us updated.
>
> Hi Dan,
> I hank [sic] YOU (and the others who advised me) and I thank both
> X-Setup-Pro and JavaCools for allowing me to use their software, free
> of charge.
Hilarious!
And your TIME is not worth anything?
The TIME you spent figuring out what the problem was and fixing it.
Meanwhile you were serving as an unpaid beta tester for JavaCools.
VERY Amusing!
P.T. Barnum was right...
DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Veritas Vos Liberabit
dragon1
and 1/2 of blank space in the middle , except it also has HUGE black bar code
type thingys too. I'm not sure I am adept enough to attempt a removal as
Lisa did...I'm far from being a geek or nerd...lol...guess I'll just live
with it.
Bob I
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/software/Add-Remove-Programs-empty-space-ftopict170295.html
Unknown
> dragon1 wrote:
> > Guess what...my brand new Dell has the same thing going on...nearly a foot
> > and 1/2 of blank space in the middle , except it also has HUGE black bar code
> > type thingys too. I'm not sure I am adept enough to attempt a removal as
> > Lisa did...I'm far from being a geek or nerd...lol...guess I'll just live
> > with it.
>
> This thread sorts most causes.
> http://forumz.tomshardware.com/software/Add-Remove-Programs-empty-space-ftopict170295.html
I'm not comfortable with a lot of the things written about this issue. There's a lot of misleading guidance.
For one thing, using a negative icon index is valid and Windows uses them in a lot of places.
Second, you don't just up and uninstall a program you use to solve this issue, you fix the issue by correcting the errant registry
entry.
Next, it's not the programs themselves, it was an old version of InnoSetup that had a bug but has long since been fixed.
Most important of all, Microsoft themselves frequently create faulty uninstall entries for Windows updates. I've lost track of the
number of times that JoneSoft Uninstall (the ARP replacement I use) has had problems because some Windows update was missing an
string. I simply add the missing string and everything is fine.
Oh, and just ignore anything that Hines character says, JavaCool is a very good developer who maintains SpywareBlaster (I guess
Hines is either too dense to understand and care about security, or is rich enough-and foolish enough-to think that buying expensive
software is the only way to go-he's quite arrogant and patronizing too.)
--
Alec S.
news/alec->synetech/cjb/net