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Hi, I am new to this site, I hope I can get some help here.
OK, I am pretty computer friendly and usually am able to fix any problems I encounter, but today I ran into something that has never happened and am very lost.

I was playing around with Microsoft XP Power toys and then I uninstalled it when suddenly half of my programs disappeared from the "Add/Remove Programs" and the programs that ARE still there don’t have any options to uninstall/remove/change.
Here is a screen shot:


I think I screwed up the PC by messing around with Power Toys or do the 2 have nothing to do with each other?
I have been on the net for hours now trying to find a solution and all the forums direct me to the Registry keys with instructions on how to uninstall programs manually, though I am not looking to uninstall anything, I just want to know why most of my programs are not even showing up in the list?

Any help would be greatly appreciate it, I am fed up with this problem and am this close to reformat the PC which is a pain in the neck.

Thanks in advance.

C. Weber

hello MasterCheskeW and welcome to techspot. perhaps you should first try a systems restore, assuming that you haven't already done so

Tomrca,
Thanks for responding, I have done 3 different system restores and at the end of the process it says "Windows is unable to restore to this point, no changes were made" (not exact language)

I also ran a full system virus scan, spyware, ad-aware the whole 9 yards, and so far nothing works.
I do have Symantec anti-virus and i didnt get any alerts or anything.

any other ideas?
would a Hijackthis log help?

Thank you again,

C. Weber

not to dishearten you but, norton is the last av i would trust!
you could try a repair, some information here on repairs http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic8356-18.html by rick

do an hjt scan and post that as a tester

Tomrca,
this is the hjt log, from what I see there is nothing wrong there, then again I don’t know that much about computers, and I don’t use Norton anti-virus in fact I don’t use any virus scanner, instead I used the Corporate edition of Symantec, I got it from my office.
Is there anything you see in this log out of the ordinary?
Thanks once again,

C. Weber

P.S The log file was too large and wouldnt let me post it here, so I had to attach it.

Attached Files

HJT Log.txt (11.0 KB, 2 views)

would run hjt once more, this time change its name to 'analyze this' place it in its own folder C:/prog files/hijack this/ analyzethis.exe v2

the reason for this is that there are a couple of bugs that hide from it under its original name.
couple of slightly doubtful entries but nothing big

I suspect this may be what you did:

Use the TweakUI PowerToy to remove the program from the list of installed software. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double- click TweakUI.
2. Click the Add\Remove tab, click the program that you want to remove, and then click Remove.
3. Click OK, and then close Control Panel.

So you need to reverse the changed settings. If this is what you used (TweakUI), see if and you can get into it and get the Add/Remove icon re-appear from the Control Panel)

If this will not work, you will have to change the Registry settings back. This calls for a RegEdit, so backup the registry before making changes:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q141697/ NOTE: these are the instructions to hide the programs- you need to undo.

Hello! Glad to be aboard.

download CCleaner (crap cleaner). Use it religiously along with its registry repair tools.

MasterCheskeW, have you read and tried the recent suggestions?