control panel...not control

Reboot the computer when you experience odd unexplained things like that.

are you hilighting the item first then going to the right where it gives the option to remove and selecting remove then following through the prompts?

If you are speaking of deleting an application from your system, the free REVO is currently the only way to go. Besides using the application's own uninstaller REVO independently searches and removes orphaned files and registry entries.

The only warning I have to share is if REVO reports orphaned registry entries be sure they are related to the target application. When in doubt don't delete. No guessing.

DA

Right now, I would just like add/remove to work....first thing I tried was a reboot....then a thorough scan disc and defrag...and yes, I high lighted the one I wanted removed

I hope you find the answer as I am having the same problem today.\\Lora

I was on live chat with an HP tech for hours yesterday afternoon. I honestly don't think he knew any more than I did...tech support like that is just a joke. He must have been being paid by the hour because he didn't want to let me go when I had to leave. He recommended that I reinstall my operating system, and I felt I was a long way from needing to do that. But...add/remove still doesn't work. I did disc checks, defrags, all of that sort of thing I could think of to do and still have the problem...everything else seems to be working :o(

I would start by ensuring things are as clean as they can be.

Click Start/Run and type cmd, click OK
In the black box type chkdsk /f then tap Enter. You will be advised the process will run at the next startup. Reboot and chkdsk checks the hard drive and attempts to fix any errors (that is why we had the /f typed in)

Next I would update and run either Superantispyware and/or Malwarebytes

Now see if the Add/Remove feature is working bear in mind it seems to take a dreadfully long time to populate that window.

If you have Ccleaner installed see if you can removed programs from there. Open Ccleaner, click Tools on the left side to show the list of installed programs.

I don't offer this as a fix, but at least a way to remove any program till you find the cure for the Add/Remove problem.

Owbist...I did all that scan disc stuff last night...I ran SuperAntispyware this morning and it came up with two items...I had never had any threats come up on it before. The tech from McAfee had me remove Superantispyware...can you give me the link for it so that I can get it back please. In CC, it said it would only remove the remove option for the program, but wouldn't remove the program

Loralee...it makes me feel better that I'm not the only one having this problem....misery loves company

SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

check here on the microsoft data base for possible solution options, link at bottom.

try the Microsoft fix-it
Microsoft Fix it Solution Center

this is alternative
MyUninstaller

one other thing to try is to re-register these dll files
(in DOS or "Run" box): type in the following (press enter after each command)
regsvr32 appwiz.cpl
regsvr32 mshtml.dll

can you please include what version of windows this is and also what version of Internet explorer you have on the pc, did this start to happen shortly after any microsoft udpates do you know?

to be totally clear , can you open the add remove program it self? does it open and show you the list of programs but then not allow you to remove any? when you highlight the program name does it show the remove option? if it does when you select the remove option exactly what happens? does anything change any message?
the more info we have the better we can try to root it out.

Have you tried a system restore to a previous time when it was working?

It could possibly be McAfee causing it, there are some links I am finding to certain updates. It sure would not be the first time, I know I was having a lot of very strange things happening on my pc and the minute I took McAfee off every one of them were miraculously fixed. It is a pain to uninstall it then do a re-install but if nothing else seems to work that may be an option.

read this if this is what you are seeing happen you might want to attempt this, if however you are actually seeing the remove button don't bother.
Some applications in Add/Remove Programs list are missing Change and Remove buttons ?
see this is why we MUST have every detail from your answers I have no information on if you actually see a remove button or not! I did ask this earlier and all you responded with was that you did highlight it please follow through with all the info.
Till I have the full step by step info on exactly what is happening I can not go any further.

Here is a link that might be useful: MS data base

HP computer XP Professional SP3..IE8...I downloaded Secunia and had some threats...I was able to remove all the threats except one. I went to the Secunia Community Forum and did a fix that was recommended there...then I got the error message. I did a system restore...which removed Secunia and put Adobe back the way it was....thus I got rid of that error message. Then my McAffee wouldn't work, so talked to a tech across the planet about that and now finally got it working...no credit to the tech on that. Then...I found that add/remove doesn't work...talked to another tech about that on live chat to no avail. Talked for hours until I had to leave....he said I was going to have to reinstall my OS...I didn't think so. I was trying to remove Firefox because I found that I didn't like it and it was one of the threats on Secunia...it won't uninstall with add/remove. I did all the scans OB suggested when I got home last night...also a defrag. I don't get the error message this morning. Two threats were found with Malwarebytes...I have always had that program come up clean...I removed those threats and did another scan and it came up clean. Ran my blood pressure up, I want to tell you. Things "seem" to be all right this morning except I haven't even tried to remove Firefox from add/remove...

Now the error message didn't ever show up after a reboot..it was always in the morning...are any of these things set go show up at certain intervals? It didn't show up this morning...I'll hold my breath in the morning when I turn my computer on again....

ok go to your add remove and try it see if that is working yet or not, it could well be a bug that is causing that too and maybe malwarebytes got it, on several of the threads I read looking for options they found it had been an infection that caused all of the uninstall registery entries for all programs to be erased, they found that if they reinstalled the program they then could go to add remove and remove the program. So you may want to try that if you can not remove something re-install it then go back to add remove and see if you do have the ability to remove from there. let us know and thank you for the additional info I did not realize these issues came up after you did those other things.
May be the case for that adobe too you may have to re-install it to be able to remove it or to get the error message to stop if it happens to be related to that.

I understand your desire to get add/remove working in the control panel but I also agree with damccoy that you should give the Revo Uninstaller a try. Since trying it out I never go to the control panel to uninstall because Revo does a much more complete job. It may not work either depending on the cause of the problem but it's worth a try at this point. You can download it at Revo download.

Revo did, indeed, work on my problem...now if I don't have that error message in the morning, I'm good to go. I am not going to install anything else on this computer....it was running smoothly until I started dinking with Secunia. I understand that a lot of people like that program, but it caused me all kinds of grief when things had been running smoothly. I think someone once said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." What a trip this has been....I've got such a history of playing around and trying this or that and then getting into trouble...when will I learn?

Ha ha, I seem a bit late. But for future reference you might just take a peek at the link to see how to repair Vista on an HP machine. Something for the arsenal perhaps.

Here is a link that might be useful: MS Vista repair

I'm running XP Professional SP3...so that link would probably do me no good :o)