I'm having trouble opening the add or remove programs in the control panel. I can open the control panel fine. As well as every other utility in the control panel. This is a recent reformat(within a week). At this point, I've tried so many things that I can't remember what I have or have not done. Thanks.

http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21160 Some people are like Slinkies™, not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs...

stealie Did you try System Restore - back to before it happened Lesley?

System restore isn't an option for me because I don't have any restore points. Thanks for the suggestions. Hooner, I followed that link. Some good pointers, but no help yet. Thanks.

This is for windows2000 but may apply to xp too, >> SYMPTOMS When you try to open the Add/Remove Programs tool in Windows 2000, it does not open and you do not receive an error message. The window may appear briefly, but then it disappears. CAUSE This issue may occur if a registry entry is missing. RESOLUTION To resolve this issue, add the missing registry entries: Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type cmd, and then press ENTER. In the Command window, type regsvr32 mshtml.dll, and then press ENTER. Click OK to confirm that the registry entry has been added. In the Command window, type regsvr32 shdocvw.dll -i, and then press ENTER. Click OK to confirm that the registry entry has been added. In the Command window, type regsvr32 shell32.dll -i, and then press ENTER. Click OK to confirm that the registry entry has been added. Close the Command window.

I had already tried tomtt's suggestion yesterday. It didn't work. For the sake of argument, I tried it again. Still didn't work. Thanks for the suggestion though. I don't get an error message when I try to access the utility. Just an hourglass for about a second and then nothing. Thanks for all the suggestions. Keem them coming. I don't want to reformat this thing again.

I just started having the exact problem last week. I can't find information on the Microsoft site in regard to this isuue, except in dealing with the Japananese version of XP. I think something has happened by keeping up with the Microsoft XP updates. I had a choice; spend $35 to MS techsupport or purchase Add/Remove Plus 2004 from Aurelitec (www.aurelitec.com) for $20. You can try it for free for a month. Has good reviews. It doens't answer the problem at the core. But, it does more than the MS Add or Remove module and you do not have to wait if you need to add or remove programs immediately.