Question

Large Empty Gap In The Add/Remove Programs List

Asked by: CarlWarner

I looked at two PCs at a small company where I went in remove an app or two.  I noticed these particular two PCs had about 6 or 8 entries listed and then a large empty gap where you had to keep scrolling down for what could be equivalent to about four Pg-Dn keys until the rest of the program entries started showing up.  

It is not earth shattering, but I would like to know what is causing this and I would like to clean it up getting that useless white space out of that listing.  It makes you wonder if there are some entries somewhere that are purposely hidden from view.  However, the alphabetical program listing order doesn't seem to be out of kilter with the next visible entry picking up right where the alphabet left off on the first screen that one would see when calling this up to begin with.

Does anyone know where the list comes from to begin with that generates the program listing?  And have you ever seen this white space phenomenon that I have described before?  Is there a fix for it [other than re-formatting the hard drive ;)]?

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2006-10-08 at 21:01:40ID22017310
Tags

remove

,

programs

,

add

,

large

,

gap

Topic

Windows XP Operating System

Participating Experts
2
Points
300
Comments
6

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. gap model
    I'm reading something describing software that is a simulation of an ecosystem. It says it is a "Gap Dynamics Model" Can someone tell me what a gap model is?
  2. Gaps in XY charts
    I have two columns of formulas through which I am plotting an XY chart The chart is supposed to have gaps which I am trying to achieve by using a formula like if(condition,plot value,leave gap) For "plot value" the formula calculates values. For "le...
  3. Fill gaps in excel 2
    Following on from my question last week, which chris bottomley helped with as code below, I need the code adjusted slightly. Before the gaps are filled, rather than the column having to be "G" I need the column row1 to be = "Source" and then fill in th...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: sramesh2kPosted on 2006-10-08 at 21:19:30ID: 17688638

Hi Carl,

Do you have AutoCad installed? If that's the case, see this thread for a solution.
http://groups.google.co.in/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/3632fda54259d28e?hl=en&

If not, then download the script below and run it. Post the results here. This script lists all the negative icon references present in the registry, and creates a log file for troubleshooting.

Script
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/utils/ARPNegCheck.vbs
(Lists all negative icon references in Add/Remove)

Technical details at
The Old New Thing : Why does Add or Remove Programs show a large blank space?:
http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2005/05/26/422076.aspx

 

by: CarlWarnerPosted on 2006-10-08 at 22:23:38ID: 17688805

I'm sure one PC has AutoCAD on it.  The other might have it as well.  I'm not sure.

But, it sure seems AutoCAD must be the culprit in this.

I'll try to remote into one of them in the hopes they left it powered up over the weekend.  I'll give your links a try and see if they get it done.

Then I'll come back and most likely assign you the points.  If I can't get in soon, it will be Tuesday morning before I can physically get to their PCs.  I'm not going there on Monday, which it just turned into less than half an hour ago.  I just do part-time computer support for them with full-time answers to their problems.  :)

Thanks for the fast reply.

 

by: sramesh2kPosted on 2006-10-08 at 22:33:36ID: 17688840

Good Luck and keep us posted, Carl.

 

by: CarlWarnerPosted on 2006-10-09 at 00:05:01ID: 17689093

OK.  I just got into one PC remotely that had AutoCAD 2002 on it.  

The file reference from the google groups didn't match anything in the registry.  So, I got that VB Script file from the mvps.org site which lists all negative icon references in Add/Remove and it identified two on this PC, one which was AutoCad (acad.exe) and the other as AdAware with a reference of -0.  Since I didn't think AdAware was really an issue, I used regedit to get to the acad.exe key and changed the -1 to just plain 1.  Then I went back to the Add/Remove Programs area and.... success!!!!  All of that annoying white space is now gone.  Woo hoo !!!

Thanks a bunch.  I was starting to go crazy over this one nit-picking thing that just was plain weird.

 

by: sramesh2kPosted on 2006-10-09 at 00:47:39ID: 17689198

Excellent! Glad my script helped, Carl.

 

by: pcmanPosted on 2008-06-09 at 15:04:16ID: 21746996

What if you removed all the negative numbers as explained above and you still have white space.  Is there any other recommendations?
Thanks!
pcman

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...