Add/Remove Programs dialog box does not appear or is corrupted

When you try to start the Add/Remove Programs tool, a corrupted dialog box that contains a Cl&ose button may appear or the dialog box may not appear at all. You cannot start the Add/Remove Programs tool either from Control Panel or by running the Appwiz.cpl command-line tool and no errors are reported. If you open Help, a blank window appears on the right side of the dialog box.

This problem may occur if any of the following conditions are true:

• Appwiz.cpl and Mshtml.dll are no longer registered.
• The file permissions for Appwiz.cpl and Mshtml.dll are not correct.
• You are using an incorrect version of the Appwiz.cpl file and the Mshtml.dll file.

To resolve this problem, locate the Mshtml.dll file, and then verify that it is the correct version, date, and size. Additionally, verify that its permissions have not been changed. To do so:

1. Locate the Mshtml.dll file in the Winnt\System32 folder.
2. Verify that the version, date, and size of the Mshtml.dll file match the values that are described in the following table:
   Collapse this tableExpand this table

   Small Business Server 2000 Version	File Version	Date	Size
   SBS2000 STD	5.0.3103.1000	26-Jul-00	2.23 MB
   SBS2000 Windows 2000 SP2	5.0.3502.4856	06-Mar-02	2.24 MB
   SBS2000 SP1	5.0.3502.5390	31-Jul-02	2.23 MB

   
   
   
3. Verify that permissions of the Mshtml.dll file match the permissions that are described in the following table:
   Collapse this tableExpand this table

   Group	Permissions
   Administrators	Full Control
   Authenticated Users	Read and Execute, Read
   Server Operators	Modify, Read and Execute, Read, and Write
   Everyone	Read and Execute, Read
   System	Full Control

   
   
   
4. Verify that this file is the only copy of the Mshtml.dll file on the computer (not including the DLLCache copy).
5. If the Mshtml.dll file has the correct version, date, size, and permissions, type the following commands at a command prompt, and then press ENTER after each command:
   • regsvr32 /u c:\winnt\system32\appwiz.cpl
   • regsvr32 /u c:\winnt\system32\mshtml.dll
   • regsvr32 /u "c:\program files\common files\system\ole db\oledb32.dll" (including the quotation marks)
   • regsvr32 c:\winnt\system32\appwiz.cpl
   • regsvr32 c:\winnt\system32\mshtml.dll
   • regsvr32 "c:\program files\common files\system\ole db\oledb32.dll" (including the quotation marks)
6. If the behavior continues to occur, repair or reinstall the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. For additional information about how to repair or reinstall the latest version of Internet Explorer, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   217344  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/217344/ ) How to uninstall Internet Explorer 5

Microsoft is researching this problem and will post more information in this article when the information becomes available.

For additional information about a related topic, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: