Cannot Restore Access to Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, or Windows Media Player After You Hide Them and Then Remove Service Pack 3

With new tools in Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, you can hide desktop icons and Start menu commands for Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Outlook Express, and Windows Media Player. If you hide Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and Windows Media Player, and you then remove Service Pack 3 (SP3) for Windows 2000, you cannot restore desktop access to these programs later.

This issue may occur in the following situation:

• You install Service Pack 3 for Windows 2000.
• You hide one or more of the following programs:
  Internet Explorer
  Outlook Express
  Windows Media Player
• You remove SP3 for Windows 2000.

If you remove access to Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, or Windows Media Player, and you then remove SP3 for Windows 2000, access to those programs is not restored. The program executable files function, but they are not available on the Start menu or the desktop, and there no user interface with which to restore them.

To work around this issue, reinstall SP3 for Windows 2000, and then restore access to Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and Windows Media Player.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Windows 2000.

When you install SP3 for Windows 2000, you can hide Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and Windows Media Player by using one of the following methods.

Method 1: Use the Configure Programs Button

To use the Configure Programs button, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add/Remove Programs.
2. Click Configure Programs.
   
   NOTE: This button appears in the Add/Remove Programs dialog box when you install SP3 for Windows 2000.
3. Click to clear the Show this program check boxes of the programs that you want to hide. For example, to hide Outlook Express, click to clear the Show this program check box under Choose a default e-mail program.
4. Click OK.

Method 2: Remove Access to the Components

To remove access to the components, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add/Remove Programs.
2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
3. In the Components list, click to clear the check boxes of the programs that you want to hide. For example, to remove access to Outlook Express, click to clear the Outlook Express check box.
4. Click Next, and then click Finish.

Method 3: Use an Unattended Installation

When you perform a "slipstream" installation of the SP3 files into a Windows 2000 installation point, you can specify the installation options for Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and Windows Media Player from an unattended installation file (Unattend.txt). To remove access to Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and Windows Media Player in an unattended installation file, add to the file a [Components] section that contains the following options: