Solved Corrupted Uninstall list

[mstallworthy]

I cannot Uninstall programs - I consistently get an error indicating that the Uninstall list is corrupted. Is there a way to repair it?

Background: My system has been running very slowly for about a month but things like sfc and chkdsk do not reveal any errors. An attempt to install Windows 10 ends with an error code indicating possible incompatible devices/drivers so I decided to uninstall the things I could identify as either questionable or unnecessary and try again. Something went wrong during Uninstall (like maybe an insufferable delay and forced shutdown, not sure). In any case, when I attempt to uninstall anything now all I get is the error message.

 

[torchwood]

Hi Mstall,
If you want W10, follow this link
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First - Windows 10 Forums

Check at Dells homepage for your model, is it 10 compatible.

Roy

 

[mstallworthy]

Hi Mstall,
If you want W10, follow this link
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First - Windows 10 Forums

Check at Dells homepage for your model, is it 10 compatible.

Roy

Actually I'd rather not do a clean Windows 10 install because of the number of applications I would need to reinstall. Very painful. I mentioned that only because someone suggested that might be an easier way to cure the slowness than trying to find what was wrong in Win 7.

But the BASIC problem that I am currently looking to solve is how to fix a corrupted Uninstall list in Win 7 so I can uninstall some software (e.g. ScandAllPro V 1.8) that is known to be incompatible with Win 10 along with a couple of other things I'd like to get rid of, and then I can retry the upgrade instead.

Anyone replying - please address the corrupted Uninstall file question, as that is what I really need at the moment. Thanks.

 

[torchwood]

Hi Mstall,
that was the easy answer, as you've run SFC and CheckDisk, no errors reported
Malware springs to mind, Run Malwarebytes and Eset on-line.
Check your Devices again
any with an !, small black down arrow or an unknown device.
The other option is a repair install, you should have the disks as you have a tower.

Roy

 

[mstallworthy]

Hi Mstall,
that was the easy answer, as you've run SFC and CheckDisk, no errors reported
Malware springs to mind, Run Malwarebytes and Eset on-line.
Check your Devices again
any with an !, small black down arrow or an unknown device.
The other option is a repair install, you should have the disks as you have a tower.

Roy

OK, well I am in the middle of running a full backup at the moment and it's about half done (running about 2.5 hrs so far) so I need to wait for it. Then I am going to see if there is a checkpoint from before the first of the uninstalls and go back to that if so and see what happens.

Not sure I understand the last part of your message starting with "Check your Devices again" - could you elaborate on that part and the part about the !, black down arrow or unknown?

Also note that with this Uninstall list problem in existence I cannot Install anything new either, so any utilities that would have to be downloaded and installed are probably not a viable option.

 

[torchwood]

Hi Mstall,
see screenshot for Down arrow, the ! mark will also show if theres a problem
Unknown/problem devices will be listed at the bottom.

Eset might work as in reaility its not downloaded it runs LIVE, turn of any other AV and
run it via IE.

Roy

 

[mstallworthy]

Hi Mstall,
see screenshot for Down arrow, the ! mark will also show if theres a problem
Unknown/problem devices will be listed at the bottom.

Eset might work as in reaility its not downloaded it runs LIVE, turn of any other AV and
run it via IE.

Roy

Thanks - I will check that out. In the meantime, once the backup had finished, I did find a couple of restore points so I went back to the oldest one. That did not entirely solve the issue with the Uninstall, but at least it gave me a cleaner error message for which there is a Microsoft Knowledge Base article #KB2564571 relating to inability to write to the log file, and a solution. After applying that solution I am now able to uninstall programs so have gotten rid of the one I know is listed as incompatible with Win 10.

Now I'm going back to your suggestions to check for malware to see if I can get this machine unclogged, and then will work more on the Win 10 installation issue.

 

[mstallworthy]

Hi Mstall,
see screenshot for Down arrow, the ! mark will also show if theres a problem
Unknown/problem devices will be listed at the bottom.

Eset might work as in reaility its not downloaded it runs LIVE, turn of any other AV and
run it via IE.

Roy

Thanks - I will check that out. In the meantime, once the backup had finished, I did find a couple of restore points so I went back to the oldest one. That did not entirely solve the issue with the Uninstall, but at least it gave me a cleaner error message for which there is a Microsoft Knowledge Base article #KB2564571 relating to inability to write to the log file, and a solution. After applying that solution I am now able to uninstall programs so have gotten rid of the one I know is listed as incompatible with Win 10.

Now I'm going back to your suggestions to check for malware to see if I can get this machine unclogged, and then will work more on the Win 10 installation issue.

Well - this was a highly unexpected but happy result. Malwarebytes found nothing, but following some its hints I had unplugged my Internet connection while it ran. When I plugged it back in, I found that my Windows 7 is now back to running lightning fast, just like it used to. Mysterious but no doubt related that Cox, which is my ISP, recently went "all digital" in my apartment building. While they swore to me when they came to install my connection boxes for my TV that this would have no impact on my Internet connection or phone modem, it appears that my slowness problem started when they did their switchover at midnight on July 1. I was out of town until July 5 so did not notice right away what was going on, but now that I think of it that's when the problem started. And no amount of turning off the computer or turning off the modem had solved it. But UNPLUGGING the cable between computer and modem and leaving it disconnected for an hour or two has worked magic!

Only good part is that I have learned a lot about diagnosing Windows problems along the way - but totally wasted a week or so too! Good thing I am mostly retired. Ugh!

Thank you so much for your help - I will follow your other directions before attempting the Win 10 update again.