Got a good one with Add/remove Programs

[TurcoLoco]

No wonderful programs for this one...I'm thoroughly suprised TL...you have a utility for EVERYTHING.

Well, running RegSrubXP or its more aggressive counterpart RegSeeker might help (if you already have not done so) but for me to create a script for this would consume much more time than doing it manually. Also, this way you can see what caused it (if any at all)....manually doing this is much wiser!

If you could recall what you changed or installed before this problem occured, it would have been very helpful.
Has it been that long that you can't recall?

[Gizmokid2005]

I will try RegScrubXP or one of the likes. I haven't run either of those as of yet.

And it's been a VERY hectic last few months, most of the time I can't remember what happened yesterday. But in any case I noticed this issue just by accident, whilst checking for a program...

[Gizmokid2005]

I have quite a few keys (according to RegScrubXP) that have "No Values for this Key." listed below:

Forgive the resolution...didn't want to degrade the text in this screenshot.

[Gizmokid2005]

I deleted the "DirectAnimation" and the "DirectDrawEx" entries, but the mystery still exists.

[Gizmokid2005]

I ran RegSeeker, and let it do a full registry clean...it fixed some 850 items, but the error still lies within....

[TurcoLoco]

RegScrubXP is almost always safer than RegSeeker, imo. I have never ever used RegScrubXP where problems occured afterwards but on some certain -already- troubled systems, RegSeekers quite agressive cleaning did a bit of damage, nothing huge but still noticeable and annoying nevertheless.

That is why I generally use RegCrubXP and recommend it but further more, whichever one I use I always run ERUNT first, then run one or both of them then reboot afterwards BEFORE INSTALLING or doing ANYTHING else!
That way if a problem surfaces you will have a better idea of what caused it and how to go about fixing it, etc.

If you ran both and opt'ed to have them clean whatever they found, at this point the previous one at-a-time registry troubleshooting is the only thing I can recommend.

Here is another silly sounding idea that might help us understand more of this problem: download and use a free alternative program such as my personal favorite: MyUninstaller.
See if it has any issue displaying the entire list?

[Gizmokid2005]

I allowed RegSeeker to do it's auto cleaning, but I have a backup of the registry just incase something went awry.

MyUninstaller shows everything correctly as it should, and has actually led me to find the entry that I can only assume is causing this issue (as it is the entry that doesn't show up in Add/Remove Programs):

==================================================
Entry Name : Electronic Arts Game Updater
Product Name : EAAskUpdate Application
Version : 1, 0, 0, 1
Company :
Description : EAAskUpdate MFC Application
Obsolete : No
Uninstall : Yes
Installation Folder : D:\Program Files\EACom\Update
Web Site :
Installation Date : 6/10/2007 9:34:48 PM
Uninstall String : C:\WINDOWS\IsUninst.exe -f"D:\Program Files\EACom\Update\Uninst.isu"
Quiet Uninstall : No
Registry Key : Electronic Arts Game Updater
Installer : InstallShield
Root Key : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
==================================================



So I am going to see if I can get rid of that via uninstaller, if not, I'm killing the registry entry...we'll see where that takes us.

Thanks for the help so far you two!

[Gizmokid2005]

WOOHOO!!!!!!!

MyUninstaller took out the EA updater program, and guess what? IT'S FIXED!!!!!

Thanks a ton Guys. I am definitely keeping that program in my arsenal.









Now that I'm done celebrating I'm going to make a guess as to why it did this....EA Game Updater probably freaked out because I have like 5 or 6 EA Games installed and it wasn't sure what to think....other than that...not sure.

[TurcoLoco]

Haha...told you that program rocks! I am glad it was able to help you see the suspicious entry.
The registry file you attached did not list the entries in the same order as Add-Remove Program applet does, so it was not possible for me to know the next in line but still after you said what it was, I re-examined and didn't noticed out of the ordinary. Usually it is either the uninstall string or the defaulticon value that contains a data that could cause and overflow or confusing and Add-Remove could either show a blank area for the entry with the bad value. What you experienced was news to me so whatever the invalid value that was causing the issue is a new one.

Again, glad you nailed it!

[Gizmokid2005]

Yes, that program ROCKS!! I really am curious as to what caused that, but at this point, I'm just happy that it's done and over with.

Now we know what it was and how to fix it. Let's just hope I don't run into anything else like that for a while. I still have some other fish to fry....