DOCUMENT:Q170669  09-AUG-2001  [winnt]
TITLE   :Creating C:\Program Folder Causes Add/Remove Program to Fail
PRODUCT :Microsoft Windows NT
PROD/VER:WinNT:4.0
OPER/SYS:
KEYWORDS:kbsetup

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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 
 - Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

After you create a folder called C:\Program, if you then go to Control Panel,
double-click Add/Remove Programs, and select an installed program to remove or
update, you get the following error message:

   An error occurred while trying to remove "program_name"
   Uninstallation has been cancelled

If you rename the folder called Program to, for example, Program2, you see the
following message:

   This change may impact one or more registered programs. Do you want to
   continue?

CAUSE
=====

In the registry under

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
   \...

any programs whose uninstall string value starts with C:\Progra~1 or "C:\Program
Files\..." will fail to be removed if a C:\Program folder exists.

These examples will fail:

   UninstallString:reg_sz:c:\Program Files\My_program\setup setup

   UninstallString:reg_sz:"c:\Program Files\My_program\setup" setup

   UninstallString:reg_sz:c:\Progra~1\My_program\setup setup

RESOLUTION
==========

Perform the following steps to remove the desired application:

1. Rename the C:\Program folder.

2. Click the Start button, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then
   double-click Add/Remove Programs.

3. Click the application you want to remove, and then click Remove.

4. Click OK.

5. Rename the folder in step 1 back to its original name.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. We are
researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

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Keywords          : kbsetup 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400
Version           : WinNT:4.0

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