Symptoms

When you attempt to open the Add or Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel, the following message may appear:

Add or Remove Programs has been restricted. Please check with your administrator.

Resolution

This is due to one of the following Policy settings:

  1. NoAddRemovePrograms
  2. NoControlPanel

If your system is attached to a domain, your network administrator may have disabled the Add or Remove Programs applet. For standalone systems, follow the steps below to unlock the restrictions.

  • Click Start, Run and type Regedit.exe
  • Navigate to the following branches one by one:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Uninstall
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Uninstall

  • Delete the NoAddRemovePrograms value if present in the above locations.
  • Then, navigate to following locations:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer

  • Delete the NoControlPanel value in the above locations.
  • Close Regedit.exe