Control panel will not load (show) Applications for Add/Remove

I am running Windows 2000 Pro SP4 on a home built PC. Recently I appear to have encountered some corrupted Windows files. I used the Malware/Virus section of this board to ensure the PC is clean now. I'm not sure if the infection might have been the cause of the corrupted Windows files. I am unable to view programs & applications in the Add/Remove section of Control Panel. It opens a box but remains empty and seems to freeze. The PC itself is not frozen and I can go on to run other apps. however, ven using Task Manager and End Now I cannot get the empty box that should show the programs to go close or away. Only a reboot will take care of that.

I have my HDD partitioned into two(2) partitions. If I were to copy all of my data files I don't want to lose over to the second partition, could I then use the Windows 2000 OS CD to reinstall the OS without affecting the second partition?

Looking for fixes or best path forward to repair/reinstall Win 2K. I do not have an ERD.

 

I have tried running the appwiz.cpl file and it makes no difference. The open pop-up box where existing installed programs should appear remains blank even after sitting for 30-60 minutes. Task manager shows no open applications (when opening by running appwiz.cpl) and no CPU usage to speak of and very minor Memory usage. It's just sitting there...

 

Try reregistering:

Start > Run > type REGSVR32 APPWIZ.CPL (the capitals are for clarity only but note the space) and press Enter.

Then again Start > Run > type REGSVR32 MSHTML.DLL and press Enter.

 

Did that the other day based on your suggestion in thread on Other software. It didn't resolve. That's why I posted a question here about possibility of reloading Win 2K OS on one of two partitions without disturbing the data on the other partition.

 

If you copy your personal data to the second partition, you will be able to do a clean install on the existing Win2000 partition.

Incidentally, you should be making offline backups as well.