If you’ve uninstalled a program in Windows Vista or 7 from Control Panel, perhaps you’ve noticed “Turn Windows features on or off” in the left pane. When you click on it, the Windows Features dialog will appear asking you to “Please wait” and it will start searching for a list of windows features such as games, indexing service, internet information services (IIS) and other system components that you can turn on or off. Vista and 7′s Windows Features list is actually pretty much the same as Add/Remove Windows Component in Windows XP. You can also run Windows Features by typing “optionalfeatures” at the run dialog or command prompt.
One of the most common problems that many people are facing with the Windows Features dialog is the window comes out empty or blank and the features list doesn’t appear. You can see “please wait” initially as it tries to make up a list but then it totally blanks out.
Microsoft of course is well aware of this problem and they’ve created a knowledge base article 931712 to acknowledge the problem and also provided 2 solutions to resolve this issue. The first method is to run the sfc /scannow command to scan all protected system files and replace incorrect versions with the correct Microsoft versions. If that didn’t work, they recommend a System Restore.
There’s also another method on Google that claims to fix it by running the command “reg delete HKLM\COMPONENTS /v StoreDirty”. We can assure you that all these above solutions don’t work. One of the only known recommended solutions that will fix the blank Windows Feature is to re-install Windows but that’s rather overkill just to fix a blank window.
Don’t worry though, because we’ve found a REAL fix for the empty Windows Features problem without re-installing Windows. What we’ve found is that this problem is most often caused by missing or corrupt files in a folder called C:\Windows\Servicing\Packages. The reason why SFC or System Restore don’t work is they don’t restore anything in the Packages folder and therefore miss the problem altogether. Here’s how to get your features window populated again.
1. Download the System Update Readiness Tool from Microsoft. Expand the Download Center by using the “+” and download the correct version of the tool according to your operating system. For convenience, the links to the Vista and 7 Readiness Tool are provided below.
Download System Update Readiness Tool for Windows Vista 32-bit
Download System Update Readiness Tool for Windows Vista 64-bit
Download System Update Readiness Tool for Windows 7 32-bit
Download System Update Readiness Tool for Windows 7 64-bit
2. Once you have finished downloading the file, close all running programs and run it, the Readiness Tool has an extension of .msu. Click OK to install the KB****** update for Windows. You will see that it looks as though an update is being installed, but actually it’s trying to fix any problems that it finds on the system in the background using checksur.exe. This will take a while, up to 10 or 15 minutes is possible, so be patient and let it finish.
3. When installation has completed, click Close and restart your computer. Once Windows has booted, try running Windows Features (optionalfeatures.exe) again and see if the list loads into the window or not. IF not, continue to the next step.
4. Go to C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\ and open the CheckSUR.log file with notepad. The following steps are possibly going to be a little tricky because everyone gets different results in the log file.
5. Take note of the section that says “Checking Package Manifests and catalogs” in the CheckSUR.log file. If there are errors, you will see a line starting with (f) followed by an error code and path. If you see (fix) on the next line below the (f), it means the tool managed to fix that particular error.
As you can see in the image above, the fourth and eighth (f) lines highlighted in pink don’t have (fix) on the next line and are therefore not fixed as the checking continues. You need to make a note of all the unfixed “MUM” entries in your log file (line 4 above is a MUM error that wasn’t fixed).
6. Now you will need to manually delete the related registry keys according to what you see in the CheckSUR.log file. Run regedit and go to the following location.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
\Component Based Servicing\Packages\
As an example, the fourth line error in the CheckSUR.log file above shows the file:
Package_2_for_KB2757638~31bf3856ad364e35~x86~~6.1.1.2.mum
So you’ll need to look for that key in the registry at the location stated above and then delete it. There won’t be a need to use the .mum extension in the registry. As long as the whole name matches without the extension, you can delete it.
7. You WILL need to set full control permission before you can delete the corrupted registry key. Refer to this article on how to set the permissions for the key.
After deleting all the corrupted registry keys, the Windows Features should start to show in the list. The good thing about running the System Update Readiness Tool is it might fix some other problems which you are probably not aware of.
Awesome guide. Seriously, awesome. Fixed my issue! Kudos to you.
Great Article
Great JOB
Thanks…
WOW amazing, I tried everything – this fix works and the guide is so comprehensive.
Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
Outstanding article. Detailed, ACCURATE, instructions for fixing this obscure problem. Many thanks.
Hello Raymond,
You did a VERY good job! That’s the kind of articles I like – it’s based on a deeper knowledge and not just on ‘try this or try that’. Your article has helped me in fixing one of a couple of problems on my neighbour’s PC… In the end, it indirectly helped me to finally upgrade from IE9 to IE10 on that Windows 7 (64 bit) system.
Thank you very much and keep up the good work!
Guido
This fixed my issue…thanks!
Hello, Unfortunately I wasn’t able to complete the following manual. In my regedit I’m not able to view registry list in Packages tab. I tried right clicking on it and choosing maximum control option but I was not able to select it.
Could any one help me with this problem? I’m logged to my computer as administrator and still cant see the Packages content.
Will be grateful or help.
Best regards,
Olga
Have a go with Registrar Registry Manager, we found it very effective at deleting the required keys, method 3 in the below post.
raymond.cc/blog/full-control-permission-to-delete-or-edit-restricted-windows-registry/
thanks a lot for the posting! i got my defragmenter back, but windows features box is still blank. 2 (f) items in the log keep coming back after deletion:-
(f) CSI Payload File Missing 0×00000000 TrustedInstaller.exe x86_microsoft-windows-trustedinstaller_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16386_none_8ed67188503ba527
(f) CSI Payload File Missing 0×00000000 unsecapp.exe x86_microsoft-windows-wmi-core_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18000_none_b95403151f989ff3
how could i fix them? if they, TrustedInstaller.exe and unsecapp.exe appear multiple times in the registry, should i delete all of them?
thank you for helping!
Try running a system file check (command prompt -> “SFC /scannow”), those missing entries are in the \Windows\WinSxS folder which SFC can repair.
The RunAsSystem didn’t work for me because when I ran the regedit command using this tool the packages didn’t show up in the registry for some reason. I just took ownership of the keys (right click – permisssions) then gave myself full access and was able to delete it. That worked!
Thanks…
Great work !
Belay last. Apparently 7th time is the charm. Populated list now.
Raymond you are the best. It’s been 3 days that I’m working to get back optional features reappears but nothing of the solutions of Microsoft works neither the sfc /scannow. Anyway, I have tried all the solutions even WINFIX who says it has been fixed; you restart your computer and nothing the list is still empty!
Your solution was the hardest but effective. The most difficult is to delete the corrupted registry because of the permissions. Anyway your solutions saved me.
Thanks a lot Raymond and BRAVO!
I love you! It worked! Hurrrrayyyyyyyyyy! ^^
It worked. Thank you so much Raymond.
Great help, thank you very much!
It worked ,,,, thanks a lot.
Microsoft’s solutions did not work
AWesome! I spent so much time trying to fix it, but nothing worked.. Except this one! Thanks a ton
Thank you very much. Your solution worked perfectly. I’m very impressed with your knowledge and troubleshooting ability.
thanks again,
Don
I just needed a little extra patience. The hotfix finally worked. I took a long time, but it worked.
THANKS.
Success!!! Thank-you!!!
Raymond… your facts and knowledge are infinitely admired, how do you come up with these solutions?
AWESOME dude!!! My Windows feature list has shown now! Thanks
This not only fix my features problem but also the problem while upgrading to windows 7 sp1….
Many Thanks to you!!!!!!
Keep up the great work!
It’s working 100%. Great solution. Many thanks, you are STAR.
You rock man you rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you’re just incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you very much.
Great job.
A big thank again
Ohh my god, this actually works…
Every site of microsoft i checked and nothing worked, but this really works.
You helped me so much, thank you !!!
You saved my day guy.
Thank you!
Yeah! You’re da man! THANKS SO MUCH!!
Awesome job man, big thanks to you!!!
Microsoft tech. guys should learn from you. Awesome!
Thank you so much. I followed the procedure patiently and had to manually delete 23 corrupt registry entries. I’m happy the hard work paid off!
Thank you SO SO SO much!
I have been bashing my head on the keyboard for 2 weeks on this one.
You are AWESOME!!!
DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! u ROCK! did this with very high doubts, but it worked!!!!!
thanks,
Thank you thank you! It took so long to find a fix I have forgotton why I went to Win features in the first place!!!!
First time that I have been able to use a pure MS tool to actually repair a MS product! Incredible.
Thanks / merci !!
I had the same problem with W7…and thanks to your instructions, the list is displayed again
a big thank you.
Thank you!!!
This was the only thing that work.
Very useful solution. Thanks
Worked!! You good man, you!
Brilliant! A bit tedious, but worked for me. Win 7 Ultimate SP7
Holy crap, it worked! I’m so used to using Microsoft articles to try and fix stuff, and they never work I was shocked, surprised, almost giddy with excitement when the list started to populate.
Wow – thank you so much.
Was a bit of work, but now its fine!
merci!
Thanks a lot. I was searching for this solution for a long time. This worked for me.
You sir should be payed big bucks by M$ for fixing the crap they can’t figure out.
Thanks alot….
it works for me also
You are a god, thank you so much i tried at least 6 solutions and was ready to give up
You saved me hours! Thank you!
Worked for me too! Thanks a bunch!
excellent instructions, thanks
I can’t believe this actually worked for me! Thank you so much for this!
an explanation i could make sense of! thanks. this should be posted on microsfts site…..they need help explaining things!
Your solution fixed a Windows Update problem which was preventing Internet Explorer 9 from installing correctly. Kept failing to update 3 patches for IE8 and IE9.
Windows 7 hiccuped on the migration from IE8 to IE9 leaving no means of installing/uninstalling/reinstalling etc. hence a blank Windows Features menu.
Windows update immediately started working again after running your fix.
Great solution, well documented. Bravo.
Worked for me!! Now if I could find the errors for no sound….
Works for me………..a thousand thnxs
Add me to the list of grateful.
Amazing…. This worked perfectly. Surprisingly, it didn’t even need a restart.
Well done. This (deleting corrupted registry entries), fixed it, when so many other alleged solutions didn’t.
THANKYOU!!!
AMAZING! This has worked a treat.
THANK YOU :-)
Works like a miracle.
Respect!
(Windows Vista Home Basic, SP2, Ver.6.0)
It did it. Great job. Perfectly described! Thx.
Thanks, it worked!! Perfect!
Ran Windows6.1-KB947821-v22-x64 on WIn7 64. Worked perfectly. Thank You!
You are AWESOME! worked after deleting reg keys
Works for me (Windows 7, 32 Bit). Thanks so much
Would just like to add my own note of thanks. Took me ages messing around with other solutions, but this one worked like a charm. Scary changing the reg, but your step be step instructions aid off. Thank you!
DUDE! Totally Awesome +1 to you!
Thank you so much for finding this fix. I had to delete over 70 registrys (so much permission setting! >.<) but it worked in the end. You da best!
Thanks a ton. This worked.
Working fine dude
You sir, are a god damn star! I wish i had found this post 6 months ago. Awesome, works a treat. THANK YOU SO MUCH DUDE.
Thanks a million, this fixed the issue
System Update Readiness Tool Solved the problem for me. Thank you very much for your great help.
Nice work Raymond. This did the trick. Thanks for taking the time to post this!
This worked AMAZINGLY well. Not only fixed the Features window but also finally allowed me to install an update that kept failing ! So much thanks!
Great… did work for me. I have windows 7 home basic 64 bit
Hello Raymond. Thanks for the information. However, I had to go through a few more steps to get this working, and wanted to contribute some information I found while resolving this issue.
After finding the error messages in the CheckSUR.log, and deleting the relevant registry entries I was still getting an empty “Windows Features” window after rebooting. I went to the Microsoft site, and downloaded the related patch that was showing the error in the CheckSUR.log, and then used this file to delete this ‘fix’ from my system using a elevated-privilege command prompt and the command:
wusa /uninstall (e.g., C:\Temp\Windows_xxxx_KBxxxx)
Once uninstalled, I rebooted and now my “Windows Features” window has returned.
Thanks for putting me on the right track, and hopefully others may find help with these extra steps if the above doesn’t completely fix their issue.
S
Thanks, man! It worked!! Amazing :))
Works after running Windows6.0-KB947821-v4-x86.msu.
Thanks a million.
It worked, thanks a lot
It works for Windows 7(32-Bit)
Thank you so much for this post. You are a savior!
Thank you SO MUCH, this saved me having to restore… seriously, THANK you.
Worked like a charm; thank you very much!
Worked for me on windows 7 :o)
Thanks Ray it worked.
Thanks a lot you are genius :) ..
Raymond CC – you are the man! I spent 2 evenings trawling the web for solutions till i found this. Thank you.
You are my hero, this actually worked, after trying just about everything else available on the Net!
thanks Ray! worked for me.
You are the man!
Thank you very much.
Thank you so much Raymond! The last part worked for me and the guide for Full control as well. Thank you!
Solution did work- I can see windows features.
Qba
Thank you so much!! The only solution that worked! You saved me.
great. problem solved.
Spot on, the only bit of advise that I have found to work on this! Thanks
Excellent! Fixed problem with failing Windows Update as well as the Turn Windows Features On or Off box being empty!
UFB!!! After pulling out my hair I found this information. I had a corrupt CBS file so I granted myself full rights and… Presto! deleted the reg link, ie9 was then visable, uninstalled the dam thing. Good to go! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Great Post, solution worked for me :D
Great solution, it worked perfect for me, i’m runnig w7.
thanks
Excellent Article. Thanks so much!
it work!!! thank you!
Absolute hero. This had me stuck for days! Thank you
Wow…didnt expect it to work but it did. Thanks alot!
Worked for me when all other steps had failed – deleted 2 registry keys as identified in the log and add/remove populated.
wonderful, worked perfectly, it has also sped up the system immensely
Thanks a lot, this worked for me on Win 7 SP1 x86!
Thank you so much it worked perfectly!
Excellent article… worked for me!
Perfect! Thanks Raymond
Thank you, Raymond! This worked perfectly. I followed your instructions carefully and found a corrupt entry (which I deleted) and now I see things to activate instead of a blank screen! Happiness followed. I would buy you lunch if I could!
Success!!!!
Raymond…You are a genius, truly!!!!
Thank you so much for all this!
Just fixed my issues by manually removing problematic features.
Guys this works 100%.
One more thing to add:
Check “Unavailable repair files:” section in CheckSUR.log cause even though it had (f) it could not find repairs for those. So went in a removed the packages as Raymond suggested and voila!
Thank you so much Raymond!
Worked beautifully. Thanks Raymond
It worked like a charm. Thanks!
It worked perfectly. Tedious? Yes. Time consuming? Yes (at least a bit). Worth it. Very much so.
Worked beautifully! I don’t usually comment on the repairs I find on forums like these but this tutorial fixed a very annoying problem with ease. Very well written, detailed instructions. I will be sure to check your repair posts FIRST in the future. Thank you thank you thank you!
Wow , never thought i would have to use this method 2day. Did everthing liek u said and it works brilliantly. Phiw, what a relief lol. Good tool to have in by usb toolbox. Thanks for this tip Ray. :)
Thanks – worked straight off withno registry changes
This has also fixed another long-standing headache of mine: the inability to uninstall the release candidate of IE9. Since running this fix I now have the IE9 release candidate listed in Windows Updates to uninstall, which I did not have before. So this fix should be posted to the many forum posts where people are having that problem. Thanks again.
Thanks for this blog post – it is the only solution that actually worked and much more helpful than Microsoft’s sfc /scannow which they think is the answer to everything!
Awsome Mate It Works…
I Tried In Windows 7 x64 …I Had Same Prob Its Fixed Now Because Of You.. :D
Thanks A Lot..
1st Time reg-edit Was unable to delete files after giving permission also but later i deleted it using Tune Up Utilities 2010 Registry Editor.. :D
Hey, thanks for this well explained solution. Works perfect and does not require a system restore.
thanks a lot buddy it worked for me
Thank you so much. The first method with download and update, resolve a problem.
Respect …
Hadn’t thought of using the Update Readiness Tool to troubleshoot. Thanks, your howto gave me the tools to fix the issue for a friend.
Paul
registered user 515705
Raymond,
Great post! My problem was getting a Service Pack installed. This fix allowed me to do that. The more I have to do these types of things to Windows, the more I want a Mac.
J
You are THE MAN ;)
Being lazy and sceptical I tried the “sfc.exe /scannow” and not only did it fix the error of windows features w empty list, it fixed a general update issue w my Vista Ultimate Windiw update. Thanks a lot!
Many Many Thanks, that worked for me.
It sorted a few other problem out as well, I can now see a lot more installed programs/updates.
Thank you so much for posting this and help people, nice one, cheers :-) thumbs up :-)
Yan
excellent article and it worked!! Thanks for info
Thanks for d solution dude………….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Microsoft support sux.. dier technicians are sleeping i guess :D
Thank you for the Solution. Worked like a charm in windows 7.
Genius, many thanks.
Running the update did not work, but deleting the registry keys (after taking ownership of the key from system) fixed the problem.
YOU ARE THE BEST ! ! !
100% working perfect ! ! !
Thank you so much !!!!! I was about to reinstall Win 7 when I came to this page.
Hi all, mine was vista home premium showing blank, but the logs file was showing “checking package manifest and catalogs” was also vacant(no errors). But “checking component store” was having 5 errors with their detailed summary report at bottom. So i found those 5 files n deleted them which worked for me. It was also having (w) along with (f), deleted (w) as well. only deleting (f) didn’t worked. Use ctrl+f in notepad find corrupt. copy whole file name n goto registry ctrl+f paste n delete as above procedure(which saves time). I wasted 3 days behind these but finally solved. THANKS a lot Raymond
this fixed it i just run that update file and don’t even restart my computer and it was fixed thanks a a lot
Great article. One helpful suggestion:
Run the Windows tool once, then delete or backup the CheckSUR.log file.
Run the Windows tool again. Now the CheckSUR.log file will only contain items NOT fixed.
Thank you so much for this fix!
It is slightly ironic that Microsoft failed to mention their own program in the KB article, but I’m glad you discovered it nonetheless!
Thank you! This also worked for me! You rock!
woo hoo! you are my hero!
Thank you, this solved my problem.
You are great if you are the original author of this article. It fixed my problem easier. Microsoft Kb article to resolve the same problem seems useless. I solute you!!!
Thanks!! Worked for me without having to go to the log file. Spent 3 hours trying Microsoft fixes and this worked in 15 minutes.
Thanks!! worked for me as well….wow..
I have Windows 7 64bit and your suggestion of downloading the System Update Readiness Tool from Microsoft worked, after I had already tried the other suggestions from Microsoft with no success. I wonder why MS didn’t suggest their program that actually fixes the issue?
Thanks for the correct answer!
Thank you! This solved my problem, when the MS KB article did not.
Thanks again!
I have windows 7 64 bit and ……
EXELLENT!!!
This guide has solved my problem.
Thanks
I’ve been rending my hair out about this all morning with Microsoft’s non-working fixes, finally found this solution and it fixed it straight away. Thanks so much!
(Win7 x64)
Ahh Reymond,
Amazing, this is the answer I’ve been searching for, you’re solution just saved me having to rebuild my machine.
Many thanks!
Many thanks, Reymond!
The problem is solved thanks to your detailed recommendations. You – well done!
Windows 7 Professional x64 [Version 6.1.7600]
THANK YOU!! this fixed it for me.
i can’t believe Microsoft’s solution to so many problems is either “System Restore” (which i have no interest in using) or “reinstall”.
When launching Checksur it was stuck at “searching for updates on this computer” and no log files were generated. Found this post to brute force it:
social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winservermanager/thread/0ca90e27-251f-4ddb-9cc9-0484d9bace84/#504493e7-e56b-4b54-a0f3-d824ecbaacaa
Logs were generated, found the corrupt registry key, deleted and Bob’s your Uncle. Features are now showing up.
Ahhhhh! It’s a beautiful thing. Worked for me after several hours Googling and following MS KBs. Thank you.
Not only did this fix the Vista SP1 32 bit Windows Features problem, it actually let me install Vista SP2 and got Windows Update to work again! Thanks so much!
I am really thankfull to you for providing this solution. I was almost ready to format my own system. Many thanks again!!
Dude, worked like a charm. You rock! thanks for coming through with a solution. Microsoft didn’t have crap about trying this, nor did any other sources. Seriously awesome, worked great!
Fantastic, worked for me when nothing else did
Thanks so much! I’ve been struggling with this problem for a while, but this worked perfectly. :)
You’re the man. Thanks!!!
Thanks mate, it worked to me as well on 64 bits.
Cheers
Thanks man! Worked on Win 7 64-bit after running update, removing reg entries and then running update again. Results showed nothing under Checking Package Manifests and Catalogs after second time.
Thanks mate your a star!
Worked perfect – thanks heaps!!
You fixed it! The Windows Support fixes all failed – including running the checksur.exe that was already installed in Windows. But your fix worked. I didn’t even need to edit the registry – just running the System Update Readiness Tool did the job.
Thanks!!!
Thank you so much, you saved my mental sanity!
Luis
Wow. Thanks.
You’re the man! After hours googling this article actually solved my problem!
Thank you! Awesome
Man that was asome…needed to delete a lots of corupted registry but finally worked. U are a genious…
Thanks!
works!!
Worked for me as well. Sweet, thanks so much!!!
It worked fine for me. I have been working on that for weeks. You are the best….
A Wonder, thanks a lot!!!
amazing…
thanks
Thank you so much. You saved my life.
Awesome fix for this issue. I had formatted my machine and still had this error.
Minor snag I ran into was taking ownership of the offending keys before I deleted them.
Otherwise, this was bang on the money.
Many Thanks Again.
Bravo good sir.
Were Microsoft failed you succeeded. Writing a decent “how to” that actually works! This issue had be stumped I was about to reformat before I stumbled across this page.
Thank you Raymond!!
Thank you very much. I have problem again with windows feature on or off blank in windows 7 64 bit. I have follow instruction step from 1 until 4 but didn’t work. after I follow step from 5 until 8 refer to this article, the issue solved.
Thanks
Azkachan
Thanks for your help. Installing Windows6.1-KB947821-v7-x64 solved my problem.
Its works after changing registry size:
In Windows, click Start > Run…
In the Run window, type ‘regedit’. In the Registry Editor window, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control.
In the ‘Registry Editor’ dialog box, double-click on ‘RegistrySizeLimit’. This opens the ‘Edit DWORD Value’ dialog box.
In the ‘Edit DWORD Value’ dialog box, enter ffffffff as the ‘Hexadecimal’ value. Click on the ‘Decimal’ radio button, and enter 4294967295 as the ‘Decimal’ value. Click OK.
Reboot the machine.
Log in as an Administrator and open a Command Prompt and run ‘SFC /SCANNOW’.
Thanks!
Worked like a charm for me! Thanks.
Had to go all the way, including manually deletion of registry keys.
Fixed another (and probably related) problem for me: The list of installed windows updates came up blank before this fix.
WOW! Thank you! worked and I have saved this incase I ever need this again for fixing someones computer.
I agree Microsoft’s solutions on frustrated me, they didnt work. They need to post a link to this!
Thank you very much for this article
I Want to active telnet feature in windows 7 proff 64 bit.
but, the display turn windows feature on or off is blanks.
After i follow until step 4, the display is appear
I choose the download “All supported x64-based versions of Windows 7″
Thank you
Regards
Azkachan
work for me
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows
set CSDVersion to 0 and reboot
SUPERB!
Just want to say a big THANK YOU!!
I had so many problems with Vista SP1 not allowing me to install SP2 & other updates – followed your basic instructions and everything went smoothly, no hassles at all!!
Top man!
Thanks again!
thanks a ton..
It worked for me…..
Wow! God knows how long searching then I stumble across this. Worked first time. Brilliant! Now if only Microsoft would list this instead of the crap they have!
worked perfectly. Thank you very much.
Finally – this worked perfectly! One note though – when I printed it, it only went to step 4. Using Firefox 3.6.3 on Win7. Thank you thank you thank you!
After combing the internet for a solution for this issue, I came upon your site.
Your solution was easy to understand and straight forward. I followed it step by step and it worked!!!
Now I am not the only one in the office not playing the games :)
Thank you Raymond.
Excellent solution. Works like a charm on Win 7 enterprise!
I didnt have to tweak the registry. Just the readiness update! Thanks buddy!!
many thanks, fixed my problem. that was annoying, and its great to find a comprehensive article that sorts it! :)
What can I say, words fail me, absolutely brilliant!
Man…it worked !!! Fantabulous! after 7 hours of struggle I found this forum…thank you Raymond!
Wow, excellent guide! I was having this problem on Windows 7 32-bit ever since my PC was abruptly turned off during a power outage. Followed through and found a corrupted Windows Update listed in the CheckSUR.log. After removing it from the Registry, everything is working again! :) Thanks!!
I don’t know how many hours that I searched to resolve this situation with Vista. I was almost resigned to reinstall, then I came across your advice. This worked like a charm, along with the article re setting full control permissions. Not for the faint of heart that don’t want to or cannot edit registries. But, this is THE ANSWER!! Thanks Raymond. You need to sell this to Microsoft.
ps. security update kb975561 for Movie Maker 6 was the culprit. About a dozen (f) I had to delete. Once I did, P&F back to normal.
Freakin Genius! Thanks ALOT dude
Thanks, Raymond. I followed your instructions and they worked. One thing I noticed: The log file can point to some keys that don’t exist; at least I couldn’t find them. Once I deleted the ones I could find, the Windows Features dialog worked like a charm.
Why can’t Microsoft have this on their site? Their instructions are a headache for fixing this.
Thank you very much Raymond!
only solution for me was to delete the corrupted registry entries
You are the man! No.. the man’s man!
u really rock man… great good research work
U da man!
SWEET! I struggled with this for weeks now and THIS is the only thing that worked. I was about ready to reinstall windows! Why do they have to make it soooooo difficult. I mean I am an administrator, why would I have to change ownership of the registry key, how is this any more secure if I CAN change ownership anyway! Dumb… anyway, it worked, thanks!
I have been trying to fix this for months.
You are techno god and I bow before you.
you saved me
works great!
You are a genius.
Works like a charm.
Thanks a lot man! I fixed this on Windows 7 (32bit). You have to download the appropriate tool from the Microsoft page.
After deleting the problematic registry keys, it really works! all u need is a little bit of patience.
It Worked for me.
Thanks lot.
Works like a charm first time.
He’s a genius, the solution worked the first time.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! This worked! I was unable to install Norton on my children’s computer because the IIS feature was not turned on. I sepnt a week trying to fix it, and almost gave up and bought a new computer. This fix took me some time to complete, but it worked! Thank you.
Wow great… It Worked for me as well.
Thanks lot.
Thanks alot it owrked for me thanks a million is better
You rock! Worked like a champ in Win7.
Pure Awesome! Cheers!
Thank u my friend. I deleted the files found in CheckSur.log file in the registry. Now, Windows features are visible.
Great job. Worked for me as well. Thanks for writing this up.
Outstanding, Raymond! Brilliant too. :) HP support explained to me that Vista standalone boxes didn’t support IIS, which was why I couldn’t see it in the window. Skeptic that I am, I didn’t believe them. I was just about ready to pay Microsoft $50 to tell me to do a system restore! But I suspected something was messed up in the registry, so I kept looking. I finally found your post. You confirmed my suspicion, and what’s a great deal more, have come up with an ingenious way to fix the problem. Thanks very much for your work, which has saved me many hours of frustration. -Bob
@e: all of my line items were “missing” rather than “corrupt” as well, and this process worked fine.
Nice! This works like a charm, and a little more graceful that MS’s official “do a system restore!” solution.
Holy crap, it works!
thanks man
Thank you! This worked for me. I was unable to instal Vista Service pack 2 and I was unable to see the installed Windows Features. I too tried everything, then I found your post, followed it (it took time because almost every registry key within \Packages had bad permissions). What I eventually did is export the packages key, took ownership of the keys (this was the time consuming process), deleted the keys, rebooted, and reimported the keys (the imported keys get new permissions from the parent (packages). Windows update works now and I’m on my way to installing service pack 2.
So thanks! Great help!
All those useless forums that come up from a google search on this problem should be redirected here!! This is the solution!! Thank you.
Genius! Thank you so much! After following this advice I was able to install Vista service pack2. I had almost given up.
Brilliant! I’ve been trying to fix WU for 2 days now to get SP2 installed and this fixed the issue!
Thank you so much for this article, and God bless you! :~)
Your advice worked great! Thx.
Brilliant, worked for me. Thanks much better than a reload
Thank you Raymond. This had been a problem to me for months (years?) ~ finally fixed.
This worked for me. Thank you Raymond – keep up the good work.
You sir are a genius…
Thank you so much. You just saved my day!!!
You are a genius! I spent over 8 hours with Microsoft level 1 and level2 support. No joy. In place upgrade repair failed 4 times. I\’ve been on this problem for 2 months on and off. Finally found your post and it WORKS! Thank you SO much. Raymond CC has a better grip than Microsoft themselves.
Thank you very much! you saved my windows features :D
Excellent!!! This fixed my blank windows features screen, AND Windows Update Unknown error code 80070490.
Brilliant! Saved me from having to reinstall Vista; thank you so much!
Excellent ! Terrific piece of diagnostic research. No way I am going to install Vista but I might be asked to assist someone with this prob – so advice saved.