Microsoft KB Archive/259309

= Cannot Completely Uninstall Proxy 2.0 Winsock Client in Windows 2000 =

Article ID: 259309

Article Last Modified on 3/3/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q259309





SYMPTOMS
When you try to uninstall the Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 Winsock client from a Windows 2000-based computer, the uninstallation may not succeed and you may receive the following error message:

Setup could not remove the file: 'C:\Winnt\System32\WSPCPL32.CPL'



CAUSE
The Wspcpl32.cpl file is used for the Winsock Proxy Client tool in Control Panel. When you open Control Panel, the Explorer.exe process caches the Wspcpl32.cpl file. Therefore, the file is in use by Explorer.exe when the Add/Remove Programs tool attempts to remove the Proxy Server 2.0 Winsock client. Closing Control Panel does not release the Wspcpl32.cpl file; it is in use for the entire user session.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue:
 * 1) Do not use the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel to uninstall the Proxy Server 2.0 Winsock client. Use the Uninstall tool that the Winsock client adds to the Programs menu when it is installed. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Proxy Client, and then click Uninstall.
 * 2) Start the Add/Remove Programs tool by clicking Start, clicking Run, typing appwiz.cpl, and then clicking OK. Uninstall the client. It should be completely removed because you did not open Control Panel at any point and the Wspcpl32.cpl file is not in use by Explorer.exe.
 * 3) During the uninstall process, if you receive the &quot;Setup could not remove the file: 'C:\Winnt\System32\WSPCPL32.CPL'&quot; error message, you can click Abort, Retry, or Ignore. If you click Abort, the uninstall process stops and is not completed. If you click Retry, the message continues to reappear. If you click Ignore, the uninstall process finishes and you are prompted to reboot the computer, but the Wspcpl32.cpl file is still in the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder and the WSP Client icon still appears in Control Panel, although it is not functional (you receive the error message &quot;Winsock Proxy client is not installed properly&quot;). To remove the non-functional WSP Client icon from Control Panel, you must rename or delete the Wspcpl32.cpl file located in the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder.

NOTE: If you have opened Control Panel at any time during the current user session, this resolution does not work; the error message continues to appear. If this occurs, log out, log back on, and then immediately run the Winsock Proxy Uninstall program.



MORE INFORMATION
This behavior also occurs in Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

225292 WSP Icon Not Removed from Control Panel

