Summary

Synopsis

After installing a package, the installation cannot uninstall because of corruption on the system or in the package. This article discusses how to manually remove an Installshield package from the system.

Discussion

MSI-Based Installations

1. Download the Microsoft Fixit utility and run it on the target machine. This utility requires that the logged in user have administrative privileges. Run this tool and use it to remove the MSI part of your installation.
   
2. Run regedit.exe, and delete the keys under:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\InstallShield Uninstall Information\{GUID}
   
   and
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{ GUID}
   
   The GUID will be replaced by a long number/letter combination for that particular installation. This corresponds to the Product Code of the installation package. The specific entry can be identified by selecting each item, and noting the "DisplayName" key. When that key value matches the product name that's the GUID that should be used.

3. If removing an InstallScript MSI setup, it may also be necessary to remove the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\InstallShield_{ GUID}.

4. Run Windows Explorer, go to the hidden folder, make a backup copy of the folder and then delete it. The hidden folder is:

   <ProgramFiles>\InstallShield Installation Information\{GUID}
   
   Warning: Deleting this folder may damage other installations on your machine; therefore, use caution when performing this step. It may be helpful to make a backup copy of this folder before deleting it entirely from the machine.

5. Delete all files, folders (for example C:\Program Files\Company Name\Product Name), registry entries and shortcuts installed by the installation.

1. Run regedit.exe, and delete the keys under:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{ GUID}
   
   The GUID will be replaced by a long number/letter combination for that particular installation. The specific entry can be identified by selecting each item, and noting the "DisplayName" key. When that key value matches your product name that's the GUID that should be used.
   
2. Run Windows Explorer, go to the hidden folder, make a backup copy of the folder, and then delete the folder. The hidden folder is:

   <ProgramFiles>\InstallShield Installation Information\{GUID}
   
   Warning: Deleting this folder may damage other installations on your machine; therefore, use caution when performing this step. It may be helpful to make a backup copy of this folder before deleting it entirely from the machine.

3. Delete all files, folders (for example C:\Program Files\Company Name\Product Name), registry entries and shortcuts installed by the installation.

Related KB Articles

Additional Information

RegVac is a third-party utility for cleaning the registry. RegVac can be downloaded from http://www.regvac.com/fregvac.htm.

For more information on the Windows Installer, see Microsoft's Windows Installer Help Library.