Cannot uninstall old half uninstalled Windows Defender

[Guest]

I got rid of Windows Defender a while ago, then decided to use Windows Live
OneCare and it suggested that I get it back.
So I tried, and it said;

The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is
unavailable.

Click OK to try again, or enter an alternate path to a folder containing the
installation package ‘WindowsDefender.msi’ in box below

Then I tried to make the folder it asked me to make, in Local Settings etc.

I put the windowsdefender.msi file in there, and ran the msi file (which is
an installer package).

Got this message;

The file 'C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Local Settings\Temporary Internet
Files\Content.IE5\Q62BSA30\WindowsDefender.msi' is not a valid installation
package for the product. Try to find the installation package
'WindowsDefender[1].msi' in a folder from which you can install.

So I tried downloading a free uninstaller from C.Net called Easy Uninstaller.

It found the windows defender file, and signatures, but could not uninstall
them - when I clicked on the uninstall button in the Easy Uninstaller window,
I got a familiar Microsoft Windows Defender message;

The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is
unavailable.

Click OK to try again, or enter an alternate path to a folder containing the
installation package ‘WindowsDefender.msi’ in box below.

Sigh.

Looks like this one is here to stay. Almost like the trojans that AOL PP
Cleaner said it found deep in the operating system but could not remove.

Funny one that, this PP Cleaner was found when I did a search for anything
called cleaner on my C drive to remove Windows Defender.

AOL PP Cleaner said it needed me to run the following command in safe mode;

c:\PPCleanDeleteAtReboot.bat

Windows (once in safe mode) claimed it could not find this file, so no
cleaning could take place.

What has Windows Live OneCare and Windows Defender done to my computer?

What do I do to fix all of this stuff since it might all be related as one
big problem?

 

[Guest]

I too have experienced a partial uninstall of Windows Defender and cannot
find anyway to reinstall it or another product that wants it removed first.
I am seeing exactly the same symptoms as coldelephat describes.

Are we doomed to have this partial install on our systems unless we
completely trash the entire machine and rebuild from scratch? I have tried
running registry edit packages and removing every link to WD to no avail.

Extremely frustrating.

RollinH

 

[Guest]

I found another post that indicated I should run the Windows Install CleanUp.
I restored all the entries in the registry for WD reemoved by registry
cleanup utilities (that I ran trying to fix this) and then ran the cleanup
utility to delete WD and WD Signatures. All is now well! I was able to
reinstall.

Rollin