WinXP Pro Microsoft Security Essentials uninstall FAILS

[Greegor]

The errors you are seeing are due to some registry information being

missing, or some files that have been corrupted, from the original
installation of the .NET Framework.

It's doing it on 2 of my working systems which DO have
clean installs and never once ran up regedit.

No telling what caused the damage (the registry cleaners you use to
'fix' things can cause errors like this), but you need to use Aaron
Stebner's tool to remove all .NET Frameworks on XP, and then manually
download and install only what you need.

I think I'll go one better and do a new install
without any Framework of any version. Ever.

Why are you installing .NET Framework 4.x?
 Do you have software that
requires it?  Don't install it if you don't need it.

Building a clean master with all updates for my
little fleet of 5 identical off lease OEM computers.

 

[glee]

It's doing it on 2 of my working systems which DO have
clean installs and never once ran up regedit.

Interesting.... nothing has been installed except an stock clean install
of the OS? Is an anti-virus installed at the time of the .NET
installation, and is it active at the time?

I think I'll go one better and do a new install
without any Framework of any version. Ever.


Building a clean master with all updates for my
little fleet of 5 identical off lease OEM computers.

But why are you installing .NET Framework if you have no software that
uses it? .NET Framework 4 is not pushed on Windows Update, it is an
optional update listed separately. I don't think any .NET flavor is
pushed any longer for XP on Windows Update if it isn't already present
due to some 3rd-party software. I'll have to look at my clean install
on another machine.

 

[Greegor]

Interesting.... nothing has been installed except an stock clean install
of the OS?  Is an anti-virus installed at the time of the .NET
installation, and is it active at the time?

MSE installed and running in the order it was offered up
by the update site.

Update site does not say to turn off virus scanner.

Are problem with installers looking for necessary files in
crazy places with long random character names a
common symptom caused by a virus scanner operating?

It just doesn't seem like the kind of error I would
expect from collisions with an active virus scanner.

But why are you installing .NET Framework if you have no software that
uses it?  .NET Framework 4 is not pushed on Windows Update, it is an
optional update listed separately.  I don't think any .NET flavor is
pushed any longer for XP on Windows Update if it isn't already present
due to some 3rd-party software.  I'll have to look at my clean install
on another machine.

Just in case! But not any more.

 

[glee]

MSE installed and running in the order it was offered up
by the update site.

I assume you mean the updates were offerred... Windows Update doesn't
automatically offer MSE itself.

Update site does not say to turn off virus scanner.

No, but it I always do when installing updates to .NET or Internet
Explorer, at the least. AV's vary.... Norton has a history of
interfering, as well as some others (ESET did for a while)... other AVs
don't cause any trouble most of the time.

Are problem with installers looking for necessary files in
crazy places with long random character names a
common symptom caused by a virus scanner operating?

That 'symptom' is usually the uninstaller looking for the original
temporary folder that was used (or recorded as used) during the original
installation. Often those folders are deleted by the installer at the
end of the installation, or by the user during maintenance.

It just doesn't seem like the kind of error I would
expect from collisions with an active virus scanner.

No, probably not. It could be a defect in the installer, but if it was,
one would expect to see the issue everywhere, and it is actually not
that common.

snip

Just in case! But not any more.

There's no good reason to install any .NET version if you don't have
software asking for it during installation, in order to run the
software.

 

[Greegor]

I assume you mean the updates were offerred... Windows Update doesn't
automatically offer MSE itself.


No, but it I always do when installing updates to .NET or Internet
Explorer, at the least.  AV's vary.... Norton has a history of
interfering, as well as some others (ESET did for a while)... other AVs
don't cause any trouble most of the time.


That 'symptom' is usually the uninstaller looking for the original
temporary folder that was used (or recorded as used) during the original
installation.  Often those folders are deleted by the installer at the
end of the installation, or by the user during maintenance.

That seems to be exactly what is going wrong.
How could a virus scanner like MSE possibly
cause this sort of malfunction?

How could it cause the record of where crucial
code or overlays are, to refer to the WRONG
directory?

I will try to test for this effect, maybe next week.

No, probably not.  It could be a defect in the installer, but if it was,
one would expect to see the issue everywhere, and it is actually not
that common.


There's no good reason to install any .NET version if you don't have
software asking for it during installation, in order to run the
software.

I certainly won't.

 

[glee]

That seems to be exactly what is going wrong.
How could a virus scanner like MSE possibly
cause this sort of malfunction?

How could it cause the record of where crucial
code or overlays are, to refer to the WRONG
directory?

I will try to test for this effect, maybe next week.


snip

I didn't state that an A-V, in your case MSE, would necessarily cause
it. As I stated in my reply, it could be a defect in the installer,
though one would then expect to see the issue everywhere, and it isn't
that common. That said, if an A-V is interfering with an installation,
corruption of the installation could occur in a number of places....
files not copied, or corrupted Registry entries, and so forth.
..NET updates have long been a problem, searching for the myriad causes
of the problems isn't worth the time to me.... it just seems to fragile
for prime time. I look for alternate software that doesn't use .NET
wherever possible. Vista, Win7 and 8 all have some versions built in
now.