Removal of a registry item

[Guest]

I have a software program installed( well partially that is) in my computer.
When trying to re install the item, it fails due to it already being in my
computer. I had to re install my windows, and when I did that, it wrote over
part of the original program. It is no longer in my add/remove program files.
I was told thru customer support for this product that they would not help me
remove the program completely so I could re install it..... something about
them using Microsoft's installer, and possible 'liabilities' in telling me
how to remove it.

This gentleman talked in circles, but I got what he was saying.... that it
was in the registry, and that it would have to be removed from there first
before I could re install it. How do I safely remove this program? Whe I go
to regedit.exe, and search for the program , I get 3 different things. Only
one of which has the name of the program with it. Is this the only one that
needs to be deleted?

I am not that computer savvy, but have some above average basic knowledge of
how this thing works....lol. If anyone out there could help me get this
software removed from my computer, it would be greatly appreciated...

 

[Bob I]

If you reinstalled Windows, the information about "your program" is no
longer in the registry. Without knowing what you doing, any instructions
to play in the registry is dangerous. Please contact tech support for
this program and have them talk you through what actually needs to be done.

 

[Larry Gardner]

I have run into this MANY times. I just had to reverse-engineer an
installation of Microsoft Image Composer and all I had was the original
Setup.stf (Setup status file) output. Each time I was close, when I ran
the setup file, it wouldn't run as if the application had never been
installed. It was a combination of RegMon (which monitored what the Setup
file was looking for that determined how to run AND removing some registry
entries before I got it right). The solution is basically easy, but
time-consuming. There are a number of things to do. I'll do easiest first:

1. Do you know of where the application was installed? If so, rename the
folder (e.g., C:\Programs Files\[Application])

2. Run CCleaner (or some other registry cleaner), that will recognize that
the application folder is gone, and will cleanup remnants. I use CCleaner
because it is pretty easy on the registry and you can always restore from
the backup files it creates. By renaming the folder, CCleaner will find
invalid registry keys under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Classes and
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID. These are keys that some application installers
look for to see if the applications has already been installed.

3. Run Windows Install Cleanup Tool - see if you can find your application
in the list ... if so, have the Tool remove it.

Now try to re-install.

If Failure, or partial install and then failure:

1. Do Steps 1-2 above and open Regedit
2. Click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE label
3. Open the branch
4. Scan down and see if you see any name representing close to the Company
Name of the product or productname, OR
Search from this point (described above) for something about the
application that you know: pathname, filename, company name, executable,
.... full names are not necessary
5. If found, rename the branch found AND
6. Find the same branch under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, if present, rename it as
well

Now try to re-install
If this installs, remember to go back and remove all your RENAMEd items
under C:\Program Files, and registry entries.

What the person told you above Microsoft Proprietary info ... is outright
BULLSHIT! The coded the Installer package and they are the one's that wrote
in the package what key to look for to determine if THEIR application was
already installed. If the were really supportive, the should have designed
the package with a Repair feature.

If you knew the Installer package pathname under C:\Windows\Installer, you
could have tried to run the package with the REPAIR option and see if it
recognized it. For Example (this is for Windows Live Toolbar Highlight
Viewer Add-In):

MsiExec.exe /X{32247755-A7EF-4C51-9D1E-EEA393383F0D}

would run the Installer package and give you the option for repair ... if
designed that way.
That maps to in the registry to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products\55774223FE7A15C4D9E1EE3A3983F3D0
which contains a subkey InstallProperties. In that key contains the
pathname of the MSIInstaller package (under LocalPackage).

It's this package that gets executable when you install/re-install/remove.

 

[Larry Gardner]

I have run into this MANY times. I just had to reverse-engineer an
installation of Microsoft Image Composer and all I had was the original
Setup.stf (Setup status file) output. Each time I was close, when I ran
the setup file, it wouldn't run as if the application had never been
installed. It was a combination of RegMon (which monitored what the Setup
file was looking for that determined how to run AND removing some registry
entries before I got it right). The solution is basically easy, but
time-consuming. There are a number of things to do. I'll do easiest first:

1. Do you know of where the application was installed? If so, rename the
folder (e.g., C:\Programs Files\[Application])

2. Run CCleaner (or some other registry cleaner), that will recognize that
the application folder is gone, and will cleanup remnants. I use CCleaner
because it is pretty easy on the registry and you can always restore from
the backup files it creates. By renaming the folder, CCleaner will find
invalid registry keys under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Classes and
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID. These are keys that some application installers
look for to see if the applications has already been installed.

3. Run Windows Install Cleanup Tool - see if you can find your application
in the list ... if so, have the Tool remove it.

Now try to re-install.

If Failure, or partial install and then failure:

1. Do Steps 1-2 above and open Regedit
2. Click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE label
3. Open the branch
4. Scan down and see if you see any name representing close to the Company
Name of the product or productname, OR
Search from this point (described above) for something about the
application that you know: pathname, filename, company name, executable,
.... full names are not necessary
5. If found, rename the branch found AND
6. Find the same branch under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, if present, rename it as
well

Now try to re-install
If this installs, remember to go back and remove all your RENAMEd items
under C:\Program Files, and registry entries.

What the person told you above Microsoft Proprietary info ... is outright
BULLSHIT! The coded the Installer package and they are the one's that wrote
in the package what key to look for to determine if THEIR application was
already installed. If the were really supportive, the should have designed
the package with a Repair feature.

If you knew the Installer package pathname under C:\Windows\Installer, you
could have tried to run the package with the REPAIR option and see if it
recognized it. For Example (this is for Windows Live Toolbar Highlight
Viewer Add-In):

MsiExec.exe /X{32247755-A7EF-4C51-9D1E-EEA393383F0D}

would run the Installer package and give you the option for repair ... if
designed that way.
That maps to in the registry to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products\55774223FE7A15C4D9E1EE3A3983F3D0
which contains a subkey InstallProperties. In that key contains the
pathname of the MSIInstaller package (under LocalPackage).

It's this package that gets executable when you install/re-install/remove.