uninstaller error for everything

[Ric]

For some reason I get an error message when I try to uninstall any program
on my system. Actually, it's happening on 2 systems. They're both running xp
pro sp2.

The error is always:

Uninstaller Error
An error occurred while trying to remove <name of program>. It may have
already been uninstalled.
Would you like to remove <name of program> from the Add or Remove programs
list?
[Yes] [No]

I don't know how this happened. Anyone have an idea? Or more importantly, is
there any way to rebuild the uninstaller list so it actually works again?

Thanks,
Ric

 

[Kelly]

Common issue, Ric if the program in question has been removed without using
the proper ways. To correct:

Troubleshooting, Removing and/or Cleaning Add or Remove Programs
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_a.htm#addremove

 

[Ric]

Hi,

That's not the issue in my case. These programs haven't been uninstalled.
They're fully installed and functional. The error occurs with ANY program in
the list. In some cases the program puts the uninstaller in the start menu
group or in an easy enough place to find, but some programs have them hidden
somewhere less obvious, so with the add/remove programs utility not
functioning properly and not knowing where the unisntaller actually is, it's
much trickier. (This came up because I was trying to uninstall a hardware
driver. When I couldn't do it from the control panel, I looked for the
uninstaller under Program Files, but it wasn't anywhere obvious. I
uninstalled the device form device manager and deleted the program folder
uner Program Files, but the actual drivers are probably still in the
system32 folder somewhere and there's still an extra network protocol. I can
try to uninstall the rest manually, or just leave it. But I'm worried this
is going to happen again the next time I want to uninstall something...)
That's why I'd like to repair the add/remove list so that the entries point
to the correct uninstallers, rather than just removing them from the list.
If that's possible, of course...

Thanks,
Ric

Common issue, Ric if the program in question has been removed without
using the proper ways. To correct:

Troubleshooting, Removing and/or Cleaning Add or Remove Programs
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_a.htm#addremove

For some reason I get an error message when I try to uninstall any
program on my system. Actually, it's happening on 2 systems. They're
both running xp pro sp2.

The error is always:

Uninstaller Error
An error occurred while trying to remove <name of program>. It may
have already been uninstalled.
Would you like to remove <name of program> from the Add or Remove
programs list?
[Yes] [No]

I don't know how this happened. Anyone have an idea? Or more
importantly, is there any way to rebuild the uninstaller list so it
actually works again?

Thanks,
Ric

 

[Kelly]

Hi Ric,

"IF" they were in Add or Remove to begin with, the only way is to reinstall,
then uninstall. Depending on the application/software/device, etc, they are
placed by the programmer. It could be in its own folder under Program
Files, the name of the software itself in its own folder simply under C:,
Add or Remove, System or System32....

Note: The uninstall path (string) is listed for each that do get added to
Add or Remove, so before removing the entry, check there first:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

Hi,

That's not the issue in my case. These programs haven't been uninstalled.
They're fully installed and functional. The error occurs with ANY program
in the list. In some cases the program puts the uninstaller in the start
menu group or in an easy enough place to find, but some programs have them
hidden somewhere less obvious, so with the add/remove programs utility not
functioning properly and not knowing where the unisntaller actually is,
it's much trickier. (This came up because I was trying to uninstall a
hardware driver. When I couldn't do it from the control panel, I looked
for the uninstaller under Program Files, but it wasn't anywhere obvious. I
uninstalled the device form device manager and deleted the program folder
uner Program Files, but the actual drivers are probably still in the
system32 folder somewhere and there's still an extra network protocol. I
can try to uninstall the rest manually, or just leave it. But I'm worried
this is going to happen again the next time I want to uninstall
something...) That's why I'd like to repair the add/remove list so that
the entries point to the correct uninstallers, rather than just removing
them from the list. If that's possible, of course...

Thanks,
Ric

Common issue, Ric if the program in question has been removed without
using the proper ways. To correct:

Troubleshooting, Removing and/or Cleaning Add or Remove Programs
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_a.htm#addremove

For some reason I get an error message when I try to uninstall any
program on my system. Actually, it's happening on 2 systems. They're
both running xp pro sp2.

The error is always:

Uninstaller Error
An error occurred while trying to remove <name of program>. It may
have already been uninstalled.
Would you like to remove <name of program> from the Add or Remove
programs list?
[Yes] [No]

I don't know how this happened. Anyone have an idea? Or more
importantly, is there any way to rebuild the uninstaller list so it
actually works again?

Thanks,
Ric