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Uninstall using GUID (Adobe CS in this case)

Greets guys.

In some cases producing batch files for uninstalling apps using their GUID cab be the best option,
ie. the original MSI does not exists anymore etc..

When uninstalling old versions of java I found this to be the easiest solution,
ie. running 'IF EXIST "C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_02" msiexec.exe /x {3248F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0160020}' /qn in a batch file.

However with some apps this does not always work, I have been testing this with Adobe Creative Suite without luck so far.

In CS's case the correct GUID should be {D52ECEBC-9B20-41A5-81C4-A62DE2367419}, this is reflected both under
C:\Program Files\Installshield Installation Information\{D52ECEBC-9B20-41A5-81C4-A62DE2367419} and in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{D52ECEBC-9B20-41A5-81C4-A62DE2367419}

The error which occurs is the same as if you use an invalid GUID for your msiexec /x, ie. Windows Installer error message
"this operation is only valid with applications that are installed" (roughly translated).

Is this caused by Adobe using their own setup.exe (Adobe Creative Suite Installer 1.1) instead of an MSI,
or are there cases where the correct GUID to use are located in other locations in the registry/file system?

Under Add/Remove programs CS's product code is the only one displayed, not the upgrade code / GUID.

Any feedback around this method would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

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Answers (4)

Posted by: nheim 16 years ago
10th Degree Black Belt
0
one minute of google:
http://www.sp.phy.cam.ac.uk/~rl201/wpkg/packages.html#adobecs

Regards, Nick
Posted by: another_visitor 16 years ago
Senior Yellow Belt
0
Thanks for your feedback mate, the link confirms that I am using the correct GUID's as they all are the same ones I have located under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ on the client machines.

However msiexec.exe /x {D52ECEBC-9B20-41A5-81C4-A62DE2367419} /qn (or the other 4 GUID's for the separate CS modules) still does not work,
the GUID's are all treated as they are not valid for uninstall even though they exist under the mentioned registry key.

I have managed to dig up the original installation package and have found out that CS originally was deployed using an AutoHotKey exe,
can this cause any problems for the GUID uninstall method I am trying to use here?
Strange tho as AutoHotKey basically only takes care of the user interaction and shouldn't interfere with the installation itself.

I will try uninstalling a manual CS installation and keep you posted, might be that the AutoHotKey'ed installation package is the source of the problem here.

EDIT:
same problem with a manual CS installation so the AutoHotKey'ed does not make any difference.
Posted by: nheim 16 years ago
10th Degree Black Belt
0
Hi,
log the uninstall and see what the log file tells you.
Regards, Nick
Posted by: anonymous_9363 16 years ago
Red Belt
0
As well as a verbose log, I'd run the uninstall with ProcMon alongside. If the uninstall is requesting file or registry data which either doesn't exist (unlikely) or is permissioned oddly (most likely) you'll see it straight away. Filter out all other processes except MSIExec to keep the visible output manageable.
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