Software uninstallation and reinstallation?
I recently was tasked with creating msi compatible installs for software my company uses and have completed this.
Now I am tasked with removing the software from all workstations in our organization and bringing the company under a "managed state" via AD and group policy.
I will be using GP for all the software installation, but I am troubled with how to go about removing the current software that is on there before installing from GP. I do not want the software to install along side itself and create issues that would be associated with that.
A short list of some of the programs we use are:
Adaware
spybot
winzip
office xp
diskeeper
eTrust Inoculate
citrix
and a few others I cannot remember off hand.
Would I need to use some sort of script or something to remove those programs?? I am trying to avoid uninstalling all this software manually as we have about 700 workstations. Reloading windows would be my last option. Any help is much appreciated.
Now I am tasked with removing the software from all workstations in our organization and bringing the company under a "managed state" via AD and group policy.
I will be using GP for all the software installation, but I am troubled with how to go about removing the current software that is on there before installing from GP. I do not want the software to install along side itself and create issues that would be associated with that.
A short list of some of the programs we use are:
Adaware
spybot
winzip
office xp
diskeeper
eTrust Inoculate
citrix
and a few others I cannot remember off hand.
Would I need to use some sort of script or something to remove those programs?? I am trying to avoid uninstalling all this software manually as we have about 700 workstations. Reloading windows would be my last option. Any help is much appreciated.
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Posted by:
ST170SP1
19 years ago
I you want a truly managed state you need to start of from a known state and the only way to do that is to rebuild and control user permissions on the machines via GPOs. That way you can maintain the managed state and thus reduce the TCO (which is probably your taskmasters’ objective).
You could write a wrapper for each of your installs that detects all previous versions, moves data and config files to an archive area. Uninstalls the app, clears up the programmes installation directory of any residual files and starts the install for the new version creating a log file of progress as it goes. It’s possible, but depends how diverse you builds are.
Not knowing you environment your scripts may have to be quite comprehensive to cater for all scenarios. It’s all a matter of risk.
Regards,
JamesT
You could write a wrapper for each of your installs that detects all previous versions, moves data and config files to an archive area. Uninstalls the app, clears up the programmes installation directory of any residual files and starts the install for the new version creating a log file of progress as it goes. It’s possible, but depends how diverse you builds are.
Not knowing you environment your scripts may have to be quite comprehensive to cater for all scenarios. It’s all a matter of risk.
Regards,
JamesT
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