Software Deployment

I've got 6.0 on my PC - according to my registry it should look something like this (haven't tried it though):

MsiExec.exe /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-000000000001}

Stick a quiet flag on the end too (eg: "/qb" or "/qn").

This is a standard MSI uninstall command line. The GUID represents the ProductCode property which you can read from your property table. It will most probably be different to the one I've given you, because 6.0 to 7.0 should be major upgrade.

I found this very quickly by searching for the word "acrobat" under th following registry key:

"HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\"

If you did the same search you would probably find the correct uninstall string for version "7.0". Obviously, (although I didn't notice straight away) you need to replace the "i" with an "x".

Install: msiexec /I [nativemsi].msi /TRANSFORMS=[YourCustomizedTransform].mst /qb

Uninstall: msiexec /X [nativemsi].msi /TRANSFORMS=[YourCustomizedTransform].mst /qb

Bart [8|]

ORIGINAL: mattyskinner

OK, so I've created my MST using the installshield tuner, it installs silently fine, but how can I get it to uninstall completely silently?
MsiExec.exe /X{AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A70000000000}

/x Uninstalls the product. Where the value between the curly brackets is the "Product Code" of the app you want to uninstall.

/i Installs or configures a product.

EDIT:
You also need to add the /qb to suppress the "are you sure" dialog.
MsiExec.exe /X{AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A70000000000} /qb

or

MsiExec.exe /qb /X{AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A70000000000}

Quick Question guys ,

I was unable to find UninstallString for Adobe Acrobat Standard 7.0 in the mentioned reg value . However it was available for reader

Any past experience how to uninstall Adobe standard 7.0 silently . Currently my uninstallation gives an uninstallation wizard .

Appreciate help .

Cheers ,
V

I don't mean to sound ungrateful but I'm still getting no luck. If I run misexec /x{guid} it asks me if I want to uninstall the product, I say yes and then another warning window appears with a yellow exclamation mark but no writing, and the uninstall fails.

The only way I can get it to remove at all is to run the msiexec /i{guid} again, it detects that its installed, gives me the option to remove it, and then uninstalls perfectly.

Can anyone explain why msiexec /x is failing. I've tried a verbose log and nothing is obvious. Please help..........

I'm guessing that you got two problems:

1) You didn't use "/qb" or "/qn"

2) You used the wrong GUID for the product code.

This is the best guess I can make based on the information you've provided.

OK. Seems like I have a different problem all together. It fails when I try to remove it from add /remove programs - i get event id 1013.

John Bryan (Last update 8/27/2003):
The error is being generated by code within an MSI installation file, more precisely MSI Custom Action type 19 "Cancel Installation", which produces an error display box containing a custom text message which is the same message recorded in the event log.
NOTE: The description for this EventID will vary from application to application.
Solving: This will require knowledge of editing MSI installation files and an MSI editor. This custom action will usually be imbedded in an "If" logic statement. Analyze the logic to find why the "CancelInstallation" comand is being run so that either:
1) The reason for the cancellation can be avoided.
Or
2) The logic code can be modified (by creating transform or editing the MSI) so that the cancellation does not occur.
Example:
"Acrobat 6.0 Standard" MSI has this in logic preventing any repairs or self-repairs if logged in as a user under NT, Windows 2000 or XP resulting in message/event-description "You do not have sufficient privileges to run this installer."

Any clues anyone - I haven't done anything fancy, just follwed Adobe's instructions

Matt

Well, I'm using the correct guid because the program is launching the Acrobat uninstall windows. I've tried using the /qn and /qb switches and this stops it asking about confirmation. This, however, is not the problem - its event id 1013. Does anyone know a simple solution?

read above

i fail to see the problem in this .. i did my package in 5 min.

WEIRD [&:]

Created a new MST and new msi and works fine.

Least it Friday

In the future, you may want to try out the AppDeploy Uninstall Wizard:

http://www.adminscripteditor.com/wizards/view.asp?id=21

It is an add-in for the Admin Script Editor that will pull silent uninstall strings from the registry and insert the commands into a script. Where silent uninstall strings are not made available, it attempts to build a silent uninstall command based on a determination of how the setup was authored (and what silent switches may be available, such as for InstallShiled, Wise, Inno, MSI, etc.)

Excuse me for resurrecting this old thread, but I manage a site with about 8000 machines, and the current state of installation of Adode Reader is a mess, so I have decided to uninstall older versions and standardise the installation to only run 8.1.2 (for the moment). However, I have no idea what versions are out there, and I need to generate a script to uninstall whatever is already installed before I install 8.1.2.

Do anybody have a collection of uninstall strings or the GUIDs for old versions of Adobe Reader? To complicate the matter, the installation can be in English, Danish or Swedish. I would also like to know how my script can determine which version to uninstall - well, if I have the GUID, I guess it is not too difficult.

Steen Kastoft Hansen

If you are using SMS/SCCM why not query the database to pull the product code back to your uninstaller? so for example :

dim compname as string = my.computer.name
dim uniqueId as string = string.empty

Try
Dim conn As New SqlClient.SqlConnection("Data Source=server_name;" + "Initial Catalog=DB_Name;" + "User ID=******;" + "Password=*********;")
Dim cmd As New SqlClient.SqlCommand
cmd.CommandTimeout = 60
cmd.Connection = conn
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text
cmd.CommandText = "select isd.productcode00 from dbo.installed_software_data isd join system_data SYS on sys.machineID = ISD.machineID where arpdisplayname00 like '%adobe%reader%' and isd.productcode00 like '{%}' and name0 = '" & compname & "'"
conn.Open()
uniqueid = CStr((cmd.ExecuteScalar))
conn.Close()
Catch ex As Exception
System.Environment.Exit(1)
End Try


Then you could have for example :

"MSIEXEC.EXE /x " & uniqueId & " /qn"