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In Win7, an old version of Acrobat XI is still showing, but there is no matching MSI file for it to execute, so it can't "uninstall" and I can't delete the entry because MS makes it intentionally difficult.

Normally such things just pile up over time. But Acrobat insists on uninstalling the previous version and will not install until the old one is gone.

How can I remove the entry from the database that "Programs and Features" uses?

Programs and Features window

Stein Åsmul
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JDługosz
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3 Answers3

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The cached MSI file that is supposed to run the uninstall might be missing from the super-hidden MSI cache folder normally found at C:\windows\installer (formally at %SystemRoot%\Installer), or there is a crash in the uninstall sequence. Creating an uninstall log file could help (replace the truncated paths):

msiexec.exe /X "C:\Test.msi" /L*V! "C:\msilog.log"

Uninstall by product code (sample guid):

msiexec.exe /x {11111111-1111-1111-1111-11111111111X} /L*V! "C:\msilog.log"

Please see sections 3, 4 and 12 here for details on how MSI's uninstall works: Uninstalling an MSI file from the command line without using msiexec. This will also tell you how to find the product GUID for Adobe Acrobat XI Pro (use the Powershell command found in section 3, or find the same information and a screenshot here: How can I find the product GUID of an installed MSI setup?).

Before trying anything else, I suppose you can try this uninstall fix tool (fixed broken link, September 2017). It would be interesting with feedback on whether it actually works.

Stein Åsmul
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  • The uninstall pops up a prompt for the location of AcroPro.msi and nominates the temp download location and a different copy which is rejected. If it's the cached uninstaller doing that prompt, it's not doing any good. – JDługosz Apr 29 '15 at 07:05
  • Reading through, I think it's a "uninstaller wants original media" thing. There isn't any, since it was a temp extraction through Adobe's distribution system for CreativeCloud. – JDługosz Apr 29 '15 at 07:15
  • Did you try to run the uninstall fix tool I linked to above? – Stein Åsmul Apr 29 '15 at 07:32
  • In general msiexec.exe will always cache the installer, but external factors or bugs could cause it to be missing. Lots of suggested causes in section 12 of the linked uninstall article. – Stein Åsmul Apr 29 '15 at 07:36
  • On Win7 a full copy of the MSI should have been cached in c:\windows\installer. Perhaps they got cute and deleted it to save space. Who knows.... At my day job we just press F12 on bootup. :) – Christopher Painter Apr 29 '15 at 13:28
  • **The "ininstall fix tool" did the trick.** Running the uninstaller by means other than the control panel doesn't do anything different. – JDługosz Apr 29 '15 at 14:16
  • OK, good to know if such a tool actually works. Thanks for updating. – Stein Åsmul Apr 29 '15 at 14:18
  • Yea, the "fix" tool reported that it fixes "corrupt patch registry" and seems to be exactly what is needed: it either generally ignores uninstall errors and consents to remove the entry when done, or it's specifically written to know about the need-original-media problem and recognizes it as a (presumed) no-op. – JDługosz Apr 29 '15 at 16:58
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I had similar issues in the past and used ccleaner to clean up entires from "Programs and Features" after an uninstall went wrong. Hope it works for you.

Mahesh Kava
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-1

This question is technically off topic as you are a user of the product not a developer of the product setup. Your cached MSI is missing and that's blocking their uninstall (bad design on their part) which occurs during upgrade to the new version. There are several things you can try:

1) Reinstall / Repair the old version and then try to uninstall it.

2) Contact the vendor for support.

3) Reinstall Windows.

4) Use the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility (no longer supported but can be found online ) to whack MSI's knowledge of the product. Note this doesn't actually uninstall the product and can cause all sorts of difficulties that may lead you to back to option 3.

Christopher Painter
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  • Vendor is clueless. Reinstalling windows is not a serious answer. I asked about getting a copy of the old version, but it's not kept available as the new one has the same version number (11.0 or 11.0.0). – JDługosz Apr 29 '15 at 17:02
  • I assure that in my 20 years of developing installers and managing integration labs that reinstalling windows is sometimes a very serious answer. Or rather these days reverting to a snapshot on a VM. – Christopher Painter Apr 29 '15 at 17:32