Issues with incomplete removal when uninstalling InstallShield and its shortcuts.
When creating an installation program using InstallShield, a uninstall shortcut is typically automatically generated. This shortcut can be found in the Windows start menu and is used to allow users to easily uninstall the installed program.
However, uninstall programs created with InstallShield may sometimes fail to completely remove installed files and registry entries, causing an issue of “incomplete uninstallation.” This could be due to the files that the program needs to uninstall being used by other processes or having insufficient access permissions.
Possible methods to solve this problem include:
- Close all processes related to the program: Before uninstalling the program, make sure that there are no processes related to the program running. You can close these processes through the task manager or command line.
- Run the uninstall program with administrator permissions: Sometimes, insufficient access rights can prevent the uninstall program from deleting certain files or registry entries. Running the uninstall program with administrator rights can solve this issue. Right-click on the uninstall shortcut, and select “Run as administrator”.
- Manually removing leftover files and registry entries: If the uninstall program is still unable to delete certain files or registry entries, you can manually remove them. Find the program’s installation directory and delete all files and folders within. Then, open the registry editor (regedit) and delete the registry entries related to the program in “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE” and “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE”.
- Utilize third-party uninstallation tools: If the above methods still do not solve the problem, you can try using third-party uninstallation tools such as Revo Uninstaller or IObit Uninstaller. These tools can forcibly remove files and registry entries related to the program.
In conclusion, by closing relevant processes, running the uninstall program as an administrator, manually deleting leftover files and registry entries, and using third-party uninstallation tools, you should be able to resolve the issue of the InstallShield-created installation program not uninstalling completely.