A weird installation problem.

[aimeeandbeatles]

So I had a game. Uninstalled it a while ago. Decided to reinstall it. Went in, and it says it can't install because I already have a copy.

So I went into Program Files and deleted the files. Also went into registry and deleted the key. It still says it can't install.

I tried looking it up on the internet. Nothing. What can I do now?

P.S. What I'm thinking about is trying to track down the leftover junk and manually deleting it.

EDIT: Tried using Revo Uninstallers Hunter Mode. Said they couldn't find the uninstaller. Crap.

 

[Cutlass]

Look in your documents and settings folder and see if there's a file for it somewhere under program data. Win XP (and probably Vista) put files in a lot of stupid places. You need to delete them all before some installs.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I've snooped around my HDD. Nothing there. My guess is that there's a file in Windows folder or something (I didn't touch anything in there, I don't trust myself enough. LOL.)

However, my computer is such a mess (I found that out by looking around) that I decided it might be a good idea to do a fresh install. I have a big pile of CDs and stuff ready for it.

Thanks anyways.

 

[Cutlass]

With windows, Microsux official trainers recommend that the correct solution to complicated problems is to wipe the hard drive and start over

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Yeah. But it's nice to have a fresh start.

 

[Padma]

InstallShield, at least, puts a lot of that info in arcanely-named subfolders in the C:\Program Files\InstallShield folder. I remember, to manually uninstall Civ3, I had to search through those subfolders, looking for the right one. (The application name for that folder is listed in a file within the folder.)

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I reinstalled Windows. Currently installing the "essential" programs before the games.

 

[Till]

Install it into a sandbox next time. This way, you can just get rid of the sandbox when you no longer want the game and your Windows installation won't get clogged up with useless registry entries/obscure files.

Not that it is of much help anymore, but when something like this comes up again, use a system call monitor to find out which files the installation programme is looking for.

 

[Reno]

One additional way, if the problem was due to registery entries, is to install CCleaner and run it to clear away unnecessary entries.

 

[GoodGame]

Aimee, I suspect that you missed a mention of the program somewhere in the registry.
e.g. http://www.theeldergeek.com/manually_uninstall_programs.htm
If you are using a more automated registry cleaner instead of regedit, you might look for one that is more advanced. Some softwares imbed themselves in the registry more extensively than others.


I'd not reinstall windows just for a program. Waste of time.

 

[kcwong]

Agree with GoodGame, you don't need to reinstall Windows just for that.

You need to locate the game under:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

And remove the key. Most of the time they use a human-readable name as the key, which you can find easily.

Sometimes things get installed under a GUID, then you'll have to look into each of them, look at the other values and decide if it's the key you need to remove.

That's the primary registry where installers check to see if the application is already installed or not.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

thank you.

 

[kcwong]

Also for installers made with InstallShield, there is a folder added to "C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information" (it's a hidden folder), under a GUID for the application.

That GUID should match the registry key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall.

Though usually you don't need to remove those, because the primary registry key is the only thing that is checked.

 

[pillowmaker911]

Also, if you use Spybot Search & Destroy, if you go to 'Mode' and click 'Advanced'. On the left, click on Tools and go to 'System Internals' and run that. It checks the registry in places they "found missing in other registry programs". When I had to uninstall some games manually it found some entries CCleaner didn't. When you choose to fix problems a window appears for each one and I suggest just deleting any entries that show up... otherwise you have to fix them manually.