Uninstall without an MSI file

I often get a problem with Windows Installer trying to uninstall a package, but it complains that:

> The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable.

Is there a known means of uninstalling such packages when the original MSI is simply not available?

Please note that Microsoft has now released an official tool to resolve these issues, without the problems that previously existed with MSIZAP.

• Microsoft Fixit: Fix problems with programs that can't be installed or uninstalled

Take a look at a tool called MSIZap released by Microsoft.

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UPDATE:

MsiZap.exe has been deprecated for quite some time. Its use is unsupported on all recent versions of Windows, and it is considered a very unsafe tool to use.

I added a link to a newer Microsoft support tool designed to clean out installations, but this tool also appears deprecated at this point. I have removed the link from the comments section.

Perhaps try the tool linked to in saschabeaumont's answer below.

FYI, this post explains the root problem https://superuser.com/q/293542/245923

You can uninstall it using the product code:

msiexec.exe /x {your-product-code-guid}

You would obtain this code from the MSI itself, or whatever tool you are using to build the MSI.

Note that when you uninstall a product, it uses a cached MSI, since only the original MSI knows how to uninstall itself. When you use the product code, it uses the cached MSI from C:\WINDOWS\Installer.

> Update, Stein Åsmul: There is a whole list of cleanup approaches here (recommended).

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UPDATE:

This newer support tool can be tried on recent Windows versions if you have defunct MSI packages needing uninstall. This new tool appears to have been deprecated as well.

Perhaps try the tool linked to in saschabeaumont's answer.

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It is not normal or standard MSI behavior to ask for the original source media - it indicates a badly designed MSI package. If you experience this with a vendor MSI it is highly recommended that you report the problem to their support team. Here is a more comprehensive explanation of the problem: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/208530/why-does-msi-require-the-original-msi-file-to-proceed-with-an-uninstall/1189524#1189524

In most cases MSI packages can be uninstalled from add/remove programs from the control panel even if you don't have the original installation database for the MSI - the uninstall is run from a cached copy of the original MSI in the system folder %SystemRoot%\Windows\Installer (in some cases this cached MSI could be missing, see section 12 here for potential causes).

Earlier versions of MSI tended to trigger this problem (asking for the original installation media) more often (Office back in the day), and legacy MSI files can still cause uninstall problems that can only be solved using the msizap.exe tool (this tool is deprecated, outdated and no longer supported). This command line tool (msizap.exe) also had a GUI available (MSICUU2.exe), both tools are deprectated (try the link to the new cleanup tool listed above).

Just for the record: If you have access to the original MSI that was actually used to install the product, you can use this to run the uninstall. It must be the exact MSI that was used, and not just a similar one. There is a unique package guid assigned to each MSI file, so Windows will know if it is the right one.

Related answers:

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/53876550/wix-custom-action-dialogbox-on-silent-uninstall-of-application/53876981#53876981
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/450027/uninstalling-an-msi-file-from-the-command-line-without-using-msiexec/1055933#1055933

You didn't do something crazy like go to C:\Windows\Installer\ and delete the files in there did you?

One drawback of MSI files is you need the complete MSI file in order to uninstall or repair the application. Windows loves to store a copy of the MSI. It also renames the MSI file from a common name to a GUID with no table (that I can find) to map original names (example: Office2010.msi) to the new GUID so you have a PC with many GBs of wasted space that you can't delete. A machine that's not even 1 year old can easily hit 8 GB (example: mine).

There is an MSI cleanup utility from Microsoft, Windows Installer Cleanup Utility (deprecated tool, unsupported and unsafe to use - perhaps try this answer instead: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/334490/uninstall-without-an-msi-file/11058378#11058378).

Or CCleaner can usually do this

Control Panel --> Add/Remove programs?

EDIT: Your post mentions nothing about using add remove programs to uninstall the app, you said the "Windows Installer" (MSIEXEC - see the link below), which is not the same thing.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367988(VS.85).aspx