Uninstalling ManageSoft for managed devices

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Summary

This article describes some options for removing the ManageSoft for managed devices software from a Windows computer. An approach based on performing a simple automated uninstall of the software is provided, along with an alternate approach that fully cleans up files and other system settings from the ManageSoft for managed devices installation in addition to uninstalling the software.

Synopsis

This article describes some options for removing the ManageSoft for managed devices software from a Windows computer. An approach based on performing a simple automated uninstall of the software is provided, along with an alternate approach that fully cleans up files and other system settings from the ManageSoft for managed devices installation in addition to uninstalling the software.

ManageSoft for managed devices can normally manually be uninstalled using the standard Windows Add/Remove Programs interface, as described in the managed device release notes. This article is focused on automatic/scripted removal of the software.

Discussion

Uninstalling ManageSoft for managed devices

ManageSoft for managed devices software is installed as a Windows Installer package, and so standard Windows Installer facilities can be used to uninstall the software.

As such, executing the following command line on a computer will silently uninstall ManageSoft for managed devices from that computer (and place Windows Installer logging from the uninstall in the c:\Temp\UninstallManageSoft.log file):

msiexec /x{ProductCode} /q /l*v c:\Temp\UninstallManageSoft.log

where ProductCode is the product code of the particular ManageSoft for managed devices MSI package that you have installed.

Some product codes for different versions of ManageSoft for managed devices which are in common use are:

• 8.6: {30A2BB4B-D82F-4BC0-B074-4455731DAFC2}
• 9.0: {557C08E9-F5AC-4FF1-AABE-03C2BF04860D}
• 9.1: {3E8314C3-7B87-49F9-BA6C-BFE3F344FBBC}
• 9.2: {D25ACA6B-7BA4-40C8-AF6B-0992C7B9A3AE}

The following steps can be performed on a computer with ManageSoft for managed devices installed to determine the product code of that particular release (the same product code will apply to all managed devices that have the same release installed):

1. Run regedit.exe, and navigate to the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall registry key. For 64 bit systems this would be: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
2. Select the Edit > Find... menu option, and search for the string "ManageSoft for managed devices" (without the quotes).
3. This string should be found under a registry key with a path like HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ {30A2BB4B-D82F-4BC0-B074-4455731DAFC2}. The value surrounded by curly braces ("{" and "}") at the end of this path is the product code.

The Orca utility available as part of the Windows Installer SDK that is available from Microsoft can also be used to determine the product code directly from the relevant ManageSoft for managed devices MSI file by looking in the Properties table.

Uninstalling and removing data files and settings

Simply uninstalling the ManageSoft for managed devices software will not remove all files and settings which are likely to have been created as part of the ManageSoft installation. The CleanRemoveManageSoftMD.vbs script attached to this article can be used as a starting point to perform a more thorough removal of files and settings related to ManageSoft. You should review and update the code contained within this script to suit your exact requirements and environment.

This script contains logic to:

• Uninstall the ManageSoft for managed devices software itself.
• Delete the c:\Program Files\ManageSoft folder.
• Delete the %WINDIR%\Temp\ManageSoft folder.
• Delete the c:\Documents and Setings\All Users\Application Data\ManageSoft Corp folder.
• Delete the HKLM\SOFTWARE\ManageSoft Corp\ManageSoft registry key.
• Remove the ManageSoft event log.

Warning: Deleting the c:\Program Files\ManageSoft folder will delete the installation agent cache. It is possible to construct ManageSoft packages to install software applications in to this cache; if you subsequently delete the cache, any such applications are likely to no longer work.

Note: The script contains various hard-coded information which you may need to review and update:

• The product code used to uninstall the ManageSoft for managed devices is hard-coded within the removeProduct subroutine. You will need to determine the product code of the release ManageSoft you need to uninstall as described above, and then update the removeProduct subroutine appropriately.
• The script contains hard-coded paths which may not be correct in a non-English environment, or in environments with customized locations for standard Windows folders. You will need to review and modify the script appropriately if you need it to operate in such an environment.
• For 64 bit systems you will need to update the following:
  • Registry locations to use HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\ManageSoft Corp\
  • Directories location should be "C:\Program Files (x86)\ManageSoft" - (if installed on a different drive to C: then use the correct drive)
  • The "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ManageSoft Corp" directory should be changed to "C:\ProgramData\ManageSoft Corp" on Windows 7

Additional Information

The procedures documented in this article could also be used as the basis for uninstalling ManageSoft for distribution servers. You may want to consider extending the cleanup script to also remove the c:\ManageSoft folder containing packages and other distribution server data files as part of such a cleanup.

Related KB Articles

Q201179