Major upgrade leaves 2 entries in Programs and Features

[#1]

Summary

Major upgrade leaves behind 2 entries in the Programs and Feature view.

Symptoms

Major upgrade leaves behind 2 entries in the Programs and Feature view.
Some files might not be properly replaced as well.

Cause

Part of the requirements to implement major upgrade is not correct.

Resolution

Possible causes:

• Version number must be changed in the first 3 fields. Windows Installer does not recognize the 4th field.
• Product code is not changed
• Package code is not changed
• Major upgrade item is not properly authored. The version number must include the version installed on target machine.

Workaround

Potential work around could be creating an InstallScript wrapper to uninstall the current version before installing the new version.

Related KB Articles

Creating Major Upgrade
InstallScript Wrapper