a more recent version of this product is installed - msi error

0
votes

I build and install msi's for our product and I have recently managed to get an issue in that windows install keeps giving me the message:

"A more recent version of program name is already installed on this computer"

I upgraded to a new version, which is not an upgrade in .msi terms, but an uninstall and then install the new version. I then uninstalled the latest update as I needed to revert back to the old version to test more scenario's. when I tried to install the old version I now get this message. I have cleared down the registry as it looks like the old version had not uninstalled completely.

How is this continuing... I'm completely lost. If I search the registry for the product code it can't be found???

Thanks

2
windows-installer

2 Answers

1
votes

Are there perhaps files marked as "permanent" by Visual Studio left in the application directory? Visual Studio's setup projects can be tricky, and I've found that leaving files in the application directory will hinder other installs.

0
votes

Thanks to @Breems - I found the old .msi in the c:\windows\Installer directory and deleted it as a last ditch attempt (luckily I knew this as I had been writing notes as I do when I'm creating packages). When trying to reinstall I was then getting a network error " couldn't find file blah blah "..... I took the path it was looking for and searched the registry and consequently found that an entry in "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products" had been left - deleted that and all is well!!!

So a quick run down for anyone experiencing issues with failed uninstalls:-

  • Delete all files on disk, logs, AppData entries etc.

Then the following registry entries should be checked. you should be able to do this by searching for the name of your product/app:-

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall (this is were 32bit apps get put on 64bit machines)
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products