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Is clean uninstall really necessary in all cases?

Is clean uninstall really necessary in all cases? If I forcefully remove the loose leftover pieces (after running uninstall) via btch/vb/.ps1, will it be wrong? or does it always has to be a logic run from installer or executable.

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Answers (4)

Posted by: Badger 9 years ago
Red Belt
0

That's why I like 'proper MSI's', they take away what they put down. (be careful with CustomActions)

If an application creates files at run time (like logs or crash reports) they will be left behind. sometime they might be useful. There is also the User based files, I generally leave them, the MSI only removes the files for the person un installing, yes you can use black magic to go through all the users profiles, but really, why??

 

In the MSI you can use the removefile table to remove *.* from a folder like INSTALLDIR. Again be careful....

I am sure someone has done that for ALL of their packages, then had to create an MSI that puts a single file in the Windows folder. You can imagine what happens when that is removed.
Such a funny IT joke... I can hear the laughter....

Posted by: 786_ak 9 years ago
Third Degree Green Belt
0
Usually, the installer/exe does a fair job to clean up, but in some cases and in different environment you might want to use a script to clean the leftovers.

AK
Posted by: ron123 9 years ago
Yellow Belt
0
If application has some shared resources in that scenario we can ignore clean uninstallation of application.
Posted by: olditguy 9 years ago
Second Degree Blue Belt
0
I view the Installer clean up the same way as I regard indigestion tablets; I don't take them after a meal unless I've got indigestion. Usually the installer cleans up properly but sometimes e.g. ISScript, Sentinel Protection can sometimes leave stuff behind.

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