Control Panel - Add Remove Programs Link

Question

Hi,

Whenever an msi is installed the Remove button in the Control Panel -> Add/Remove programs calls the "msiexec /x {GUID}".

Can I disable this and make my Program.exe located in C:\Program Files to be called instead ?

I have tried changing the UninstallString in the registry Microsoft->Windows->Uninstall. Did not work for me. (Maybe I did some mistake of manually changing and trying using 'regedit')

Can anybody provide me a way to call my "Program.exe" instead of "msiexec /x" via WiX ?

Regards,

tvks

Answer 1

My understanding is you should be able to change the UninstallString. Is it possible that the Add/Remove programs dialog had the previous value already loaded when you changed it in the registry? Try changing the UninstallString, then load Add/Remove Programs and attempt the uninstall.

Answer 2

Seems to me that you should keep the "msiexec /x {GUID}" as it is, and author a custom action on condition REMOVE="ALL" that runs your .EXE in Program Files. That way you will keep the integrity of the MSI database, but at the same time be able to run your .EXE. I obviously don't know your exact application, but I would suggest this strategy.