Uninstall Without MSI File

Question

I often get a problem with Windows Installer trying to uninstall a package, but it complains that

The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable.

Is there a known means of uninstalling such packages when the original MSI is simply not available?

Answer 1

Control Panel --> Add/Remove programs?

EDIT: Your post mentions nothing about using add remove programs to uninstall the app, you said the "Windows Installer" (MSIEXEC - see the link below), which is not the same thing.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367988(VS.85).aspx

Answer 2

Unfortunately one huge drawback of the MSI files is you need the complete MSI file in order to uninstall, and worse, the file is renamed and stored in a Windows folder, so even if you track down the MSI on the web or on a CD, you won't be able to uninstall. And even worse, many of these MSI are big, I've seen PCs with 2gb of MSI files stored on the HD.

Answer 3

Take a look at a tool called MSIZap released by microsoft http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

Answer 4

There is an msicleanup util from microsoft http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301
Or Ccleaner http://www.ccleaner.com/ can usually do this.

Answer 5

In most cases MSI packages can be uninstalled from add/remove programs even if you don't have the original installation database for the MSI. Earlier versions of MSI tended to trigger this problem more often, and legacy MSI files can still cause uninstall problems that can only be solved using the msizap.exe tool.

Technically the cause of the problem is usually the standard action 'ResolveSource" or a badly written custom action which specifically "asks for" the original installation file. This is not normal or recommended MSI behavior, so if you experience this with a vendor MSI it is highly recommended that you report the problem to their support team.