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Link to more information about the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooting Tool

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There is a new general-purpose installation troubleshooting tool called the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooting Tool that has been available on the Microsoft support site for a little while, and I want to post some information about this tool to help make it easier for people to find it.

This tool is conceptually similar to the .NET Framework cleanup tool, but it is more generic and can be used to clean up any MSI-based installation on a computer.  It also performs more robust back-up steps prior to cleaning up in case you need to roll back to a previous state.

Where to download the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooting Tool

You can find more information about the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooting Tool and download it from the following locations:

Summary information about the tool

The Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooting Tool can be used to automatically diagnose problems that can prevent installing and uninstalling programs on your computer.  It can help resolve some errors that prevent programs from uninstalling, installing or updating correctly.  Here is a list of issues that this tool is currently able to fix:

  • Resolves some problems that can prevent programs from being successfully uninstalled (which can block re-installations and update installation).
  • Removes an incorrect registry key that can cause some installers to fail on 64-bit operating systems.
  • Fixes corrupted patch data in Windows Installer registry keys.

This tool is designed as a last resort for cases where install, uninstall, repair or patch installation did not succeed for unusual reasons. It is not a substitute for the standard uninstall procedure.  You should use only use this tool to uninstall a program if the program fails to uninstall using the entry in the Programs and Features control panel.

More details about how the tool works

The Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooting Tool does the following behind the scenes when you use it to uninstall a program:

  • Creates a system restore point prior to removing program files and registry entries.  This restore point can be used to return the computer to the state prior to any action taken by the tool.

  • Makes back-up copies of all files and registry entries that it will remove to a folder under c:\MATS\<ProductCode>.

  • Backs up files in sub-folders that correspond to the system drive letters.  For example: c:\MATS\<ProductCode>\FileBackup\c\...

  • Backs up registry information in an XML file. 

  • Creates a PowerShell script that can be used to automatically restore file and registry information deleted by the tool.  The PowerShell script will be located at C:\MATS\<ProductCode>\RestoreYourFilesAndRegistry.ps1, and you can double-click on it to run it if you have PowerShell installed.

  • Stores additional information in the registry about actions that it has taken.  This information can be found at the following location:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MATS\WindowsInstaller\<ProductCode>\<DateTime>

    The most useful piece of information stored at this location in the registry is the return value received when MATS attempted to run msiexec /x to uninstall the product.

The Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooting Tool requires Windows Installer product codes in order to know what file and registry information to remove from the computer.  For programs that are listed in the tool UI, the product code will appear as a tool tip when you mouse over the product name.  If you choose the Not Listed option in the tool UI, you can use a tool like MsiInv to determine the product code.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    November 23, 2011
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    November 23, 2011
    Hi Chris - Yes, this tool is a replacement for msicuu2.exe.  There is a note in the knowledge base article at support.microsoft.com/.../2438651 that mentions that tool. This tool only resolves MSI installation issues.  For SXS issues, the best option I know of is the System Update Readiness Tool described at support.microsoft.com/.../947821.

  • Anonymous
    November 30, 2011
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    December 06, 2011
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 10, 2013
    i want a microsoftfixit product code ??? plz give me

  • Anonymous
    May 12, 2013
    Hi Moiz - I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what you're asking for.  I don't know what a fixit product code is.  Could you please provide more details about the exact problem you're seeing and I'll see if I can help?

  • Anonymous
    July 21, 2013
    Hi! I have the same problem as moiz. When it gets to the option to choose which program to uninstall, if you pick not listed, it asks for a product code of the program you wish to install? I myself am at a loss here, searching for an answer. Any help would be appreciated....

  • Anonymous
    July 22, 2013
    Hi Owen - You can use steps like the ones at blogs.msdn.com/.../487096.aspx to find the product code for the product you are trying to uninstall.

  • Anonymous
    September 25, 2014
    it looks like this tool disappeared! support2.microsoft.com/.../program_install_and_uninstall has nothing on the page! I received an error (code 1603) when Skype started and wanted to update. Followed the uninstall protocols (no longer appears in control panel) and tried again, with no luck. Anyone know where to find this tool? lynne m b at a o l dot com

  • Anonymous
    September 25, 2014
    Hi lynne - I'm seeing the same problem when I try to access that page.  I don't know of any other locations to download this tool.  I've sent email to the people I know who worked on that tool to see if they can help fix this link. In the meantime, you might want to check out the Skype support site at https://support.skype.com/en/ to see if there is any information there to help with this Skype installation problem.

  • Anonymous
    October 03, 2014
    Hi lynne - Sorry for the delay.  The problem with the link at support2.microsoft.com/.../program_install_and_uninstall has been fixed, and it is working for me now.  If you get a chance, can you please try again and confirm that it is working for you too?

  • Anonymous
    October 26, 2014
    A couple weeks went by, and skpe figured out how to install itself. now, it just won't connect! thankfully it's on another computer when i need it, and get around to following up on the new error. thanks for your reply.

  • Anonymous
    July 29, 2015
    THis fixit - is taking very long on my system - for some reason it uses all of my RAM most of the time - It has been going for a few hours (2.5) already.  -  How long should I persist before I abandon. -- : ) happy new year 2015

  • Anonymous
    July 30, 2015
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    July 30, 2015
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    July 31, 2015
    Hi Gavin - I'm glad you got this issue sorted out, but I'm sorry for the hassles.  Please don't hesitate to contact me if you run into any additional issues in the future.

  • Anonymous
    August 30, 2016
    Is there a silent parameter that we can use for the uninstall command if we know the product code that we need to remove? If no silent parameter is available, what powershell scripts can we use to run the uninstall?

    • Anonymous
      August 31, 2016
      Hi Kiko - I talked to the team that originally created the MATS tool, and they indicated to me that it wasn't designed to run in silent mode. You can download the tool, extract the Powershell scripts, and try to reverse engineer how to run them manually, but doing that isn't officially supported.

  • Anonymous
    October 25, 2016
    I have a software called Magic ISO Maker v5.5 (build 0281), its in the Programs and Features list yet is won't uninstall and gives me an error of "Could not open INSTALL.LOG file. When researching how to get rid of it I found a link to the FIXIT tool, and when I run it it doesn't show it in the first list and then asks for a Product Code. What is this asking for exactly?I just want to get rid of this magic Iso maker and can't figure out how..

  • Anonymous
    February 04, 2017
    Using the Install and Uninstall Troubleshooting Tool. Where do I find the product code?

  • Anonymous
    April 23, 2017
    Thanks a ton :)