How to manually clean up a broken Silverlight installation
If Silverlight isn't working for you and you are getting errors trying to either uninstall, reinstall or upgrade Silverlight the steps below will likely help you.
Steps to clean up a machine to fix a broken Silverlight installation:
- Copy these instructions to Notepad, Microsoft Word or some other text editor because you will be asked to close all browsers.
- Click this button
to download and run Microsoft Fix it solution 50747
- Follow the instructions of Microsoft Fix it 50747
- Visit https://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight and install Silverlight
Comments
Anonymous
November 04, 2008
PingBack from http://blog.computerplumber.ca/2008/11/error-with-microsoft-silverlight-update/Anonymous
June 03, 2010
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June 04, 2010
I don't have time for this stuff. Why is Silverlight broken in the first place? How annoying!Anonymous
June 11, 2010
you rock. Worked like a charm. I could not remove v3 and once I did as you instructed, I was able to install v4 with no problems. Thanks for taking the time to write this up as it is people like you that help resolve specific problems. Thanks again. DRAnonymous
June 21, 2010
The most common sense uncomplicated soloution I could find that works Thanks BobAnonymous
June 28, 2010
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July 26, 2010
Changing the value of UpdateConsentMode in the HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Silverlight regkey from 0 to 1 fixed it for me. Microsoft have withdrawn the Windows "Installer Cleanup utility as of the 25 of july 2010. MajorGeeks still have a copy here ->majorgeeks.com/Windows_Installer_CleanUp_Utility_d4459.htmlAnonymous
August 09, 2010
Thanks! It worked great. Microsoft tech support couldn't help me, but you did.Anonymous
August 18, 2010
Everything i tyed, Nothing worked. A bit like Microsoft Tech Support Oops Better Refraze that, A bit like all microsoft operating systems. Everything i tyed, Nothing worked Thanks! It worked great , Your Grate.Anonymous
August 29, 2010
I don't undertsand what to do once I get to the regedit HKLM step. I don't want to cause harm to my computer.Anonymous
October 14, 2010
The real question is, why do we even have to get to this stage? I just install the updates on my XP installation as they are suggested by Microsoft Update. Why can't a company with this much revenue and profit get something as simple as /updating their own software/ when /that software is a key product on which much of the viability of the future of the firm depends upon/ right? As a professional developer of 20 years and longtime unix and Windows user, Linux gets this right. I just don't get why this is /still/ a problem for MS and why we just put up with it. Yes, all the old arguments ave been argued and I know all the sides. Regardless, I'm still mystified. Maybe I am just naive, but this is really not /that/ hard a problem.Anonymous
October 22, 2010
Same problem - how do I remove manually on windows 7 32 bit?Anonymous
October 25, 2010
You suggestion worked. I was missing the dbgsihm.dll in ProgramFilesMicrosoft Silverlight folder. The unistall process does not remove the "ProgramFilesMicrosoft Silverlight" folder. The only way to get rid of it is your suggestion - delete it !Anonymous
October 27, 2010
This only worked for me when the step of using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility is performed, too. I tried to perform all other steps except that one first and the behaviour of the Silverlight4 installer didn't change until I killed the Silverlight3 entry with the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility. (Silverlight 3 could not be uninstalled successfully before due to a missing msi-file which I didn't have any longer and couldn't find a SL3-Installer for download) Situation was an installed SL3 and the installer of SL4 failed for some unknown reason. (the link for further details at the end of the installer was unclickable!)Anonymous
October 28, 2010
I receive the silverlight.msi not found error when trying to uninstall in control panel. The ProgramFilesMicrosoft Silverlight folder does not exist to delete. I tried reinstalling from microsoft's website and receive the same error as when I try to uninstall it. Any other suggestions?Anonymous
November 18, 2010
Mine when trying to remove says , you need a patch????????Anonymous
December 15, 2010
I agree- an average user doesnt have time for this. They need to fix the cleanup utility for the general public. Worked great for me, I'm an IT tech, but I guarantee I'll get plenty of calls about this one from the end user!Anonymous
December 15, 2010
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December 15, 2010
"Why is Silverlight broken" sadly, only one google result. too few ask the better questions.Anonymous
December 18, 2010
Finally! A solution that worked. Thank youAnonymous
January 07, 2011
I think your instructions worked after I had a to clear up a few permissions issues, but Silverlight is still showing as a program to remove in Add/Remove Programs and when I try to remove that I still get the error that it is looking for the silverlight.msi file which is long gone. Any suggestions to get that removed as well? By the way, thank you the instructions you did post. :)Anonymous
January 14, 2011
Uninstalling Silverlight was real pain when it kept asking for the sources files from a previous installation. Even after all of this I still had to go through the registry and remove any references to Silverlight in order for the install to work.Anonymous
January 22, 2011
I had to do the registry edit / file deletion as mentioned above -AND- download and run the 'Windows Installer cleanup utility' that I downloaded from the majorgeeks site link from L1ttl3J1m above. This was because in spite of everything else, Silverlight still showed up as an installed program when you look at the add/remove programs in the contorl panel. The cleanup utility took care of this. Thanks to both of you for the infomation, I have been fighting this for months!Anonymous
February 20, 2011
ALL OF THIS IS A WASTE OF TIME. SILVERLIGHT WILL NOT BUDGE FROM THE PROGRAMS LIST, NO MATTER WHAT I DO. I KEEP GETTING A MESSAGE THAT IT IS A "PATCH PACKAGE" (WHATEVER THAT IS) AND THAT IF I CANNOT VERIFY THAT THE PATCH PKG CAN BE LOCATED, I NEED TO CONTACT MY VENDER....AND YOU ARE MY VENDER OR HOW DID I OBTAIN THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE? IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IT WAS DOWNLOADED AS AN ADD ON WHEN DOWNLOADING ANOTHER PROGRAM? I HAVE NO IDEA, BUT I DO KNOW THAT IT WILL NOT BUDGE. CAN'T I GO INTO MY DATA BASE AND DELETE IT, BECAUSE ALL THESE OTHER STEPS ARE NOT WORKING AND ARE A WASTE OF TIME!Anonymous
February 20, 2011
COULD SOMEONE PLEASE CALL ME ON THE PHONE ABOUT THIS AND TELL ME WHAT TO DO? 813-412-8807 I NEED TO GET THIS OUT OF MY SYSTEM AS I DID NOT ASK FOR THIS PROBLEM AND I HAVE TRIED AND TRIED TO GET IT UNINSTALLED WITHOUT SUCCESS, AND YOUR SUPPORT TEAM HAS NOT HELPED AT ALL!Anonymous
February 20, 2011
COULD SOMEONE PLEASE CALL ME ON THE PHONE ABOUT THIS AND TELL ME WHAT TO DO? 813-412-8807 I NEED TO GET THIS OUT OF MY SYSTEM AS I DID NOT ASK FOR THIS PROBLEM AND I HAVE TRIED AND TRIED TO GET IT UNINSTALLED WITHOUT SUCCESS, AND YOUR SUPPORT TEAM HAS NOT HELPED AT ALL!Anonymous
February 20, 2011
Instead of yelling at everyone and badmouthing good help, you might ask politely.Anonymous
February 26, 2011
This Silverlight is Bull...S...It messed my other computer up too. I keep asking same question and keep getting same responce from Help. Just send the exact area to click to errase it. I do not have time for all this other bull. Make a product that works next time...Anonymous
March 01, 2011
I have been told by netflix I have to install teh new version it doesnt install due to old, the above will not remove the old version to allow the new installation, netfilx will not help and Microsoft want $$$$ to help. how can I install new silverlight wihtou buying a new computer that is cheaper than there help !Anonymous
March 12, 2011
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March 12, 2011
tried tried tried again Finally got let me walk you through the steps I removed the Reg Keys with reg delete HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftSilverlight /f I manually deleted the /program files/microsoft silverlight/ I ran ccleaner to find the other reg keys i missed I used majorgeeks.com/Windows_Installer_CleanUp_Utility_d4459.html to uninstall broken installers "don't forget to run as an administrator" I then re downloaded the silverlight installer and ran that as an administrator and BAM clean install way to much work for a simple Microsoft install but had to be done it's not like I was doing anything better anyway thanks for all the help mentioned above I wouldn't have been able to do it without you guysAnonymous
March 27, 2011
Thanks for your + answer. I was searching since months for a solution at all levels.. Finaly regedit.exe did the correct job. Thanks again, MisoAnonymous
March 30, 2011
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April 02, 2011
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April 09, 2011
I am logged in as administrator but cannot delete the Program FilesMicrosoft Silverlight folder. When I attempt to delete this folder, Windows gives me the message "Destination Folder Access Denied" . "Try Again" and that I "need permission". Suggestions?Anonymous
April 25, 2011
I am not a computer technician; Simplify! I am constantly experiencing update issues. The last time took five hours to fix it! I am about ready to ditch computers period!Anonymous
April 26, 2011
I wouild like to uninstall this plogram.Anonymous
April 26, 2011
I have a permission issues with MiscStatus1 but seems not to be able to do anything about it. Not adding a single new key, changing ownership is not possible, adding any key to the 1 is not possible. I am truly running out of options here. I've even tried rolling back my register but no luck.Anonymous
April 26, 2011
Found solution to this my problem with permissions. Found it from: social.msdn.microsoft.com/.../dc4b243f-c84a-43ec-8b75-fe2cef2656ac www.microsoft.com/.../details.aspx Then run in cmd as admin rights: cd /d "%programfiles%Windows Resource KitsTools" subinacl /subkeyreg "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID{DFEAF541-F3E1-4c24-ACAC-99C30715084A}MiscStatus1" /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f then just reinstall/uninstall.. worked like a charm.Anonymous
April 30, 2011
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May 01, 2011
->majorgeeks.com/Windows_Installer_CleanUp_Utility_d4459.html is what it took for me to get it off of my add and remove programs i am happy after 2 months of frustration thank youAnonymous
May 17, 2011
The problem is that I can't even delete Program Files (x86) since its 'protected'. Even with adm privileges ...Anonymous
May 19, 2011
I have tried your plan above several times with no success. As a last resort I tried the system restore using several days prior to the stated install date of this cursed Silver-light When that didn't work I used my computer install date which was a few days after I bought it new. Still no success. All removal efforts result in report of a patch package cannot be opened and maybe not a valid Windows install. HELP!Anonymous
May 21, 2011
Have had no luck finding a fix til I found this fix! Fixed my issue and was able to reinstall this software. Thanks!Anonymous
June 03, 2011
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June 12, 2011
Problems with Silverlight are continuing with the recent update to Internet Explorer 9. Microsoft needs to issue a FIX-IT tool for this instead of having users editing their registry file. The uninstall & install procedures on the Silverlight website need major update attention since they don't work for most users.Anonymous
June 24, 2011
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June 26, 2011
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July 03, 2011
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July 25, 2011
How do we block sites from using Silverlight? There are sites that require it, even my local county sherriff's daily crime report, and I CAN NOT get it because of the vile loop: unable to install because already installed. And I'm NOT going into code on my computer to try to sort this out. It's just as bad product, not ready for prime time, needs to be withdrawn until-unless it's ready.Anonymous
August 03, 2011
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August 18, 2011
I tried every suggestion in this post and the subsequent comments and NOTHING worked for me. I couldn't even uninstall the old version of Silverlight; I kept getting the error: "No valid sequence could be found for the set of patches." Microsoft said, Can't uninstall Silverlight? Uninstall Silverlight and install a new version! Nonsense... Here is what FINALLY worked for me:
- Close all open Internet Explorer.
- Delete the following registry entry: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT -> Installer -> Products -> D7314F9862C648A4DB8BE2A5B47BE100
- Install the latest version of Silverlight. No need to restart the machine. Source: darkblak.juansolutions.net/manually-remove-uninstall-silverlight
Anonymous
September 02, 2011
Savannah thank you for your post. I tried everything and spent several hours looking up and trying different solutions but yours is the only one that worked.Anonymous
November 09, 2011
Ditto Steve's commentAnonymous
November 20, 2011
I agree with several others. One: the product should work; we should not have to go through this. 2: Microsoft should be accessible to customers directly for tech. support on everything from Silverlight to Hotmail, rather than relying on customer forums to do their job for them.Anonymous
December 22, 2011
I keep getting a new error now that I ran fixit , and tried to reinstall system cannot find the file specified tried downloading a 2nd time same resultAnonymous
January 03, 2012
You sir, have left me very impressed and happy. Thank you!Anonymous
January 17, 2012
Silverlight is 32Bit and wil not run with 64Bit Browser. Use IE32 on your 64Bit PC and Silverlight wil run.Anonymous
February 26, 2012
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March 06, 2012
I tried a million different solutions, savannah's was the only one that actually worked.Anonymous
April 06, 2012
how I ca do it this question............... you may have to refressh (f5) the web page for these change to take effect.. please somebody can help me. with this question.Anonymous
May 12, 2012
support.microsoft.com/.../Program_Install_and_UninstallAnonymous
May 18, 2012
I ran Microsoft Fix it solution 50747. Got the following error message; "The installer has encountered and unexpected error installing this package. This may indicate a problem with this package. The error code is 2755." Any suggestions for a next step?Anonymous
May 19, 2012
thanks so much bob! i follwed your advice and had silver light copy installed intwo minutes.".BOB KNOWS HIS JOB!"Anonymous
June 09, 2012
THANK YOU!!!!!!! The Microsoft Fix It solution 50747 worked perfectly. NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, I did would remove the old version and Netflix said I had to have a new version. Totally dismayed and unsurprised that Microsoft put out such a shoddy product that you can't even get rid of it.Anonymous
June 16, 2012
Thanks a TON... was looking for a fix a few months. You are a StarAnonymous
June 25, 2012
Savannah, just want to say thank you soo much, it work for me too.Anonymous
July 29, 2012
Thank you!!!!! This was really helpful, my problem was solved and now I can use my PC without problems. THANK YOU!Anonymous
August 12, 2012
Thank´s a lot. It was perfect for me.Anonymous
August 19, 2012
thenks, it works great, was the soltion I was looking for many time...Anonymous
September 16, 2012
Thanks so much for your help!!! After I don't know how long trying to fix this stupid silverlight this solution worked for me and I'm soooooooooo grateful!!Anonymous
October 01, 2012
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October 15, 2012
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December 13, 2012
Doesnt work on windows 8, where is the windows 8 fix?Anonymous
December 14, 2012
can't uninstall all of silverlight on my MAC so can neither use it or upgrade it. already removed the sliverlight plug in and have no WPFe.plug in in the libraryAnonymous
December 26, 2012
thank you thank you thank you. Silverlight has been busted on my wife's computer for almost a year and Windows update was bugging her every time she turned off the computer. This fixit and installing sliverlight 5 did the trick.Anonymous
January 10, 2013
It is because of problems like this with silverlight that cause some of use to look to other web services.Anonymous
February 25, 2013
Easiest repair ever! You are amazing! Thank you for sharing!!Anonymous
March 13, 2013
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March 18, 2013
AWESOME. Microsoft wanted $99 to help me fix it. Thank you so much!Anonymous
March 27, 2013
INCREDIBLE!!! All my gratitude forever! Thank you so much for letting us know!Anonymous
March 27, 2013
THANKS! Saved me a bunch of frustration too early in my day. Much obliged.Anonymous
April 06, 2013
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April 08, 2013
Another solution would be to clean the registry from the values below (remember to back them up first). Open a Powershell session as administrator, run cmd.exe, and run the commands below. If they failed, try editing RegEdit by hand (I did). reg delete HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftSilverlight /f reg delete HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTInstallerProducts{D7314F9862C648A4DB8BE2A5B47BE100} /f reg delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClassesInstallerProducts{D7314F9862C648A4DB8BE2A5B47BE100} /f reg delete HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTTypeLib{283C8576-0726-4DBC-9609-3F855162009A} /f reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionApp Pathsinstall.exe" /f reg delete HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTAgControl.AgControl /f reg delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstall{89F4137D-6C26-4A84-BDB8-2E5A4BB71E00} /f rmdir /s /q "%ProgramFiles%Microsoft Silverlight" rmdir /s /q "%ProgramFiles(x86)%Microsoft Silverlight" Then change your TEMP variable to something local, such as SET TEMP=C: and SET TMP=C:. Don't leave the CMD session. Run Silverlight.exe or Silverlight_64.exe and see if it works. Carpe Diem, Evandro ReisAnonymous
April 10, 2013
thank you thank you thank you..life saverAnonymous
May 12, 2013
This is the ONLY advice I found that WORKED - and quickly I might add!! You rock man!~Anonymous
May 23, 2013
Thank you Savannah for the post!Anonymous
May 25, 2013
Although it didn't work… thanks a lot.Anonymous
June 02, 2013
Thanks, Savannah! Her post really works!Anonymous
July 11, 2013
I have just had the problem, it seems to me that the fault lies with the installer, it doesn't appear to know where the msi file should be, what version it should be, or the msi file isn't downloaded at all. On my Windows computer it was looking for the file in a location that did not even exist, the it found another (On another drive with a different folder name) but that said it was the wrong file.Anonymous
July 27, 2013
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July 30, 2013
Thank you very much, you were the only one that provides me a functional soluttionAnonymous
July 31, 2013
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September 23, 2013
I was stuck with my client due to this. It worked. Thank you very very very very very very very very very very very very much.Anonymous
September 28, 2013
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November 16, 2013
Can't thank you ENOUGH, BOB!!!!!!!!!!!!Anonymous
November 28, 2013
Worked so fast and well I couldn't believe my eyes! Thanks so much.Anonymous
January 09, 2014
wow.. THANK YOU. this is 100% a fix for this problem. you rock!Anonymous
January 18, 2014
This isn't compatible with my system? Didn't work for me. I feel like most of these comments are bots or payloads.Anonymous
January 19, 2014
Hey this worked for me thanks a bunch! Wish I could buy ya a beer!Anonymous
January 23, 2014
I added a new registry key named HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Silverlight (there was none). Then I added : UpdateConsentMode as a doubleword with a value of 1. Then I could run the Silverlight install I downloadedAnonymous
January 29, 2014
MikeF 23 Jan 2014 8:29 PM
I added a new registry key named HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Silverlight (there was none). Then I added : UpdateConsentMode as a doubleword with a value of 1. Then I could run the Silverlight install I downloaded Hey MikeF, That worked a treat. Only difference with mine was to add Qword for 64bit.
Anonymous
March 26, 2014
Savannah - this worked straight away for me - saved much time & effort ThanksAnonymous
May 02, 2014
Worked! ty!!!!!!Anonymous
May 31, 2014
Thank you !Anonymous
July 08, 2014
my computer wont install windows silverlight so that's why i'm here. but when i tried installing this it just did the same thing and wouldn't let me install.Anonymous
September 29, 2014
I tried Savannah's way and installation still failed at 99%, error 1603, researched a lot on the web, but still no hope.Anonymous
December 10, 2014
Before running this, silverlight update failed with "the path to [sometemppath]silverlight.msi" could not be found on a win7 system. After running this fixit, silverlight updated nicely.Anonymous
December 27, 2014
When Silverlight updates itself included are a complete new set of language files, the old language files are deleted but it leaves behind all the old registry entries. The last laptop I cleaned up had 32,000, yes thirty two thousand, dead Silverlight registry entries left behind from previous system updates. The cure - get the freebie Revo uninstaller to uninstall Silverlight - ok it uses the Silverlight uninstaller program, but then it searches out all the old rubbish registry and data files as well. Then install an up to date version of Silverlight from MS if you really need it.Anonymous
February 23, 2015
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April 23, 2015
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May 19, 2015
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June 14, 2015
Thanks for this fix, works a treat!Anonymous
July 22, 2015
Can the steps be listed for Advanced users? I really do not want to run/install another MSI on a server that is having MSI problems to begin with.Anonymous
August 12, 2015
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September 09, 2015
If anyone has the issue where it says "not compatible with this system", right click the fixit file, select "properties", "compatibility" tab, and check "run this program in compatibility mode" and choose "previous version of windows" or "windows7" or 8... it will work and get rid of silverlight properly.Anonymous
October 06, 2015
ehhhh。。。。。。can you tell me where is it >Anonymous
October 23, 2015
Why not provide a link to the latest silverlight fixit everywhere this is discussed!Anonymous
December 24, 2015
The latest Silverlight update (KB3106614) won't install with an error code of 64c on my Win 8.1 PC. I have tried running the MS Fixit 50747 in compatibility mode and receive error 2755. The Add/Remove Programs uninstall fails because it can't find the installer in the original temp folder. The silverlight.msi/.exe is not on the system. Can the Windows Installer Cleanup utility be run on a Win 8 system? Are there any other remedies that do not involve manual regedit updates?Anonymous
December 28, 2015
It works! Simple and clean. Many thanks!Anonymous
January 10, 2016
Still works. I was searching for months to fix silverlight installation. thanksAnonymous
January 15, 2016
This was slick. I don't know how many months I tried to uninstall & install Silverlight update until I finally ran across your blog. Thank you SO MUCH!!!Anonymous
January 28, 2016
DOES NOT work. Running Windows 10. Help!Anonymous
February 14, 2016
Do you have a solution for someone running Windows 10? Thanks.Anonymous
February 22, 2016
Hoooray a Microsoft fix that fixes a Microsoft fault, how clever :-)