BleepingComputer.com: Windows Installer CleanUP Utility.

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
The Windows Installer Clean Up Utility is a tool that can be used to remove Windows Installer ... into this folder, and a shortcut is created on the Programs menu under the Start ...

support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

Has any body use this tool and if so how good is it?
Have a nice day!

I have used it to clean up issues with programs that have a hard time loading for whatever reason

It's been around for some time.

As per the Article, it 'cleans up' installation information, relating to programs installed by the Windows Installer,
allowing you to tackle programs which may be stuck in Add / Remove.

The list is not comprehensive; I used it a couple of times with Roxio products, 2-3 years ago.

When you do need to use it, it seems to work well.

Thanks for the information.

I understand that the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility will remove programs from the Add/Remove Programs list; however, it doesn't actually uninstall the program.

Thanks Budapest. I think I will stick with REVO.

I think the whole point of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility was to be able to remove "orphaned" entries in the Add/Remove Programs list.

Budapest if I'm correct you are saying it is designed to remove the trash left behind from down loads that didn't work or removed programs that left trash behind; is that correct. If that is so it would be a good thing.

Hi Layback Bear

From the article quoted in your first post (kb 290301) :

"When you are working on your computer and installing a new program, the installation suddenly fails.
Now you are left with a partly installed program. You try to install the program again, but you are unsuccessful.
Or, maybe you have problems trying to remove an old program because the installation files are corrupted.

You can use the utility to remove installation information for programs that were installed by using Windows Installer.
Be aware that Windows Installer CleanUp Utility will not remove the actual program from your computer.
However, it will remove the installation files so that you can start the installation, upgrade, or uninstall over."

Occasionally, when you use add / remove, you get errors and cannot uninstall.
If the program has been installed using the Windows Installer, it will appear in the list maintained
by the Cleanup Utility. By removing the entry in the Cleanup Utility list, you can then either try
add / remove again to uninstall - sometimes it works, sometimes you get a message saying that
there are problems with the uninstallation and do you wish to remove the entry from the list.

In that case, as previously mentioned, whilst the entry in add /remove will disappear, the program will still
remain on your computer and it may be necessary to Reinstall it, so that you can then get
a clean uninstall.

The utility will have removed the installation files, not the program, leaving the way clear
"so that you can start the installation, upgrade, or uninstall over."

Might seem a little laborious, but it does work on those occasions when neither add / remove
nor REVO nor any other uninstall program will do it.

Pete

Boy oh Boh you folks gave me a lot of information; thanks. Would it be safe just to run the program and let it clean out the junk that has been there for a long time and get on with my life. I don't know if I have any thing laying around inside this computer that I can't find to get rid of. I have removed H/P programs and printers and added Kodak. H/P did not want to go away. I have ran a search and can't find it but as we all know some times they leave little things behind. I found Nortons on my computer a few days ago and I remove it years ago. I found it in autoruns and no other place. So I'M looking for some other way of triple checking the garbage is gone.

It's NOT really a program for what you say you want.
It's NOT a program to run, to do a general clean up.

When you install the Utility, it displays a list of all those programs installed by the Windows Installer
and when you have problems with a program which you are trying to uninstall through Add / Remove,
you can look in the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility list and if there is an entry, you can remove it,
but it only cleans up the installation information, it does not remove the program.

In effect, it cleans up / frees / gets rid of, 'orphaned' files, which are perhaps stopping an uninstall program.

It is NOT a general cleaner, like, say, registry cleaner programs.
I don't use a registry cleaner and you will see from these forums that they are NOT recommended
because of their potentially devastating effect on your computer (and by all accounts, they
do not make much difference, anyway).

Cleaning up is best done by working through the list in Add / Remove and
occasionally using a third party program, e.g. REVO, if necessary.

Pete

This is what it looks like:

[attachment=37938:wincleanup.jpg]

This post has been edited by petewills : 27 November 2009 - 09:11 AM

Thanks for the information petewills. Your correct it's not quiet what I'm looking for. NO registry cleaner used here. I don't have the knowledge level to use one correctly.