The operating system establishes certain "best practices" that applications should follow to make the user's experience consistent and reliable. One of those guidelines on Windows, is that applications should add an "Uninstall" registry key, when they are installed - this is where control panel gets the information it displays for "Programs and Features."
Inside this registry entry is a field called the "UninstallString." It is the command (supplied by the vendor) which control panel will execute when you request an app to be uninstalled. There are some benefits to using control panel for application maintenance. Besides uninstall, operations such as modify or repair are also available if the vendor supports them. Although not required, some applications add an uninstall icon to their Program Manager folders as a convenience. In response to clicking an uninstall icon, the vendor should perform the same operation as for a control panel uninstall. The software vendor determines what happens in both cases. On 6/11/2014 12:27 PM, Lee Bruch wrote: > > I had always understood, for years, that it’s always best to uninstall > any application using it’s innate un-installation feature (many > programs don’t have that) … and to use the control panel to un-install > only as a secondary resort. > > *From:*Stanley Mitchell [mailto:[email protected]] > *Sent:* Saturday, June 07, 2014 9:42 AM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [LegacyUG] Legacy 8 uninstall fails > > Thanks for some of your suggestions. > > Here is what worked for me, in case anyone else might need a similar > remedy. Apparently, my mistake was using Control Panel to remove > Legacy8, on two different machines that failed (Win7 & Win8). To > recover, go to "\Program Files (x86)\Legacy8\Backup" and copy > Install.log to "\Program Files (x86)\Legacy8" (you will need admin > privileges). Then, run the Uninstall command from the Legacy folder in > program manager. > > We each have certain expectations of the software which we install on > our computers. My minimal expectation is that the program can be > seamlessly installed, updated, and removed. Those are the very basics > of software product development. To me, Legacy doesn't cut it. > > The Wise Installer which Legacy uses for its installer, was > discontinued by Symantec in 2011 (Wikipedia > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise_%28software%29>). There are many > Windows installation tools available which have kept up with the > evolution of the Windows platform (XP->Vista->Win7->Win8). Even > Microsoft has had a free open-source installer called WIX > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiX> available for the last 10 years. It > seems rather short-sighted to limp along with an obsolete tool. > > -Stan > <snip> > Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
