How to uninstall a .cab flagged as "nouninstall=1"?

[snovvman]

Originally Posted by shaggylive

I had a cab once without an uninstall, I ended up modifying the cab to allow uninstall, then simply installed over the top of the original.. then I could uninstall.

Using WinCE Cab Mgr, I made the .cab un-installable. No joy, it would try to remove, fail, and report installation failed. Still nothing in "Remove Programs".

I again manually removed all files, registry entries, unregistered dlls, removed short cuts, removed application install info \windows\appmgr, and more, still no joy.

Where the @#$% is the app detecting that there is a previous installation?

[tcbusch]

Can you post the Pocket Express cab file? There is a good chance the issue is related to a registered dll issue.

[snovvman]

Originally Posted by tcbusch

Can you post the Pocket Express cab file? There is a good chance the issue is related to a registered dll issue.

Attached. File as shipped on Touch Pro. As I indicated, I did unregister the dll, but still not joy. Thanks.

[tcbusch]

Originally Posted by snovvman

Attached. File as shipped on Touch Pro. As I indicated, I did unregister the dll, but still not joy. Thanks.

Try this one. One of the files was maked as self-register.

[snovvman]

Originally Posted by tcbusch

Try this one. One of the files was maked as self-register.

Thanks, I modified the the file I posted above to allow for un-install and self-registering as well, but that doesn't help. What I seek is to either 1) uninstall the app that was flaged as NoUninstall, or 2) delete/remove/unregister everything manually so I can do a fresh install of a version that will allow uninstall. I looked at the _setup.xml and un-did everything, as well as un-registered the .dll, but the installation still seems to "know" that a previous version was installed and does not install over properly.

[tcbusch]

Originally Posted by snovvman

Thanks, I modified the the file I posted above to allow for un-install and self-registering as well, but that doesn't help. What I seek is to either 1) uninstall the app that was flaged as NoUninstall, or 2) delete/remove/unregister everything manually so I can do a fresh install of a version that will allow uninstall. I looked at the _setup.xml and un-did everything, as well as un-registered the .dll, but the installation still seems to "know" that a previous version was installed and does not install over properly.

I had the same problem with a different cab a while back. The issue was caused by a file that was set to self register. I would recommend un-checking all of the self registering settings.

You could try installing reglogger. Then you could see which key the install is looking at.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...=333323&page=7

[snovvman]

It is amazing how many things happen with the registry inside of 30 seconds.

I started 1) File Manager, navigated to express.cab directory,
2) Switched task to launch RegLogger, enabled capture,
3) Switch task to File Manager, lanuch express.cab, wait for "previous version will be uninstalled" dialog
4) Switch task to RegLogger, end capture, save text file.

I did this to minimize the registry activity, but still resulted in over 700K worth of data.

I've begun weeding through it, but have not yet seen anything obvious. There is a lot of certificate entries, but I have yet seen evidence of express looking into a registry for a specificy key or item.

Registry txt file attached below.

Thanks.

[tcbusch]

Originally Posted by snovvman

It is amazing how many things happen with the registry inside of 30 seconds.

I started 1) File Manager, navigated to express.cab directory,
2) Switched task to launch RegLogger, enabled capture,
3) Switch task to File Manager, lanuch express.cab, wait for "previous version will be uninstalled" dialog
4) Switch task to RegLogger, end capture, save text file.

I did this to minimize the registry activity, but still resulted in over 700K worth of data.

I've begun weeding through it, but have not yet seen anything obvious. There is a lot of certificate entries, but I have yet seen evidence of express looking into a registry for a specificy key or item.

Registry txt file attached below.

Thanks.

I have a couple of suggestions.
Option 1:
Turn off all of your today screen items and temporarily remove all items from your start up group. Then reboot and try the reglogger again.

Option 2:
- Backup your phone, I use SPBBackup.
- Hard reset your phone.
- Export your registry. I use DotFred's Taskmanager. http://www.dotfred.net/TaskMgr.htm
- If you used SpbBackup then I would recommend running another backup.
- Install the program in question.
- Export your registry.
- If you used SpbBackup then I would recommend running another backup.
- Use a registry comparison utility to check the difference between the two registry files. I use Registry Comparison Utility http://www.tonysfreeware.com/download5.htm.

This should give you a good idea what registry keys are modified. If you used SPBBackup then you can use the desktop companion to check if any new files were added that are not in the .cab file.

- Finally, restore the previously created backup to return your phone to a pre-hard reset condition.

I have used this method before and it only takes about 2 minutes to go though the whole process.

[snovvman]

Originally Posted by tcbusch

I have a couple of suggestions.
Option 1:
Turn off all of your today screen items and temporarily remove all items from your start up group. Then reboot and try the reglogger again.

Option 2:
- Backup your phone, I use SPBBackup.
- Hard reset your phone.
- Export your registry. I use DotFred's Taskmanager. http://www.dotfred.net/TaskMgr.htm
- If you used SpbBackup then I would recommend running another backup.
- Install the program in question.
- Export your registry.
- If you used SpbBackup then I would recommend running another backup.
- Use a registry comparison utility to check the difference between the two registry files. I use Registry Comparison Utility http://www.tonysfreeware.com/download5.htm.

This should give you a good idea what registry keys are modified. If you used SPBBackup then you can use the desktop companion to check if any new files were added that are not in the .cab file.

- Finally, restore the previously created backup to return your phone to a pre-hard reset condition.

I have used this method before and it only takes about 2 minutes to go though the whole process.

Excellent suggestions and very logical troubleshooting/isolation steps. Thanks very much for hanging with me.

I was thinking about using this application:
http://s-k-tools.com/index.html?sktracker/m_feat.html

Hard reset, take snapshot, install the app, take another, and compare. If I end up doing it, I'll report back.

Thanks also for pointing out the obvious, which somehow escaped me, about disabling the Today plug ins. It makes perfect sense.

[tcbusch]

I just realized I said 2 minutes, I meant 20 minutes.

Another option would be to just create a new cab file using WinCE cab manager.