Where are the Update uninstaller files?

[Mak 2.0]

I know that in XP you had those hidden folder in the Windows fodler with the Uninstaller info for updates. I am jsut wondering if Vista has them at all. I have searched my system and can not find them at all.

I know how to remove updates. But are the files stored now? I can not seem to find them so i think they switched this feature in Vista as well.:booyah:

 

[PC eye]

You can get into the users folder but not the "DocumentsandSettings" like seen with XP. Every attempt so far to view what is now stored there has been futile. Have you looked in the new ProgramData directory? That seems to bave a lengthy list of "Install 1" and "Install 2" folders seen there for different things

 

[mqudsi]

I know that in XP you had those hidden folder in the Windows fodler with the Uninstaller info for updates. I am jsut wondering if Vista has them at all. I have searched my system and can not find them at all.

I know how to remove updates. But are the files stored now? I can not seem to find them so i think they switched this feature in Vista as well.:booyah:

I haven't a clue. I searched for them futilely after RTM so I wouldn't have to DL the same updates each time, couldn't find it.

You can get into the users folder but not the "DocumentsandSettings" like seen with XP. Every attempt so far to view what is now stored there has been futile. Have you looked in the new ProgramData directory? That seems to bave a lengthy list of "Install 1" and "Install 2" folders seen there for different things

On Vista the "Documents and Settings" folder is fake. It's symlink'd to C:\Users\, but you can't open it - it's just so programs that are hard-coded to use "C:\Documents and Settings\..." can be invisibly redirected to the correct location at C:\Users\...

 

[Mak 2.0]

Like i said i scoured my drives. I found nothing. Not even in the Program Data folder. I do not even have the Install 1 and Install 2 folders you have mentioned.



Yes i checked the Temp folders as well. Nothing in them.

Addendum:

Well glad to know i am not the only one who could not find them...

 

[PC eye]

I figured there was something to that. The other ProgramData directory holds the various installation logs for various programs installed however.

The one thing noticed even under the admin account is that all Application Data folders also see an access denied error popup when trying to open any of those. The Install 1+2 folders were seen when opening the AVG secondary folder while browsing the ones that could be opened.

 

[mqudsi]

Yeah, Vista sucks when it comes to giving accurate error messages.

Vista denies manual access to those folders not because you don't have permission to access them but because they're only intended for access programmatically via the API so only programs hard-coded to use those paths can open them.

 

[PC eye]

The lack of the add/remove Windows components option seen with previous versions also stinks up the works as well. That was the first thing about the new Programs+Features gui to get noticed fast.

For the most part either the option to remove seen there or downloading a separate uninstaller would be the item needed unless the remover is simply found in a sub folder for the program itself. With an ATI card the uninstaller is the AtiCimUn.exe found at the root of the ATI>Support>Driver folder for seeing the Catalyst removed.

 

[JustinW]

The lack of the add/remove Windows components option seen with previous versions also stinks up the works as well. That was the first thing about the new Programs+Features gui to get noticed fast.

For the most part either the option to remove seen there or downloading a separate uninstaller would be the item needed unless the remover is simply found in a sub folder for the program itself. With an ATI card the uninstaller is the AtiCimUn.exe found at the root of the ATI>Support>Driver folder for seeing the Catalyst removed.

You add/remove Windows components in Vista in the same place, just that everything is worded differently.

Go to "Programs and Features" and select "Turn Windows Features On/Off" from the "Tasks" panel on the left.

 

[PC eye]

You evidently don't follow what I was referring to there. What was once the option to see prepackaged items like Media Player or Internet Explorer removed completely is no longer seen. Simply disabling an item doesn't allow reverting to an earlier version of it like going back to IE 6.0 from IE 7 before that became a regular update seen for XP.

As for finding uninstallers in Vista only those included with the software seem to be found. Those are well hidden since when selecting an item to remove an uninstaller will suddenly appear. That may also suggest that Windows has it's own uninstaller just like you will see a Windows installer 3.1 as an update.

 

[{Ron!n}]

On Vista the "Documents and Settings" folder is fake. It's symlink'd to C:\Users\, but you can't open it - it's just so programs that are hard-coded to use "C:\Documents and Settings\..." can be invisibly redirected to the correct location at C:\Users\...

I was wondering about that since i had tried opening it before and it said i dont have administrator privileges , even though im the only user.

 

[Mak 2.0]

You evidently don't follow what I was referring to there. What was once the option to see prepackaged items like Media Player or Internet Explorer removed completely is no longer seen. Simply disabling an item doesn't allow reverting to an earlier version of it like going back to IE 6.0 from IE 7 before that became a regular update seen for XP.

As for finding uninstallers in Vista only those included with the software seem to be found. Those are well hidden since when selecting an item to remove an uninstaller will suddenly appear. That may also suggest that Windows has it's own uninstaller just like you will see a Windows installer 3.1 as an update.

But your example of going Back to IE6 from IE7 is not possible in the first place. Vista comes with IE7 it was not upgraded from IE6 like in XP. So that part of the feature is useless. You might as well just download IE6 and install it seperately. Same thing for WMP10 or lower. Vista comes with WMP11. It was never upgraded. So trying to remove them to rollback ot previous versions is useless in Vista as it came with the most recent versions.

I was wondering about that since i had tried opening it before and it said i dont have administrator privileges , even though im the only user.

Technically the Admin account is hidden. You are a power user with Admin Rights.

Stare Menu and in the search field type in secpol.msc. Under Local Policies>Security Options you will see the very first option it to turn on the Admin account. Vista has it hidden by default.

That is the first thing i do when i install Vista. Go in turn on the Admin account then go use that instead.:brows:

 

[Kahai]

But your example of going Back to IE6 from IE7 is not possible in the first place. Vista comes with IE7 it was not upgraded from IE6 like in XP. So that part of the feature is useless. You might as well just download IE6 and install it seperately. Same thing for WMP10 or lower. Vista comes with WMP11. It was never upgraded. So trying to remove them to rollback ot previous versions is useless in Vista as it came with the most recent versions.

its also impossible to remove anything now with the word microsoft or windows in its name lol

 

[PC eye]

its also impossible to remove anything now with the word microsoft or windows in its name lol

I think you have the meaning there and understand the example I was making by using XP as the example where you could manually see things that come with Windows removed. I wasn't talking about removing IE 7 in Vista while you could remove IE 6 in XP and simply download another IEsetup file to see it put back on later.

WMP 11 is a flop since they deprived that for seeing the Media Center included in Vista. 10 was the best to date while that won't install on Vista being a newer version. You couldn't see WMP 6 or IE 5 installed on XP. Everyone knows that part.

As far as altering the things that comes along with Windows everything is now embedded in the new version while XP remains flexible in that sense. The improvements made with some things like the drive tools for resizing partitions and the separate option to format an existing one which can be used to reformat while booted from the installation disk are one step up. Better crash control when some program goes sideways is another.

 

[Kahai]

Well i mean, WMP11 killed my Creative MP3 Player totally killed it, and now with any machine that has ever had WMP11 (even rolledback to 10) still hates the player. It killed my firmware, and i cant update/re-install the firmware on a machine with anythign wmp11 (and rolling back on a XP didnt remove WMP11 completely either (at least for me)

 

[PC eye]

With 11 besides the unchecking of that in the add/remove you also have to remove the main key in the registry to see 10 even go on. But that was for seeing the older player used by itself in Windows. In Vista I simply run the latest version of ITunes for audio with the Classic Media Player for video if not VLC or QuickTime.

For seeing that problem corrected you would need to reinstall XP completely removing all traces of 11 with a clean install or in the case of a prebuild full restoration seeing the primary redone. WMP 10 will then go on fresh and should see far better results. For Vista I have to wonder about an IPod since 11 is built into the newer version. I recently caught a breack on a widescreen lcd with a docking station there but have Vista running as the default OS.

 

[Kahai]

i dont have a fresh copy of XP... im a college student i have no money...

I dont use WMP, i use Winamp for music and VLC/Quicktime Alt to play videos

 

[PC eye]

That will put you in a bind fast. By the time you graduate you'll probably already be running the next version and XP will be ancient history if this is the freshman year of a 4yr. college.

Besides the WMP 11 and lack of add/remove Windows components annoyances I've been running mostly Vista while keeping XP onhand as part of a dual boot for the occasional use of certain applications written for XP. The next version will likely see XP gone and the move into a 64bit edition there while all this is will be seen on a newer updated custom build at that time. That will likely see even more large changes in the way things are done by Windows.

 

[Kahai]

^ like not storing (huge amounts of) data for backwards compatibility?

hopefully developers will be able to check up, if there are too large of changes too quickly the same problems that have hurt vista will happen again (not saying that all developers are too slow... some just really care (nvidia lol))

 

[Ex_Brit]

Windows Update/View Update History/Installed Updates/Uninstall an Update

 

[PC eye]

"Control Panel>Programs+Features>installed updates" is seen right at the top of the small popup window while at the update site pointing out a local folder not an online option for removing any installed.