Cannot uninstall Adaware 2007 to install 2008 [in Vista]

Under Vista, I currently have version 7.0.2.6, with definitions 91.000. I have Adaware installed on my other computer and two laptops-version 2008 and the definitions are up to 114.000, I think. They all reached 2008 via updates from 2007. Two instances are under WinXP, one other is under Vista. When I attempt to update this version 7.0.2.6 to 7.1.0.7, I get an " Error 1402. Could not open key: Unknown\Installer\Products\B0B35DEDC76B4424EAA66DDFC3821DFE\Source List\Media. Verify that you have sufficient access to that key, or contact your support personnel. "
I seem to recall that I first tried to uninstall from the add/remove program vista equivalent in the control panel. This time, I originated from within 2007 which informed me that a new free 2008 is available. It took me to cnet.com via a hyperlink. I downloaded and ran the update, but got the same error, while trying to remove 2007.

 

Thanks PeteC. I'm under Vista. Did go to services.msc. Vista lists it pretty explicitly as "adaware 2007 service" I stopped it, looked up and down the listing for anything adaware or lavasoft. Nothing obvious or even close. Tried uninstalling, got the exact same error with the same 32 character alphanumeric key.
I did opt to just upgrade the definitions without updating the software, so I at least now have definition file 115.0000, but it is still 2007.
The link you gave me to the related discussion speaks of WinXP. Can I try some of those suggestions anyway(Vista)? Or, what would you suggest as my next step?
Thanks.

 

This sounds similar to many problems I've seen where the local administrator account loses full permission over the registry.

I don't have the version of Adaware you mention, but mine has an uninstaller shown on the start menu.

If yours does too, then right click on the short cut and click run as. Then select as administrator and see if that works for you. If not, then use the properties of the short cut to locate the actual exe file. Then navigate an exploring window to the actual exe and then try the same thing (right click>run as> adminstrator).

If it does, then after it removes Adaware, you'll probably need to consider taking other steps to regain full permission over your registry because this is but one symptom of the larger issue.

There is a utility from Microsoft, with a script I could provide, but it only works part of the time. The rest of the time, we have ended up performing a fresh install.

Anyway, for now, try the right click > run as > administrator and let us know what happems.

 

Hi Bilb0. Just tried running the uninstall as administrator. No luck, I'm afraid.I get the exact same error and dialog as before. I wonder if running regedit without satisfactory results played a part in this. As I mentioned, I had a long and happy relationship with regedit until I acquired a computer with Vista on it. I ran regedit under Vista, and it found a large number of items to delete. I selected all and deleted all. I then immediately ran clean the registry again, and everything that I thought I had just deleted was back again. There were perhaps 350 items. I obviously didn't look at all of them, but it was clear from the first 15 or 20 that the list was more or less the very same.
I say more or less because with each sucessive run of trying to clean the registry, the total number would be only similar, not identical-like 325 vs 349, let's say.

 

if it were me, I'd back up and reinstall the OS and apps. Too much potential loss of time hacking and poking around with little oe no hope of success.

 

cannot speak of vista
in xp you might try to reinstall the old program
reboot
then try to uninstall

you can get the previous version of adaware at

http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=adaware

 

JUninstall Ad Aware

The problem is that the add/remove funtion in Control Panel does not remove all traces of the old program., Easiest fix is to down load the free REVO Uninstaller program and then use it to remove the old Ad Aware. There are two parts to this remove and you must run both.

 

Hi Skaler

Do it this way!

Boot to safe mode!

Make sure hidden files and folders are shown. Open Windows Explorer. Depending on your OS click Tools or View and then Folder Options > View.

Choose Show hidden files and folders, uncheck Hide protected operating system files and click OK.

Then:

Highlight and copy all text between the lines but not the lines
----------------------------------------------------------------------
grisoft*.*;avg7*.*;avg8*.*
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Next:
Start-Search-Files and Folders. In location set to search your Local Hard Drive (usually C:\ ) or All Local Drives.

Select Advanced Search Options and set to search subfolders and hidden files.

Now paste the copied lines from above into the search box and click Search Now.

Delete all it finds! Empty Recycle bin.

Repeat the process until all gone.

Then in RegSeeker search for and delete:
grisoft
avg7
avg8

Repeat this and ignore the few that can not be deleted.

Reboot to normal mode and install Avast, Avira, Pctools or Comodo antivirus.

I loved AVG but they scre_w up AVG8 and you will not like the slowdown of windows in general, long boot and long time to desktop. AVG8 does seem to work for some but not most!

Remember I told you!

Mike

 

Geeze Skaler

I hope you did not do my post as I was reading another post on AVG and got yours Adaware mixed up with that!

Same applies but change Grisoft to Lavasoft and the search to:
lavasoft*.*;adaware*.*;aaw*.*

Sorry! Its been a long week!

Mike

 

Hi Mflynn. Thanks for your post. Somewhere along the way I guess it got confusing. It appears you are giving me instructions on deleting Grisoft's AVG8.0, but it is Lavasoft's Adaware 2007 that is giving me trouble. Just to recap, I have a dual boot desktop, among other desktops and laptops. This dual boot has WinXP and Vista. Win XP boots from a 74gig WD Raptor drive, and Vista from a WD 120gig Caviar. It is only under Vista that I'm having problems with Adaware, and only on this dual boot computer. Right now, I have Adaware 2007. When I execute it to look for latest definitions, It can find new definitions, and then tells me that a new version of the software is available. If I just get the definitions, I can download them and run a scan. If I say ok to downloading the new software, it tells me I have to first uninstall the old. Doing that from either the control panel or from the program itself results in the exact same error message as I posted above.
I haven't tried the REVO uninstall yet, but I will, and then post the results back here. Thanks again for your kind interest and support.

Hi Mike. Your last post came across while I was typing this one. I see now. Will give that procedure a shot.

 

Using REVO UNINSTALLER WILL remove all traces of Ad Aware.It is a free down load.The porogram has two parts. The first duplicates the add/remove function in the control panel of WinXP. The second part deletes the bits and pieces that the MSFT unistall program does not address.

 

Great!

I am glad you caught it!

And Telephonics is right REVO will give the cleanest uninstall.

I highly reccomend REVO for all uninstalls!

But even with it, the cleanup with Windows Serach and Regseeker will get the rest!

Mike

 

I'm running REVO on the involved computer, while typing this on another.
I don't have much optimism for a good outcome. Revo evidently tries the native uninstall routine first. It resulted in the same error message, and then aborted that part of the routine, and is now, and has been for well over an hour or two running through the registry looking for leftover items. It has just passed item 80600!. I have no idea how many items there are in a typical registry. Once it finishes, if ever, I'm to carefully inspect the bold items and delete them. Thus far, I see no bold items, but, I only see about 50 of them, and cannot scroll the list while it is counting them up. I don't know how much longer it will go on.
More to come later.

 

The installation is whacked.

Don't even try uninstalling. Abort REVO and....

Turn off UAC and do my cleanup process.

Mike

 

Hi Mike. When I ran REVO, I chose the most thorough method of looking for remnants or leftovers. It is that effort that took hours. It passed over 95000 items. I went to eat dinner, came back and it had finished, but that particular screen had disappeared, so I have no clue what happened. I then ran the safe mode of scan, and was optimistic when I saw the desktop icon disappear, but, in trying to uninstall, still got the same error.
BTW what is "turn off UAC "? I worked till 7am at the hospital, got about 2 hours of sleep. It may come to me when I'm not so tired, but I can't conjure up what it is.
I'm tempted to just throw in the towel.
This computer is dual boot. It has 3 harddrives on it. One is a raptor 74gig, and shows up as drive C when I boot into XP. The second is a 120 gig Caviar, and contains Vista. If I let the computer boot into Vista, it shows the 120 gig as drive C. The third drive is a 160gig Caviar, and I use it as storage.
The trouble is, that once upon a time, in a different computer, the 120gig drive was my only drive. It contained a working install of Win XP. I then used Norton Ghost to copy it to the 160gig drive, and used the 160 as primary, and put the 120 on a shelf as backup. Finally, when I bought this computer, it came with the raptor 74 gig(SATA), but the motherboard hadroom for EIDE drives, so I installed both. I DID NOT uninstall the XP operating systems on either EIDE drive, but merely added VISTA to the 120gig one.
I wonder if all of those times I ran regseeker, if it looked at all 3 registries, deleted items in error, and generally caused a mess.
To this day, I can't seem to keep the drive designations in my head, depending on which OS I'm in.
I use Vista rarely, so leaving it without the protection that Adaware affords is probably not that big a deal.
I will, however, give your recommended routine a shot-but later, after another nap maybe.;-).

 

Hi skaler2k

First the registry scanner can only clean the currently booted OS! Can not look at the registrys on other drives.

There are special programs that can do this but they are not automatic and need to be told where the remote registrys are.

So no the reg cleans were only ran for Vista if that is what you booted.

Second UAC "User Account Conrtol" the wordy little joker that is always asking "Did you run this" "Want to run as Administrator" etc.

To turn it off go to control panel User accounts and uncheck UAC and reboot.

Or D/L TweakUAC http://www.tweak-uac.com/download/

This lets you have UAC but muffles it's little voice and assumes you are the administrator.

In this case I would turn it off until AVG is gone!

Highly likely all the Reg cleans and Revo you have done with UAC on have not worked.

Mike
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Note to Skaler and and WindowsBBS staff!

Don't know what the cr*p is below my name in my last post butI deleted it from my post twice before I submitted but it came back!

Mike
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Posted those last 2 posts with opera thought I would try with FireFox!

Mik