Uninstalling previous version using Package and Deployment Wizard - VB6

[dlscott56]

Anyone know of a way to force a previous installation to be uninstalled when installing a VB6 program using Package and Deployment Wizard?

[Ordinary Guy]

I probably don't know what I am talking about but I'll take a guess. You need to install a separate application that does the uninstalling then when you run your P&D it first looks for that application and executes it then it installs the new program

[dilettante]

Found a page that included this excerpt from an old MS KB article that seems to be gone now:

===========
INSTALL
===========
Silent Install Usage
The following command-line syntax allows for a silent install:
c:\mydir\setup.exe -s c:\mydir\myapp.log
This command line assumes that "c:\mydir" is the folder that contains Setup.exe. The -s switch allows for the silent install, and "myapp.log" is the .log file that is created to track all modifications that the installation makes. Note that the log file is required with the -s switch.
===========
UNINSTALL
===========
Silent Uninstall Usage
The following command-line syntax allows for a silent uninstall:
St5unst -n "C:\Program Files\MyApp\St5unst.log" -f -q

St6unst -n "C:\Program Files\MyApp\St6unst.log" -f -q
NOTE: You must use the quotation marks when there is a space in the path or file name.

These command lines use the version-specific uninstall executable files with the -n switch, which allows the uninstall executable to run from a command line. The St5unst.log and the St6unst.log files contain all pertinent information about the installation of the application. You must use the -f and the -q switches in conjunction to force an SMS uninstall, which is silent by default

[DataMiser]

The source code for setup1.exe is included with VB6 so it is possible to modify that to check for existing versions of your program and uninstall as needed. Been a long time since I looked at it so can't say exactly where or what would need to be modified to get the desired outcome but definitely should be doable.

[dilettante]

That might be too late. The Setup.exe bootstrapper unpacks several files and probably overwrites files you need in order to uninstall.

[meopilite]

the P&D will overwrite the old version.

In other words, if my old app was called Meopilite, and my new version of Meopilite is called Meopilite, the the P&D will overwrite Meopilite.

[dilettante]

These sorts of problems can be managed by using Windows Installer instead of legacy scripted setup technologies. Versioning isn't trivial even then but at least the plumbing required is built in.

[meopilite]

3rd party installers are OK, but make sure you test them out...... i've ran across issues.