INFO: Application Uninstall Removes Permanent Components on Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me (308465)

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If you have used Windows Installer 2.0 on Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Millennium Edition to install applications and then later remove that application, the uninstall operation may remove shared components even if they are marked as "permanent". If you are experiencing this behavior then you have the original 2.0.2600.0 build of the Windows Installer 9x redistributable and need to replace it with the version indicated below.

Microsoft has released a new version of Windows Installer 2.0 that correctly handles the installation and removal of applications that use permanent components in Windows 95/Windows 98/Windows Millennium Edition environments. To determine if you have the newest Windows Installer for these platforms, check the version of the Windows Installer that you have against the following version information:

• The version number of the Windows Installer on the Windows 9x operating systems should be 2.0.2600.1.
• The version number of the Windows Installer on the Windows NT operating systems should be 2.0.2600.0.

You can check the version number by clicking Start, clicking Run, typing msiexec /? and clicking OK, or by viewing the file version information on the hidden system file Msi.dll file, which is located in the System folder.

If you do find that you have installed the 2.0.2600.0 build of the Windows Installer on a Windows 9x platform, and you have installed applications with this build, then there are two ways to remedy the situation:

• You can install the new version of the Windows Installer and then perform a reinstallation of the application. The following command line would work:

  Msiexec /i <path to .msi package> REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=vomus

• You can remove the application first, install the new 2.0.2600.1 build of the Windows Installer, and then install the application again.

NOTE: This fix is only needed to rectify this problem on the Windows 9x platforms. The problem does not occur on Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.