Writing an Uninstall App ...

[Shannon]

VB6/WinXP/Hobby Programmer. I want to write a simple little App to include with my main App (in the Programs directory) that will uninstall the Main App for the user without them having to do it through Windows.

My app does not make any registry entries or do anything fancy to the user's system. Can someone tell me what other considerations I need to make, other than deleting the App folder, or what I need to clean out of Windows to do it properly.

Thanks!

[Hack]

All you can do is delete the app folder.

If you make a uninstall program from VB6 it is going to require the same runtime and dependency files to execute as does the program you are trying to delete, so you really can't remove any of those. The only thing left is the .exe of the app.

[Shannon]

But if I just delete the App folder, doesn't that leave remnants of ... stuff, like in the Windows 'Add/Remove Software' list, where it will still show my App (I assume by a registry entry somewhere), even thought the App folder is now deleted?

[Shannon]

Hack? Psssssssssssstttttt ....

[gibra]

You can't unistall correctly applications that wasn't previously installed using the "standard rules" for Add/Remove programs.

Then

1. you have to document correctly about this "standard rules" and related problem concerning Windows versions difference, Registry access, user permission, register/unregister components and check numerator-of-use related, and many many other questions very hard to learning (if you don't know anything).

2. Next, create a your TOOL that Install/Unistall applications, based on "standard rules (point 1)

Last, install applications using your TOOL, and Remove applications using your TOOL.


The question now is:
There are many many great tools that already achieve this task,
how much it's convenient spend a lot of time to learning all this?
Above all, you must think that VB 6.0 itself is a obsolete language, no longer supported by Microsoft.

However, if you want re-invent the wheel, you can start using the PDWizard source project shipped with VB 6.0, located here:
<ProgramFiles>\Microsoft Visual Studio\VB98\Wizards\PDWizard\Setup1

BUT! Keep in mind that this project is very-very-very obsolete!!!
Therefore, yours setup created by the PDW will be NOT Windows XP SP3, Vista and Windows 7 compliant.

[Shannon]

The VB6 Setup PDW will not work with Vista or Win7??? I thought VB6 was supposed it be FULLY compatible. Wouldn't that include the PDW, despite that it's obsolete?

[Hack]

Even in the best of times, the package and deployment wizard left much to be desired.

Will it work in Vista or Windows 7? Maybe....maybe not, but, regardless, as gibra points out, it won't be compliant.

[Shannon]

Gibra, Hack, what is a good PDW by todays standards (to use with VB6)? I don't mind paying for one (within reason), just so it's fairly easy to use without a lot of book learning (no time). I don't have any fancy needs, just something that accomplishes the basic steps of the VB6 PDW would be enough.

Gibra you said, "There are many many great tools that already achieve this task". Could you give some examples, please?

Thanks very much!

[Hack]

Couple of things...

http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/do.../download.aspx