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This page provides some tips on working with Windows Installer.

Manifold^® products such as Manifold Release 9, Radian Studio and Manifold Release 8 products when installed from an .exe or a .msi installation file may utilize Microsoft Windows Installer, a standard installation utility built into Windows that is used by innumerable applications. When the Manifold product is uninstalled using the Windows Control Panel's Add or Remove Programs applet, the removal is done by Windows Installer.

Windows Installer is not used for portable installations of Manifold products. One reason portable installations are so popular, and why they are provided as an installation option by Manifold, is avoiding the hassles when Windows Installer loses its mind.

Although Windows Installer in general is a very reliable, well-understood program, it is possible for Windows systems or software installations to be damaged in ways that might get Windows Installer confused. This most frequently happens when people or third party programs partially uninstall or partially reinstall, tinker with registry entries, delete installation files they might need later or make other alterations to Windows. But damage that affects Installer functionality can occur for many other reasons such as transient hardware failures, memory blips caused from cosmic ray impacts or any of the other innumerable highly exotic causes of strange troubles within modern computers. Don't take it personally.

When Installer is confused, any attempt to install or uninstall the Manifold product can result in all sorts of unexpected error messages. Deal with that by keeping calm and dealing with the situation step by step.

Important: There are many ways that Windows installations can be damaged so that even normally reliable programs like Windows Installer cannot function. To deal with such expected damage to Windows experienced Windows users will make use of restore points, backups and other strategies that make it easier to recover from damage.

Advice for avoiding problems with Windows Installer:

• Critically Important: Retain the .exe or .msi file used to install whatever is your current Manifold product installation, in case you later need it for an uninstall or reinstall.
• If you ever encounter unexpected messages from Windows Installer, such as "Newer Version installed," try resolving the problem by uninstalling (using the Windows Control Panel Add or Remove Programs applet) your current Manifold product installation and then re-installing.
• If that does not work, try using the Microsoft utilities described below to clean up Windows problems.

It can be very difficult to repair damage to Windows systems that prevents Windows Installer from working correctly with a given installation. Windows experts know it is often far faster to simply back up all important files, re-install Windows and then re-install applications for a clean and undamaged Windows installation.

Microsoft Utilities

There are two main Microsoft utilities that are used to repair Installer problems:

• Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter - This is your first choice. Download the Troubleshooter from this page and follow Microsoft's instructions.
• Microsoft Windows Installer CleanUp Utility, a program no longer provided by Microsoft. Use only as a last, desperate step before reloading your Windows system if the Troubleshooter does not work. If you can obtain a copy of the utility, run it and then reboot and install or uninstall the Manifold product.

You may or may not be able to find the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter at a Microsoft site. It may be replaced with a different utility or a Microsoft web-based service. If so, you should consider using any such newer or different or replacement utility or service. Microsoft continuously updates and changes the availability of such programs or services that it provides. Manifold cannot advise you on how to obtain a Microsoft-provided resource from Microsoft. You must contact Microsoft for any such assistance.

It can be extremely difficult to repair damage to Windows. Beginners or inexpert consumers will often cause more damage to Windows when attempting to make a repair. Do not just "try stuff" without knowing in great technical detail what you are doing and the risks of any procedures.

Most experts will not attempt to find and fix random damage but will simply re-install Windows for a fresh start. That's a good strategy for beginners as well.

Important: Disable all antivirus software for the duration of install / uninstall. Antivirus packages too often block files due to false positives. When that happens, the files cannot unregister and therefore they cannot uninstall. False positives happen sometimes with 32-bit modules while not blocking the equivalent 64-bit module. If you have been running a 64-bit Manifold product, you might not have noticed that some of the 32-bit modules were silently blocked "for your safety" due to a false positive.

Manifold does not provide technical support services for fixing damage to Windows installations. Manifold cannot provide advice for finding Microsoft resources within Microsoft's web pages. Your authoritative technical resources for Microsoft products are Microsoft documentation and technical support services. This page provides advice that has helped some Manifold users with typical Windows installations but that is the limit of advice Manifold can provide for repairing Windows systems. Your particular Windows installation may be different or may have experienced different damage than other Windows installations, so the advice in this page may not apply to you. If so, please consult your Microsoft tech support resources for assistance.

How to Buy Technical Support Services

Purchase Manifold^® technical support products on the Online Store. Purchase the technical support product desired and you receive support tokens by email. You can then use them when contacting tech support.The store is open 24 hours / seven days a week / every day of the year. Orders are processed immediately with emails sent out in seconds.