2008-10-19

Problems Uninstalling MySQL Connector .NET

This is a short post that might save someone some valuable time, if Google decides to rank it high enough.

I've tried to install a newer version of the MySQL Connector .NET, namely 5.2.3 instead of the old 5.1.3 I had installed.
When trying to install 5.2.3, I got this error message:


Apparently the connector does not support upgrades from 5.1.x to 5.2.x. We should just remove the old one.

Here lies the problem: when I tried removing the old 5.1.3, I got a weird error of which I took no screenshot. It consisted of a blank error message showing a computer screen with a icon of a moon on it. Something resembling a "sleep mode" icon. Huh?


Anyway, to make a long story short, nothing I did to remove the 5.1.3 gracefully worked. I tried using the old .MSI file, tried reinstalling, changing the install configuration, editing registry keys... I also tried using msizap.exe. Nothing worked.

The solution was to use this tool from Microsoft - called "Windows Installer CleanUp Utility". It's supposed to be a wrapper for msizap, but it did the job, while msizap did not.

Regardless of MySQL, this is a good tool to be familiar with. It removed 3 other entries in my "Programs and Features" list that refused to leave by themselves.

Update: I've had to solve this problem a few more times since posting. As it seems, this "Windows Installer CleanUp Utility" is basically a wrapper for msizap, so it probably used some other parameters that made it work. In addition, I've encountered a time where none of the tools worked, but a registry "Seek & Destroy" for "MySQL Connector" did the job. Go figure...