I need to use a script with either CMD or Power Shell to uninstall a program from a windows machine.

To be clear , I already know how to use the “wmic” & "Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product ", what I am looking for is how to remove the programs listed under Programs & Feature in control panel but doesn’t show up when using WMIC (Product Get Name) or (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product) commands.

I can use these script easily:

1. CMD:

wmic

product get name

product where name=“program name” call uninstall

2. Power Shell:

$app = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object { $_.Name -match “Software Name” } >> $app.Uninstall()

Both scripts above helped me remove specific programs only, but the list I have under control panel still have lots of other applications that I am hoping to use similar script to remove them.

Any idea / suggestion is highly appreciated ?

You can get some clues as to where an application lives, by looking at where it's uninstaller is located.

Windows stores the list of uninstaller locations in the registry. You can use Regedit to go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall.

That registry key contains a whole lot of sub-keys with GUID names (big long strings of seemingly random letters and numbers). Use Regedit's search function and set it to look for the name of your program as it appears in the "programs and features" list of installed programs. (Un-tick keys and values and just leave data ticked).

Once you find the right sub-key, you'll see a bunch of values for your program. One of them will be called "UninstallString" and may point to the executable or DLL that is used to uninstall the software (or might pass a file location as a parameter to MSIexec or RunDLL). Depending on where the application's uninstaller lives, that information might give you the clue you need to find the rest of the application.

There are other bits of information in the registry that can help you too - See more info from Microsoft at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa372105(v=vs.85).aspx

Typically programs that don't list an install location will have installed themselves in a number of places around your disk though, so it's best to use the uninstaller if you can.

It looks like this can be done from the wmic command
Try this:

wmic product  

Shows a list of everything installed on the computer
Sources:
http://www.sepago.de/d/helge/2010/01/14/how-to-list-all-installed-applications-from-the-command-line http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb742610.aspx#ECAA

This page says it's for Windows Vista and 7, but I have tested wmic on Windows XP as well
Get list of installed applications from Windows command line

Also, this page explains that the method of checking the registry entry may not be accurate
http://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/show/2238-how-add-remove-programs-works

Here is some more information on what else can be done using wmic:
http://betanews.com/2011/01/14/wmic-the-best-command-line-tool-you-ve-never-used/
From this website, specifically for your problem:

The program can also provide details on many other aspects of your system. Commands like:

wmic product list brief

wmic service list brief

wmic process list brief

wmic startup list brief

will list your installed software, services, running processes and Windows startup programs, for instance.

You can use the runas command.

runas /user:Administrator "control appwiz.cpl"

It will prompt for a password then launch Add/Remove Programs with Administrator's credentials. There are other control panel applets you might need to launch this way as well.

You can also hold shift while right-clicking the applets and most of them allow you to choose "Run As".

Hi, Tay 13,

Open command prompt window

type the following

SFC /scannow

press enter

Note:  There is a space between SFC and /scannow

Once the scan is finished, locate the log by going to Start > Run

Type

%windir%\Logs\CBS

Look for repaired files or cannot repair file and note the name of any file not repaired.

Retry opening control panel add/remove section.

Open Command Prompt window

Type the following

appwiz.cpl

Press Enter

This will open add/remove programs

Is there any particular reason you're trying to do this from the command-line as opposed to built-in features available in the UI? Also, might there be a system policy that's preventing you from performing these operations?

Here's a suggestion using the UI:

1. Open the Start Menu
2. In the Search Bar, type appwiz.cpl.
3. Wait for appwiz.cpl to appear in the search results. There should be only one entry at the top, under "Programs". It should have a document icon with some gears on it, and should be automatically highlighted.
4. With appwiz.cpl highlighted in the search results, press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER. This will force Windows to attempt executing appwiz.cpl with Administrator privileges.
5. Respond to any UAC prompts as appropriate.

If the above does not work, there may be an issue with your system's Security Policy. Do the following to check:

1. Log into the system under an account that has Administrator permissions.
2. Press Win+R.
3. Type secpol.msc and hit ENTER.
4. Respond to any UAC prompts as appropriate.
5. In the left pane, navigate the tree to the following location:

   Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options

6. Find the "User Account Control" options, near the bottom of the list.
7. Check the setting User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for standard users
   • If it is set to Automatically deny elevation requests, you will not be able to use Administrator permissions while running under a standard user account.
   • If this is set to any of the Prompt for credentials... settings, and the above process for running appwiz.cpl elevated still does not work for you, then you may have a different problem.

Hi IIIGeneralII

This problem has been solved by me, i just forgot that the support ticket is still active :b

You can uninstall the program by breaking it, simply use the following command in the recovery cmd

cd C:

Note: depending on which drive you install windows on, it might be D: or something else

cd Program Files

After that use dir to locate the avast file

If you didn’t find it use cd program files (x86) instead

Note its important to check on ehich folder did avast install on

Search on the internet and find out

After that

del avast

It will say “are you sure? (Y/N)?”

Type y and enter

Use cd avast to make sure that all files are deleted

Then use dir

If not all of them are deleted

Use del (something like avast.exe and etc) on all of the files.

Restart your PC/laptop and boot into it

For driver issues and boot looping

Check other topics on them