Uninstall an application silently

To uninstall an application, you can run the uninstall process as a startup script so it does not require any end-user input or interaction to complete the uninstall operation.

Since you are using PowerShell and already have logic you confirm uninstalls the application you need, the example provided will build off of that to keep it simple and basic.

Furthermore, beneath that I will provide an additional but different (and more efficient) way to uninstall the package using PowerShell since you are using Windows 10.

1. PowerShell Script (existing logic)

   Note: Save this to C:\Scripts\Test.ps1 or on the local machine or perhaps a UNC path that you've granted Domain Computers and/or Authenticated Users to the folder and the share.

   $app = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | ?{$_.name -eq "HP Support Assistant"};
   $app.Uninstall();
   

2. PowerShell Script (more effecient logic)

   Note: This uses Get-Package with the package name and pipes that over to Uninstall-Package to uninstall the application from Windows.

   $pName = "HP Support Assistant";
   Get-Package $pName | Uninstall-Package;
   

Run as a startup script using Group Policy settings

Note: Use gpedit.msc on the local machine to run the script as a Startup Script or if you are able use Group Policies from Active Directory if applicable in a domain environment.

1. Go to gpedit.msc
2. Navigate Computer Configurations | Windows Settings | Scripts (Startup/Shutdown)
3. Click on Startup | PowerShell Scripts tab | Add option
4. Point the Script Name field to the full path of the startup script location

5. Press OK and/or Apply out of all existing screens to save the settings

6. Lastly, you will just want to restart the computer to ensure the startup script runs and uninstalls the application without any need for user interaction or input.

Other Potential Solution

According to an answer on the HP Silent Uninstall HP Support Assistant post, you can also uninstall the HP Support Assistant application while logged on and not as a login script silently using:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Hewlett-Packard\HP Support Framework\UninstallHPSA.exe" /s /v /qn

Supporting Resources

• Get-Package
• Uninstall-Package

I was able to write a small PowerShell script for my specific need:

# Name of the software to check
$softwareName = "O365ProPlusRetail - de-de"

# Check if software is installed
$software = Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object { $_.PSChildName -match $softwareName }

if ($software -ne $null) {
    # Software is installed, uninstall it
    & 'C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun\OfficeClickToRun.exe' scenario=install scenariosubtype=uninstall sourcetype=None productstoremove=O365ProPlusRetail.16_de-de_x-none culture=de-de version.16=16.0 DisplayLevel=False forceappshutdown=true
    Write-Host "$softwareName has been uninstalled."
}
else {
    # Software is not installed
    Write-Host "$softwareName is not installed."
}

it works for me but this is not a general solution.

EDIT: Over the years this answer has gotten quite a few upvotes. I would like to add some comments. I have not used PowerShell since, but I remember observing some issues:

1. If there are more matches than 1 for the below script, it does not work and you must append the PowerShell filter that limits results to 1. I believe it's -First 1 but I'm not sure. Feel free to edit.
2. If the application is not installed by MSI it does not work. The reason it was written as below is because it modifies the MSI to uninstall without intervention, which is not always the default case when using the native uninstall string.

Using the WMI object takes forever. This is very fast if you just know the name of the program you want to uninstall.

$uninstall32 = gci "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall" | foreach { gp $_.PSPath } | ? { $_ -match "SOFTWARE NAME" } | select UninstallString
$uninstall64 = gci "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall" | foreach { gp $_.PSPath } | ? { $_ -match "SOFTWARE NAME" } | select UninstallString

if ($uninstall64) {
$uninstall64 = $uninstall64.UninstallString -Replace "msiexec.exe","" -Replace "/I","" -Replace "/X",""
$uninstall64 = $uninstall64.Trim()
Write "Uninstalling..."
start-process "msiexec.exe" -arg "/X $uninstall64 /qb" -Wait}
if ($uninstall32) {
$uninstall32 = $uninstall32.UninstallString -Replace "msiexec.exe","" -Replace "/I","" -Replace "/X",""
$uninstall32 = $uninstall32.Trim()
Write "Uninstalling..."
start-process "msiexec.exe" -arg "/X $uninstall32 /qb" -Wait}

Hi Experts,

I have to uninstall Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 X64 Additional Runtime - 14.29.30133 & Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 X86 Additional Runtime - 14.29.30133 software from my Control panel and Registry.

I have tried from the below powershell code, I am not getting any error. But Its not uninstalling. Not working.

Can someone provide me effective powershell script to uninstall it.

I am looking forward to hear from you.

$Myapp1 = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object{$_.Name -eq "Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 X64 Additional Runtime - 14.29.30133"}
$Myapp1.Uninstall()
$Myapp2 = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object{$_.Name -eq "Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 X86 Additional Runtime - 14.29.30133"}
$Myapp2.Uninstall()

instead of trying to use /X and remove /X and other things, try the following

# Get the key to uninstall
$chromeUninstall = $Chrome.Pspath.Split("\")[-1]

Start-Process -Wait -FilePath MsiExec.exe -Argumentlist "/X $ChromeUninstall /quiet /norestart"

or even simpler would be,

Start-Process -Wait cmd.exe -ArgumentList "/c msiexec /X $ChromeUninstall /quiet /norestart"

/c - Carries out the command specified by string and then terminates

Note

On my system I get two uninstall strings. You might want to think about looping or selecting first one in the list with the use of [0]