Tweakui Uninstall

Topic

New Reply

I have Tweakui running on Win2000Pro. When trying to uninstall it from Add/Remove Programs, ‘An error occurred – it may have been already removed’, I used the Tweakui help to reinsert the uninstall string to the registry, but no luck.

Anybody know how to remove it please

Reply | Quote

Replies

1) Why do you want to remove it? Leaving it there should not cause any problems.
2) Have you tried to re-install TweakUI and then uninstalling it after that?

It sounds like you may have a ‘partial install’ remaining on your computer. Sometimes it helps to completely install the program again, and then remove it.

Reply | Quote

Actually, I don’t want to remove it. I noticed when cleaning up my machine with Norton Utilities that it reported the Uninstall entry for Tweakui pointed to a missing file. I have reinstalled Tweak, used its help file to re-install the control panel uninstall enrty, but with no result. It will still not Uninstall.

Reply | Quote

I beleive that if you are using items such as the auto log in, it can not be uninstalled.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

Reply | Quote

That sounded like a good ‘weird science’ tip. I cancelled auto login, logged back on as administrator, reinstalled Tweak but still cannot remove it. The actual registry string is

C:WINNTrundll32.exe syssetup.dll,SetupInfObjectInstallAction DefaultUninstall 4 C:WINNTInfTweakui.Inf

Tweakui.inf is there, but I am not sure about the rest of the command string. Maybe this is an MS secret weapon!!

Reply | Quote

I think if you changed ‘c:winnt…’ to ‘c:windows…’ it would uninstall ( if windows is the directory you installed to). Unusual for MS programmers to hardwire a directory name.

Reply | Quote

WINNT actually is the Windows 2000 directory, and has a Inf folder with Tweakui.inf

Reply | Quote

So much for my idea. The machines here at work use Win2000. Systems guys must have changed the default.

Reply | Quote

Hi dpollock–
I assume you have Tweak UI 1.33 offered by MS for Win 95 -2000 (but I have seen 1.33 and Tweak UI XP Power Toys used interchangably on different systems preXP and XP). I have them both on XP and had a tough time installing 1.33 because to get it in I had to right click>Select “Run As”>Uncheck “Protect my computer from unauthorized activity” (it rechecks itself immediately after) to get it in.

Post 174710

This might help–it can get things that the Windows Uninstall process doesn’t and is free:
Add/Remove Pro

There are a couple KB’s on this:
Some Applications May Fail to Uninstall Properly Under Windows 2000 Q252672

and

How to Uninstall the Tweak UI Tool in Windows 98 Q190643
I understand you are using Win 2K, and have been to Add/Remove, but I thought the connection with the .inf install file[/i] for Tweak UI 1.33 might help you find a way to work with that file[/i] to uninstall it.

defrag

Reply | Quote

Many thanks. I followed your links, without much success. Don’t actually know what version I have, but it is old, and I can find no version number in the Help or program files. In chasing the links you gave, I found a download from MS for 1.33 and have got it. Do u think this will install over the old version, or should I use AddRem Pro, Cleansweep or similar to try to remove th old one first???

Reply | Quote

Find the file TWEAKUI.CPL and right click on it. Select Properties and you’ll be able to check the version number you currently have installed. The file is usually in the WINDOWS or WINDOWSSYSTEM folder.

Reply | Quote

I already have 1.33.0.0. AddRemovePro will not remove it although it states that all files in the string exist. Guess I shall file this as ‘live with it’!!

Reply | Quote

Edited by WyllyWylly for brevity.[/size]

Dpollock–Have you tried this? Remove Tweak UI and Earlier from Windows XP

Give Doug’s tip a shot–and Doug has a lot of other useful tweaks listed here on his site. He references earlier versions of Tweak UI to 1.33 and Tweak UI for XP with Powertoys.

I honestly thought that there were only two Tweak UI’s only because I have seen Tech TV’s Screen Savers refer to using them both at once. But there are actually three: Q310176 confirms that there was TweakUI 1.1 although it doesn’t seem available any more from an MS site. Additionally, in Jim Boyce’s book,Windows XP Power Tools, he refers to Tweak UI this way on p. 139:
[indent]

---

“As of this writing (2002) before Tweak XP Power Toys were released in April, 2002], Version 1.33 was the latest and greatest”[/i]

---

[/indent]I don’t think you can hurt yourself trying to use Add/Remove Pro which I learned about from Merc on this lounge and his site–one thing this utility has going for it is that it list programs by their registry strings. As a registry novice, I respect and appreciate guys who are very comfortable and versatile with the Registry.

I was just thinking that surely people here would know how to go where Tweak UI 1.33 lives in the Registry and safely remove it. I will keep looking and go to some registry sites and forums and see if I can unearth effective ways to remove it.

defrag

Reply | Quote

AddRemove Pro could not remove the program – the Uninstall string was corrupt, and reading the inf file did not give me enough infor to try and correct it. Doug’s tip, however worked fine. Many thanks

Reply | Quote

With thanks to all who assisted in this thread. The answer was stupidly simple. The standard TweakUi uninstall string points to C:WINNTrundll32.exe, which file of course is actually in C:WINNTSystem32 !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Problem solved

Reply | Quote