CF 2018 Uninstall Error

[Matthew_Darby]

I have downloaded the latest CF 2018 server to install a development server on my local machine.  However, during the installation process, my machine restarted.  I am not able to get the server to start.  So, when I launch the uninstall app I get the following pop-up error message.

File Missing!

installvariables.properties file is not present in install folder. Hence uninstallation has failed.

My aim is is to uninstall so I can redo the installation process.  Even if I could fix the current installation, I would still like the ability to uninstall in the future.   I have searched online and in the forums but I might have missed an answer to this problem.  Any assistance that leads to a solution to my problem will be greatly appreciated!

[Dave Watts]

If you go to a command prompt, and navigate to the \ColdFusion2018\uninstall directory, you might see uninstall.exe there, along with installvariables.properties. If both are there, try running uninstall.exe from there. Make sure you've opened the command prompt as administrator - you have to do this explicitly.

Dave Watts, Eidolon LLC

[Matthew_Darby]

Thanks, Dave, 

I followed the instructions you have provided.   Here are the contents of the uninstall directory.

CFServiceController.exe
cf_app.ico
InstallScript.iap_xml
<DIR> resource
Uninstall.exe
Uninstall.lax
uninstaller.jar
uninstaller.properties
uninstallerResources.zip

So while I am missing installvariables.properties, I do have uninstaller.properties.  I am not sure if renaming the file will assist me though.  I am still getting the same error message upon running the uninstaller through the cmd window as Administrator. 

[Dave Watts · Accepted solution]

It sounds like you previously attempted to uninstall somehow, and that deleted the properties file, and that's why you don't have it any more. But that's really just a guess on my part. I guess I could send you my installvariables.properties file offline. It's basically just a bunch of ... properties, I guess. My install of CF on this computer is pretty straightforward, I installed it at the root of C, and installed most of the default components.

That said, I think it might just be easier if you manually delete CF from the computer. It's not that connected with the operating system, really, and I've done this before without any trouble. Obviously, it would be on you to back up any parts you want to keep for future reference. I'm going to recite this for memory, so I'll warn you it's probably not exactly correct, but it's pretty simple to do and you can probably figure out any problems along the way. The first step would be to go into the Windows Registry and backup and delete any entries for the CF services. They're under HKLM\Services\CurrentControlSet and all begin with "ColdFusion". If you've connected CF to IIS, you can use wsconfig to delete all the connectors. Then, you're done basically - just backup/delete the ColdFusion root directory and its subdirectories, and you should be ready to reinstall!

One last thing - check your available disk space here, it may be full. That might explain why some things aren't working for you.

Dave Watts, Eidolon LLC

[Matthew_Darby]

Thanks Dave!

After attempting to utilize the installvariables.properties file I got a Java error that aborted the process.  So I just deleted the directory and reinstalled CF without a problem.   I am not sure why the uninstall directory had not contained the files I needed earlier, as I received the message that the file was missing on my first uninstall attempt. I  am the only person using the machine and I attempted the uninstall immediately after the computer had rebooted. 

[Dave Watts]

Excellent! Some times, weird stuff just happens.

Dave Watts, Eidolon LLC

[Trevor294622528ybt]

I had the same situation occur on my first uninstall attempt on the lockdown for CF2021.  I was also missing installvariables.properties.  The manual deletion option is not a viable one.  How would I go about obtaining an installvariables.properties file for the CF2021 lockdown?