Adobe Reader Customization uninstall previous versions

[gaitgirl29]

Hello, I deployed Adobe Reader XI through Group Policy, Windows Server 2003. I used the Adobe Reader XI Customization Tool, and created a transform. I left the option checked to uninstall previous versions of Reader. Adobe Reader XI installed with all other settings configured properly that were created in the transform; however, the previous version, Adobe Reader X, did not uninstall. Has anyone experience this issue? If so, how did you get the other version of Adobe uninstalled?

[OSLASU]

I'm having the same issue. I'm able to get 11.0.02 installed along side 10.0.4, but I've been unsuccessful so far in getting 10 to uninstall.

[Claudio González]

I would try using this tool to remove all traces of Reader, to reinstall the desired version afterwards:

http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/acrobatcleaner.html

[pwillener]

I don't think you can use the Acrobat Cleaner Tool using Group Policy.

[OSLASU]

Yes, using the tool could work, but I'm interested in using the transformation and getting it done cleanly. I use WSUS to deploy these kinds of things because touching each machine on my network will take too long.

[Guest]

Make sure the last thing you do in the wizard (right before you save) is check the box. There is a current bug in the customization wizard that will uncheck that option if you do anything else afterwards. There is a note of the bug in the wizard documentation located here (see the note in section 6.2): http://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Wizard/installoptions.html#remove-installed-produ...

The note reads: "There is a current bug in which this checkbox becomes unchecked if any other feature is configured. Therefore, if you want to remove all versions of Reader, check this box as your last action before you save the modified package."

[OSLASU]

I've tried this a few times, but I'm still not getting the job done. Is there a way I can manually check the MST to see that the correct options are enabled? When I open the file in notepad, there do appear to be some human-readable elements in there.

[Guest · Accepted solution]

You can view the mst via the customization wizard. Load your mst then go to the direct editor and you will see all of the tables. Go to the "Property" table and you should see the property "REMOVE_PREVIOUS" and the value should be "YES".

[gaitgirl29]

Thanks for everyone's help! Since the responses came through about a month or two later, I resolved the issue myself. I reloaded the .mst, and found that the settings hadn't saved. I reapplied the settings and redeployed the application. One the end-users next reboot, the older versions were removed. Thanks!

[OSLASU]

Thank you.

Well, this is odd. The box to uninstall is checked, but that property doesn't exist in the direct editor table. I'll try manually adding it and report how that goes.

[Guest]

Interesting. Here is a screenshot for reference.

[OSLASU]

I see it now. I was looking at the table names. Under property, there is indeed one that says "REMOVE_PREVIOUS" and the value is "YES".

[OSLASU]

This is working now. I have a separate, but clearly related, issue with the adobeARMservice which needs to be dealt with in order for this to work. Thank you for your help!

[EnterpriseHelp]

What is your specific question re adobeARMservice ?

[OSLASU]

I don't have any questions at this time. I could have been more clear in my post - there was an issue I was having with the adobeARMservice, and I've found out how to deal with it, so I'm good to go for now.

Basically, the service was still registered but not showing up in the services snap-in, so I had to use 'sc sdset adobeARMservice (then my particulars)', then 'sc delete adobeARMservice'. After fully deleting the service, the install went according to specification.

[EnterpriseHelp]

There's a property described in the admin guide for this: http://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/AdminGuide/properties.html

Text from 10.1.4 r notes:

Like Reader 10.1 and later, Acrobat 10.1.4 installs ARMsvc.exe as part of the Updater on Windows 7, Vista, and Server 2008, Acrobat 10.1.4. The new service enables silent and automatic updates on machines where a user has configured the application for automatic updates. The service eliminates information dialogs prior to updates. In enterprise settings, IT can use DISABLE_ARM_SERVICE_INSTALL=1 to prevent the installation of the ARM service.

Ben

[OSLASU]

Yes, that property allowed me to install 11.0.2.0 side-by-side with 10.1.4, but I needed 10.1.4 uninstalled as well. Thank you!