Vista - Installed WLM, now it won't run and can't remove it either...

I installed Windows Live Mail. When I try to run the program it starts and then 10 to 15 seconds later, 2 or 3 instances of windows installer launch and a few moments later WLM shuts down. I've been in contact with costumer support. So far I've been unable to fix ther problem. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling. Installin using a different account. I tend to believe that it may be a corrupt download, however, It just seems almost imposible download the program again. I uninstall everything and then the installer install from within my computer which doesn't help if it's a corrupt download .

Has anybody had this problem? I've been going at this for almost a week with no luck .

Hope this helps http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555175

--
John the West Ham fan C.E.T.
housetrained@xxxxxx
<><

"Firemonkey" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:02998471de2d8fa6bd4f8fc2e022c8b2@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

Are you using the *Complete* uninstall/reinstall method?

http://liveunplugged.spaces.live.com...90CA!226.entry

--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (Mail)


"Firemonkey" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message news:02998471de2d8fa6bd4f8fc2e022c8b2@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

Thank you housetrained. I'm taking a close look at all the suggestions in that page. Maybe one of them will help.

Thanks Gary. Yes, I did. I followed all the instructions in there. But when I try to install again, you see that the download it still there since it takes it a few seconds to "download". I used Process Explorer to see what was going on and you can see that as soon as the program launches, 2 or 3 instances of windows intaller also start and a few moments later WLM shuts down.

"Firemonkey" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:02998471de2d8fa6bd4f8fc2e022c8b2@xxxxxx-gateway.com...
More details about your procedure may help.
FWIW as I recall I wasn't able to install WLMail
the way I would have liked (e.g. by downloading and saving it.)
I finally had to do an online install and I had to be already logged
in with a "Live ID". However, that was almost a year ago... ; )


HTH

Robert Aldwinckle
---

Yes, well lets see. I downloaded the installer from the MS site. I ran that and it downloaded the program which is about 12mb to 14mb or something like that. Then the installation started. When it was finished the installer displayed a message that I could go ahead and run Windows Live Mail. But when I run it, it starts and after 20 or 30 seconds it shuts down.

The first time it ran, it imported the accounts from Windows Mail and after it had finished it shut down (there was a message on the screen stating that it was importing the accounts plus I was able to use Process Explorer to shut down the windows installer and get the program to run).

To follow what was happening I used Process Explorer to watch. When you start WLM, you see the application start, then after about 15 seconds you see windows installer start, then another instance of windows installer and then you see WLM shut donw.

I've found that if you kill the Windows Installer process (all instances because if you kill it it just starts again, and you have to be really quick) then WLM starts and it stays open.

I wanted to remove WLM completely from my computer and then download it again but I found that once you download it I'm unable to remove it. I've tried uninstalling it, removing the folders, looking for registry trace, but everytime I install the program again, it does not download it, it install from somewhere in my computer. I've tried to find where the program was downloaded (I tend to think that there may be a corrupt download) to but to no avail. And I've tried searching for an answer to that question but it seems like nobody knows where the program is downloaded to.

How to Remove WLM
http://liveunplugged.spaces.live.com...90CA!226.entry

--
...winston
ms-mvp mail


"Firemonkey" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message news:59d3f36f0354d3c91bfd47b9a8bf655c@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

"Firemonkey" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:59d3f36f0354d3c91bfd47b9a8bf655c@xxxxxx-gateway.com...
That's the thing I wasn't able to do. I had to *Open* that URL
not try to download and save it. And I had to be logged in
with a Live ID. Another problem I had IIRC about trying to use
the downloaded installer is that it wouldn't recognize that I had
an Internet connection. I have a PPPoE DSN connection
which seems problematic in this regard to many Windows
applications.


Looks like you got the WLMail install mostly done then?
Try looking at any logs that the install created for clues.
E.g. search the harddrive for files which were created
or changed during the minute(s) that the install was running.

BTW this reminds me of a quirk about the install I saw the first
time I tried it. (Can't remember which version.) I happened
to have OE open at the time I was doing the install...
The installer did some of its work and then apparently added
a prompt *under* the OE window suggesting it would be a good idea
to close OE! ; \ Another problem I had with the install is that
my OE message store is on a different volume and there is no way
that WLMail could succeed in copying it all into the proposed new
Message Store in %USERPROFILE% (which still happens to be on
%SystemDrive%). Come to think of it now I can't really remember
how the heck I managed to get WLMail installed finally... ; )


Probably a more efficient technique would be to find the
service which is doing that and stop it... ; )


Why? More logs to check... ; )


How did you search for that? There is a well-known
windows directory where the .msi files are downloaded to...

<cmd_output OS="XPsp2" command="dir/ad/b/s *msi*">
F:\WINDOWS\system32\config\systemprofile\Local Settings\Application Data\WindowsLiveInstaller\MsiLogs
F:\WINDOWS\system32\config\systemprofile\Local Settings\Application Data\WindowsLiveInstaller\MsiSources
</cmd_output>


Heh. So I guess MsiLogs may be where you could go to
look for diagnostics about the install and uninstall attempts...

Otherwise, ProcMon is a better tool than Process Explorer
for finding out what files are being used and changed.
Another advantage to using ProcMon is that it can supplement
whatever log messages you do manage to find by inferring
a timestamp for when each record was written (by matching
their length with the length in the WRITE records) and then
seeing what file and registry accesses preceded it. Etc. ; )


HTH

Robert
---

I am sure Winston meant to post this link, which explains where the Windows Live installation files are located, and how to access them:

http://liveunplugged.spaces.live.com...90CA!176.entry

--
Cheers,
Peter.R
(Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 with Windows Live Mail 12.0.1606)
"There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Shakespeare
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"...winston" <winstonmvp@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:OpBWn2z3IHA.1192@xxxxxx

Thanks to everybody for their input. Everything is of help. I plain forgot about ProcMon. When I'm finished checking I'll post back to let everybody know what happened.