Vista - Corrupted Install and Can't remove

I think I've just about everything to remove windows live messenger with out manually going into the registry and removing keys. I hope someone will have some suggestions. Here is what happened.

During the install Windows had a BSOD which was from some failing RAM which is now removed. Windows is stable again, but it looks like the permissions were corrupted on the windows live messenger install. There is an entry in the "Program and Features", but trying the uninstall has an error message "The system Administrator has set policies to prevent this installation".

I am the admin on this computer and have set no policy of any sort (hence the corrupted permissions). Safe mode won't work since the msi installer can't run under safe mode. I tried Jonathan Kay's Zap Messenger and the program stops functioning after a few seconds. I've tried reinstalling the program and it won't let me since it has trouble with the previous install (another error message about not having permissions to remove). I tried installing the 2009 beta and that has the same results as trying an reinstall.

I need to know which keys to delete from the registry, and where the files are located on my hard drive to perform a complete manual install or permissions fix of some sort.

Thanks

Greetings,

I think it's very possible that Windows did not complete it's setup entirely and therefore
registry keys would should exist, don't or their permissions aren't setup properly. I can't
even begin to guess on what I would even list to you to correct this (it could be simple, but
it could be extremely complex).

If ZapMessenger is completely stopping, more than likely the Windows Installer is also
broken, in which case just installing Messenger is just the symptom of greater problems. I'd
highly recommend that you reinstall Windows and start again.

You could try doing a "repair install" in Vista, which amounts to putting in the Vista disc
(while Windows is running), going through the setup and choosing the 'Upgrade' option.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
(c) 2008 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
--


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