Windows – How to completely remove the Visual C++ Express installation

hotfixuninstallvisual studio 2010windows 7windows update

I have a bunch of 'Hotfix for Visual C++ Standard 2010 Beta 1 – ENU' updates installed.
As well as 1 'Hotfix for Microsoft Visual C++ Express – ENU'

I have already completely uninstalled Visual C++ Express 2010 as best as I could.
But I would like to get rid of these left overs.

Problem is, there's no uninstall option for the 20 Beta 1 hotfixes, and when I try to uninstall the other one, I get a nice 'This action is only valid for products that are currently installed.'

Here's a screenshot for better reference:
Here's a screenshot for better reference.
Like I said, I don't have Visual C++ installed anymore, so I want to get rid of these.

Best Answer

Option 1 would be to use System Restore if you have an appropriate restore point handy.

Option 2 would be to reinstall Visual C++ Express 2010 and them uninstall everything in reverse order, i.e. hotfixes/updates first and finally the app itself.

If Options 1 and 2 are not possible for some reason, I recommend you try this instead:

  1. At an elevated command prompt, type:

    dism /Online /Get-Packages > Packages.txt

  2. Open Packages.txt and you'll see something similar to the following:

    Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 6.1.7600.16385

Image Version: 6.1.7600.16385

Packages listing:

Package Identity : Package_for_KB2705219~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.1.1
State : Superseded
Release Type : Security Update
Install Time : 15-08-2012 05:38 PM

...

The operation completed successfully.

  3. Based on the information about each package, try and identify the ones you want to remove. For example, the one above corresponds to this update. Similarly, try and locate the packages for the hotfixes listed in your screenshot, such as this one for example.

  4. Now use a command similar to the following to remove the specified packages:

    dism /Online /Remove-Package /PackageName:Package_for_KB2705219~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.1.1 /PackageName:<Package Identity 2> /PackageName:<Package Identity 3> ...

Hopefully it will work and not throw the same error about the main program no longer being installed. If it doesn't work, a final option might be to use some freeware/commercial uninstallation utility, but not sure which one would work and how well.

Edit: Some more things to try:

  1. Visual Studio 2010 Uninstall Utility

  2. From an elevated command prompt:

    wusa /uninstall /kb:<KB Number> (For example: wusa /uninstall /kb:983233)
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