Cant uninstall (solved)

Support Technical Support
1

Been away form this game for almost two years, came back at the start of the month but not played. Now I cant even uninstall classic or WOTLK. It says to do it via bnet app but its not letting me. Any suggestions?

I let it do the auto update and it freezes every time. I let it update as I figured that might be blocking the uninstall.

EDIT

Finally got this sorted via Support. For anyone else with the same issue. Thanks for all your help guys.

"Greetings!

Tech Specialist Rainmitwhen here. Thanks for taking the time to contact us, though I’m sorry to hear things won’t install.

Upon review of your system files, it looks like the WMI on your system is having problems. If the MSinfo returns “can’t collect information”, it usually denotes a problem in the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).

This has to be fixed before anything else will work. The Battle.net app relies on WMI, as do a lot of other third party apps. The easy way to tell if WMI is fixed after this is to run another MSinfo. If it says “can’t collect info” again, I would recommend contacting Microsoft support. Otherwise, if the MSinfo does collect the system information, it would mean the WMI should be working properly.

  1. Press the Windows and Q keys together
  2. Search for CMD
  3. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator
  4. Enter the following commands (but do not include the quotes), one at a time, pressing Enter after each:

“net stop winmgmt”

(^ stops the WMI Service)

  • Respond in the affirmative to the warning message about stopping the Security Center and IP Helper

“winmgmt /resetrepository”

(^ this will report the WMI repository has been reset)

“net start winmgmt”

(^ it may report the WMI Service is already started - that’s okay)

“exit”

(^ closes the Command Prompt Window)

=========================================================

Should the issue persist after the WMI is fixed, let’s clear out all Battle.net cached data. Corrupt data can cause the error you are seeing, so we will clean that out:

We’ll also clear out some additional cache:

Use Windows+R to open the run dialogue, then type in %appdata% and hit enter. Locate and delete the Battle.net folder located here.

Do the same thing to get to %localappdata% and %temp% to delete the Battle.net folders there (if found).

When running the Battle.net app installer again (if installing), make sure to run as Admin by right clicking on the installer.

=========================================================

However, if any problems persist, get back to us with any additional details that may arise, as well as new/updated system files so we can troubleshoot further:

Hopefully you won’t have to spend much more time on this, but we’ll be here to help as much as we’re able. Safe travels!"

2

It would help people diagnose the problem if you give information such as any error messages, and what actually happens when you try, other than just “Its not letting me”.

3

Going to take a guess that the message you were getting was when trying to uninstall from Windows Settings > Apps? (they way you would normally uninstall a program). Blizzard seem to have blocked that option.

To do it via Battle.net app select the game version you want to unistall (on left hand side) then click on the cog wheel on the right side of the big blue play button and choose uninstall. You would need to repeat that process for each game version you want to uninstall.

1 Like
4

I did try it through the normal windows install/uninstall. Each time I was referred back to bnet uninstall.

I managed to remove wow classic but for the life of me I cannot remove WOTLK both that and wow live, keep initializing then go to queued.

I tried starting in safe mode to remove it, same issue. I used revo uninstaller, same issue. All that happens in I keep needing to go back to bnet and the only thing that happens is they queue. Even when I uninstall WOTLK (is says it uninstalled) two minutes later its back on the machine and both downloads get stuck then pause.

The only error I get is “Something went wrong whilst trying to launch a programme. Please try restarting b/net and/or your computer” Which needless to say I have did countless times.

Regards the comment by @trovlak the whole purpose of the question was to open up a debate, which wasn’t quite what you did.

5

Sounds like there may be game updates pending which would make sense if you have been away for a long while but the updates are not installing and getting stuck for some reason (whihc seems to be a common issue). This probally locks the installer that needs to run to uninstall.

Have you tried to change battle.net settings to not allow auto-update? May be worth a try. To do this click the battle.net icon in top left corner, then settings, then downloads from the left side menu. On the right side under game updates select “Never automatically apply updates” and click done, then restart battle.net.

If that doesn’t work you could try a re-install of battle.net.

If all else fails and only if you are wishing to uninstall ALL versions of WoW then you could simply delete the World of Warcraft folder in C:\Program Files (x86). This will delete eveything WoW related, inlcuding any screenshots you took in the game and installed addons. (Close battle.net before you delete the folder).

1 Like
6

Thanks for the reply Ráevelyn. The updates seem to be the issue. I have tried auto and manual. For some reason I managed to uninstall wow classic and WOTLK but when it goes to update again, WOTLK is back on the list for some unknown reason.

I’ve tried pausing its update but the the update for live, keeps changing to queued even though I tell it to download. it’s cracking me up.

I also tried updating bnet to the newer version as the other one is getting replaced, still nothing.

I tried deleting the folder too and reinstalling but since that doesn’t delete the registry entries, im starting to wonder if that’s playing a part here. It’s actually gotten to the stage that I am thinking of just formatting my whole drive and see if it works then.

7

Before you start formatting your system let’s try a clean install of Battle.net.

If you unistall battle.net in the normal way (using windows). Then we can do a bit of clean up before you re-install it.

After you have uninstalled battle.net, press the windows key on your keyboard or open start menu and type “run” then hit enter. That should bring up a little window. (or you can press windows key + r).

Type %AppData% into that window and hit enter which should open Windows Explorer at AppData > Roaming. Delete any battle.net folders in that location then press the arrow to move up a folder (next to explorer search bar) and enter the folder “Local”. Again, delete any Battle.net folders in that location then close explorer.

Now open the “Run” winodw once more but this time type in %ProgramData% and hit enter. Once again explorer will open this time at Local Disk > ProgramData. Delete any Battle.net in that location. IF there is also a Blizzard Entertainment folder, then go into that and delete any battle.net folder in there too then close explorer.

At this point, you can optionally delete the World of Warcraft folder in Program Files (x86). But i would only do this if you want to uninstall all versions of WoW, baring in mind that reinstalling retail for example is a 90GB download to reinstall.

Reboot your system and then re-install battle.net.

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For Blizzard’s support article about deleteing Battlenet files.

9

@Kyogo - try this first as it will reset battle.net to a point and may be enough to fix your issue. If not, then try the clean install method i suggested.

10

Thanks buddy but none of the files are running.

@Ráevelyn I followed those instructions to the letter buddy, found a few lingering folders that I deleted but this bnet wont go past 45% install without throwing out random errors, everyone of them seem different.

The latest one being this

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