SteelBytes.NeT
Converting bytes to knowledge

MSI error code 1638: “Another version of this product is already installed”

November 10, 2014 7 Comments Written by Paolo




When you try to remove an application, you receive the following error: “Another version of this product is already installed” with the error code 1638.

msi_error_1638_another_version_already_installed

This is a problem with minor/major versions of the installed product. When a GUID of a msi package changes (when an msi is generated for example), the product will detect itself as another version.

Solution 1

Try to get the original msi. You can check GUID’s of the installed software and the msi match. You can find the GUID in the uninstall information:

x86 applications: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
x64 applications: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

Try to find the specific uninstall information by, for example, searching for the name of the software in the subkey. Mostly the GUID is shown in the key ‘ModifyPath’ or ‘UninstallString’. If the GUID’s match, it is possible you can uninstall the application with the msi.

Solution 2

If there is no way to get the original msi or the error persists, you can delete the installation information. This information resides in:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\{SID}\Products

The software installation info is present under the SID of the user who installed the software. The SID ‘S-1-5-18’ belongs to the system account. So, if the software is installed by deployment software, such as System Center Configuration Manager, the information will be present under this subkey.

The easiest way is to find the specific software by searching from the subkey ‘UserData’.

registry_windows_installer_key

Next, rename the whole key (which is the GUID of the software), under which you found the software information. Rename it like: 000021599B0090400100000000F01FEC.bak so you have the possibility to restore it.

Now try to uninstall the software again with the msi installer you have.



Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Vista
, ,
Similar posts
  • Invalid product key error when adding... — When you try to add the the KMS key for Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows 8.1: cscript %windir%\system32\slmgr.vbs /ipk [product key] you receive the following error: 0xC004F050 The Software Licensing Service reported that the product key is invalid The KMS server needs to be updated before the key is recognized. Follow this link, download [...]
  • Enable or disable Outlook add-ins on ... — There are certain scenario’s where you want to enable Outlook add-ins only for specific users. This guide explains how to accomplish this by using the group policy. 1. Open the registry and navigate to: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins 2. Find the corresponding key which matches the Outlook add-in you have installed (for example: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\OcOffice.OcForms) 3. Right-click on the [...]
  • How to reset / bypass the administrat... — Last time I had to rejoin a machine to the domain and apparently some nutjob administrator didn’t use the documented password for the local administrator account. So with no option to log on to the machine locally, I had to follow the steps below. Basically, you replace the executable used for Accessibility options showed in [...]
  • Cluster Shared Volume not accessible ... — When you try to access the Cluster Shared Volume from a cluster node which is not the current owner, the Windows Explorer may hang on opening the ClusterStorage folder. You cannot access the shared volume. You receive the following error in the event log: ‘Cluster Shared Volume…’ is no longer available on this node because [...]
  • Install print driver .inf file from c... — Sometimes you just want to add a printer driver to your Windows client. For example for USB connected printers so you don’t have to manually select the print driver every time connecting the printer to a new client. The following command line can be used in a batch file to automate the driver installation: rundll32 [...]

7 Comments

5 Pings/Trackbacks

  1. Christian Christian
    November 21, 2014    

    Awesome solution. Did you know you can also find the GUID and lots of other metadata from MyUninstaller? Very small, but handy tool for uninstalling software.

    Reply
  2. Case Farmer Case Farmer
    February 9, 2018    

    Thanks! Great info!

    Reply
  3. bijuterii pretioase bijuterii pretioase
    August 26, 2018    

    magazin bijuterii

    blog topic

  4. riser pci-e riser pci-e
    September 25, 2018    

    poze bijuterii

    blog topic

  5. risere risere
    September 26, 2018    

    pci extender

    blog topic

  6. i cos i cos
    October 9, 2018    

    i cos

    MSI error code 1638:

  7. best retinol cream amazon best retinol cream amazon
    July 30, 2019    

    best retinol cream amazon

    MSI error code 1638: “Another version of this product is already installed” | SteelBytes.NeT

  1. bijuterii pretioase on August 26, 2018 at 8:26 am
  2. riser pci-e on September 25, 2018 at 7:36 am
  3. risere on September 26, 2018 at 1:44 am
  4. i cos on October 9, 2018 at 9:54 pm
  5. best retinol cream amazon on July 30, 2019 at 7:24 pm

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


− four = two