This article applies specifically to patches like WDS (Windows Desktop Search) which are special case because of how Microsoft chose to deploy it. These are actually full applications but Microsoft decided to deploy them as a patch.
This Microsoft application is seen by "add/remove programs" as a patch/ service pack instead of a full install. This may also mean that you approved it in the patch feed or windows update. This is also a good time to review how you approve patches so "patches" like this that are undesirable do not get installed in the first place.
On to removal...below are instructions. You will want to use spuninst.exe (which remove ms patches). In the K1000 appliance, there is no need to create an MI since there is no software inventory item. You will use a script to do it.
Steps:
- Locate the uninstall folder for this patch on a test machine. This is usually something like
%SystemRoot%\$NtUninstall917013$
If you know the Microsoft KB article for it then you can find the uninstall files
- Attached spuninst.exe and whatever files you found from step 1 as dependencies to your script. Even if these files are already on the target machine you want to use files downloaded by the K1000 appliance because the K1000 agent runs under the system account which may not be able to access all the files in the Microsoft-created directory.
- To prevent the uninstall from being attempted on machines that do not have WDS you want your K1000 script to have a verify clause where you first check that the windows desktop (WDS) tool, or other app that you are removing, is there. One way to check is by "verify if file exists" existence of the file
%SystemRoot%\$NtUninstall917013$\spuninst\spuninst.exe
(I might be off on the KB number if you are removing something other than WDS).
Make sure all the parameters of your script makes sense. Make sure to test it on a single machine first.
You can get other script building resources at http://www.kace.com/support/customer/training
.