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SamErde
Asked: 2010-07-29 18:56:20 +0800 CST

Find GUID of MSI Package

  • 772

How can I find the GUID of an MSI package? I would like to script the removal of a program on a large number of desktops by using:

msiexec.exe /x ProductCode

Any reason why this would not work for any applications listed in "Add/Remove Programs?"

windows scripting windows-installer msi

6 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    UPDATE: Try this stackoverflow.com answer instead: How can I find the product GUID of an installed MSI setup? or even this one: Find GUID From MSI File .

    The Windows SDK tool Orca will allow you to open and view all tables in an MSI file. Once you have the MSI open, you can either navigate to the Property table and look for the "product code" entry, or you can select "View => Summary Information..." and look for the "package code" entry. Either the package or the product guid can be used for uninstall.

    See an Orca screenshot of how to find the product code in the MSI: WiX - Doing a major upgrade on a multi instance install

    There are also other ways to find the GUID:

    HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

    HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

    HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

    It still appears you have to download the MSI SDK to obtain Orca. If you don't have access to Orca and can't be bothered downloading the SDK, any viewer capable of reading a MSSQL database file (com stuctured storage file), should be able to open the MSI file and view the contents. Make a copy of the MSI before opening it in a viewer and open the copy. Just to be sure. Once open you navigate to the Property table and look for the product GUID.

    UPDATE: A list of free MSI viewers (towards bottom).

    Also check these posts on stackoverflow.com with information on how to uninstall via Powershell:

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  2. It is a registry key:

    HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{<guid>}

    or if the platform is x64 and the application is 32-bit:

    HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{<guid>}
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  3. A light-weight freeware tool like InstEd can be used. Just open the MSI, on the "Tables" tab, click on "Property" on the left, then on the right, locate "ProductCode".

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  4. There is also a very helpful GUI tool called Product Browser which appears to be made by Microsoft or at least an employee of Microsoft.

    It can be found on Github here Product Browser

    The latest version as of (10/9/20) is available here

    I personally had a very easy time locating the GUID I needed with this.

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  5. In Powershell you can query wmi for installations

    $program = Get-WmiObject -class Win32_Product | ? {$_.Name -eq "Java Auto Updater"} 
$program.IdentifyingNumber #IdentifyingNumber is the guid

    example to repair

    msiexec /fa $program.IdentifyingNumber
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  6. Revision Number Summary Property:

    [T]he Revision Number Summary property lists the product code GUIDs [...]

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