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MilanM00's avatar
MilanM00
Copper Contributor
Mar 25, 2025

Uninstalling programs through AD GPO

Hello everyone, 

I need to uninstall a program that was installed before AD on 250 computers. I converted the .exe file to .msi, when I distribute the policy and enter gpupdate /force the computer recognizes the change but does not uninstall. 

I also created a gpo for installing a new program, when I manually delete the program and restart the computer, the new program is installed.

Is the problem that the program is not installed through AD gpo?

And does anyone have a solution?

Active Directory

2 Replies

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  • Marten Theunissen's avatar
    Marten Theunissen
    Copper Contributor
    Apr 07, 2025

    True, If you are in the position I would say look at using a startup script to achieve this. Might be a good idea to work in a failure/sucess event that can be logged to keep track of where you are having issues and the count if you don't have anything in place

     

    $appName = "ApplicationName" Get-WmiObject Win32_Product | Where-Object {$_.Name -eq $appName} | ForEach-Object { $_.Uninstall() }

  • micheleariis's avatar
    micheleariis
    Steel Contributor
    Apr 04, 2025

    Hi, yes, that’s the main issue; it’s not installed through an AD GPO, so the uninstall won’t work the same way. You can often fix this by running a script that silently uninstalls the program on each machine, either via a startup script GPO or a separate software management tool. Once you ensure the program is installed via GPO, future uninstalls or updates will work as expected through Group Policy.

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