Windows: Uninstall an Application from the Command Line

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From the computer of: shamanstears (723 recipes)
Created: Jul 23, 2008

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By using the Windows Instrumentation command-line interface (WMIC), you can easily uninstall an application without having to use the GUI. Once you become familiar with the steps, it will be much faster than having to access the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. This Tech-Recipe applies to Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.

1. Open a command prompt.

2. Input WMIC and press Return. You will see a prompt that looks like this:

3. At the new prompt, execute the following command:

This will generate a list of installed applications.

4. At the prompt, execute the following command:

where application name is the name of the program you wish to uninstall (use the exact name provided by the previously generated list).

For example, if I were wanting to uninstall Adobe Reader 9, my command would look like this:

5. When prompted, input y to confirm that you wish to uninstall the application and press Return.

The application will be uninstalled.