Cannot uninstall 2.2.0 under Vista

[Molly]

Cannot uninstall 2.2.0
Using Vista Ultimate
Uninstall starts and then seems to undo the uninstall process
any suggestions?

[Perryg]

Try rebooting the computer first and then try the un-install.

If this fails then you need to provide all error messages that Windows tells you so we can sort this out.

[alejandro1405]

Hi,
I am on the same situation.
I had VirtualBox 1.4 running fine until I installed version 2.2.0.
My wireless network adapter stop working on my guest OS (Windows XP)
When I try to uninstall virtualbox is not letting me.
I already restarted/power-off my computer without any success.
There are no error messages.
Please help
I would like to go back to version 1.4
Thank you,

[wdking]

I was able to uninstall after disabling VirtualBox network adapters

[Perryg]

It sounds like Vista has control of the network driver when you are trying to uninstall the VBox program. A few things that you can try is to reboot in safe mode and see if it will allow you to complete the un-install.
If this fails there are a few other paths you can try but they are not pretty. One may make your system unstable and the other could make it unable to use your network, if they are not done correctly, they are as follows.

Open your device manager and look for the network adapter. Right click on the VBox adapter and tell it to uninstall.
Then reboot and complete your VBox uninstall.
Then you can decide which version of VBox you want to install.
The last is a registry hack that I use but due to issues that can arrise if not done correctly I do not provide them myself. You can do a search for hacking the registry and I am sure you can find it.

[Molly]

I deleted the Virtual Box network adapters and Virtual Box 2.2 still did not uninstall.
My wireless adapter stopped working after installing 2.2. I had to delete the wireless adapter, reboot, let Vista find the adapter and reinstall the driver. I was then able to get the wireless adapter working. There are no Virtaul Box network adapters listed - just my wireless adapter and my wired Ethernet adapter. I tried again to uninstall Virtual Box. Starts uninstalling and then the green bar retreats and Virtual Box 2.2 is still there. No error message of any kind.
I booted Visted into safe mode - no network. Strange - Virtual Box does NOT appear in the programs listing!
Rebooted into normal mode and Virtual Box 2.2 is gone from the programs list. Very strange!
I am going to reinstall 2.1.4.

[Molly]

Things have gone from bad to worse! I tried to install 2.1.4 but the install aborted. When I execute Virtual Box, version 2.2 comes up. So 2.2 did not disappear after all. When I attempt to reinstall 2.1.4 it comes up with Repair or Uninstall, Uninstall aborts with an unspecified error. Repair completes with no error but on executing Virtual Box version 2.2 still shows from the Help About screen. I am not sure what version files are there. Attempting to load a VM aborts so I do not have a working Virtual Box. 2.2 really did a job. I'm glad I screwed-up my laptop and not my desktop that is happily running 2.1.4 with no problems. I was thinking of rebuilding my laptop from scratch and reinstall Vista - now might be a good time.

[Perryg]

Actually doing a restore point to just before you update to 2.2 should do the trick.
You might want to file a bug report on this though to see if it is repairable.

[Molly]

I actually did a restore from before 2.2 installed.
I deleted the SUN directory under Program Files and deleted the .VirtualBox directory under my user directory.
You may have to turn on show all directories to see it.
If the .VirtualBox directory is not deleted you get an error after installing 2.1.4 since it has 2.2 data in it.
I was then able to reinstall 2.1.4 and get a VM up and running. Only about 4 hours lost to the 2.2 mess!

[todd.in.toronto]

The same problem seems to exist under Windows 7.

I solved my problem by using restore point to jump back to a pre-2.2 install and then doing some deleting and renaming of a couple xml files.

I went into the .VitrtualBox folder under my User Account (using Windows Explorer) and then deleted the VirtualBox.xml files (there are a couple in the various sub directories). For each VirtualBox.xml file there is a back up of the VirtualBox.xml file from the 2.1.4 install. I renamed each VirtualBox<other words in here like '1.6'>.bak file VirtualBox.xml. Next I rebooted, reinstalled 2.1.4 and my virtual machine is once again working smoothly.

No guarantees that this solution will work for anyone else, but after about 3 hours of troubleshooting, I was pleased that it solved my problem

Cheers

[RBLevin]

This problem also exists in 3.x.x

It's easy to fix. Don't use the Add/Remove program in the Windows Control Panel. Instead, run the VirtualBox installer and select Remove. The app will uninstall properly.

[Perryg]

Well that didn't work so well with version 2.2.0 where the problem was.
I am glad that it works for you with Version 3.0.X