Windows don’t allow local users to make any changes (like installing/ a program, modifying root system files, etc ). Even while uninstalling a program from your computer you may notice this error message ‘You do not have sufficient access to uninstall a program. Please Contact Your System Administrator’. This is happening because of the inadequacy of proper permissions/ privileges. Just go for these fixes to solve the problem.
Fix 1 – Find Uninstall command using registry
1. Press the Windows key+R keys together.
2. In the Run panel, write down “regedit” and click on “OK“.
NOTE –
Any unaccounted changes in the Registry Editor may lead to an unstable system. We request you to make a backup of the registry on your computer.
Once you have opened the Registry Editor, click on “File“. Then click on “Export” to make a new backup on your computer.
3. After taking the backup of the registry keys proceed to this location on the Registry Editor screen –
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
NOTE–
In case if you can’t go to the above-mentioned key, you can go to this key instead –
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
4. You will notice multiple keys listed under the ‘Uninstall‘ key. These keys are the list of the installed applications on your system.
5. On the left-hand side, click on the first key. Check out the ‘DisplayName‘ on the right-hand side to understand the name of the application.
6. This way check all the keys on the left-hand side until you detect the key associated with the problematic application,
7. Once you have detected the key, select it on the left-hand side.
8. Scroll down through the right-hand side and double click on the “UninstallString” key.
9. Copy the content from the ‘Value data:’ box.
10. Click on the search box and start to write “cmd“.
11. Further, right-click on the “Command Prompt” and click on “Run as administrators“.
12. When the terminal appears, paste the copied value and hit Enter.
This will launch the uninstaller for the program. Follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall the program from your computer.
Fix 2 – Run the uninstaller troubleshooter
There is a MicrosoftProgram_Install_and_Uninstall tool that can uninstall the problematic application for you.
1. At first, go to the MicrosoftProgram_Install_and_Uninstall.meta on your computer.
2. After that, click on “Download” to download it on your computer.
3. Now, go to the location where you have downloaded the meta file.
3. Then, double click on “MicrosoftProgram_Install_and_Uninstall.meta” to run the troubleshooter on your computer.
4. In the Program Installer and Uninstaller window, click on “Next” to run the troubleshooter on your computer.
5. Once you are asked “Are you having a problem installing or uninstalling a program?” on your screen, just click on “Uninstalling“.
6. After that, in the “Select the program you want to uninstall” window, select the program you are facing trouble with, and then click on “Next“.
7. Finally, click on “Yes, try uninstall” to start the uninstallation process on your computer.
Wait for the troubleshooter to uninstall the application package from your computer. Once the uninstallation process is over, reboot your computer.
Fix 3 – Try uninstalling in safe mode
Usually safe mode, you can’t install/uninstall any program from your computer. So, you have to modify the registry to allow the installer to work run in safe mode.
1. Press the Windows key+R keys together.
2. Thereafter type “regedit” and hit Enter to access the Registry Editor window.
3. Once the Registry Editor opens up, go to this location –
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal
4. Now, right-click on the “Minimal” key on the left-hand side and click on the “New>” and then click on “Key“.
5. Name the key as “MSIServer“.
6. Now, on the left-hand side, click on the “MSIServer” key.
7. Just double click on the “(Default)” key to modify it.
8. Set the ‘Value data:’ as “Service“.
9. Finally, click on “OK” to save the changes on your computer.
Once you are done, close the Registry Editor screen. Now, Windows Installer will work in the safe mode.
Steps to access the Safe mode –
In order to access the safe mode, follow these steps.
1.Press the Windows key +I keys together to open the Settings screen and click on “Update and Security“.
2. At first. on the left-hand side, click on “Recovery“.
3. After that, under ‘Advanced Startup’, click on “Restart Now“.
This will start your computer in the Recovery Environment.
4. Once it does, simply click on “Advanced options“.
5. In the ‘Advanced options’ screen, you have to click on the “Startup Settings“.
6. To restart your computer with proper conditions, click on “Restart“.
7. Once you are in the Startup settings, press the F4 key to “Enable Safe Mode“.
Once you boot into the safe mode, try uninstalling the application once again.
This should solve the problem you are facing.
Tip-
There is another method to uninstall a program that we haven’t discussed. You can delete the files of the particular application from your hard drive. But remember, some internal files (like -appdata folders, registry entries, etc ) may be leftover in this process.
1. Press Windows key+S keys together and type the name of the application in the search box.
2. After that, right-click on the application on the search results and click on “Open file location“.
(Example- ‘Steam’ is used as an example in the image.)
3. Once the directory opens up, select all the contents in the folder.
4. Press ‘Delete‘ to empty the folder.
This process has deleted all the contents from the particular folder, but there are a few optional steps are still left to do.
5. Press the Windows key and the ‘R‘ keys together.
6. Once it opens up, write “appwiz.cpl” and click on “OK“.
7. Now, right-click on the application you want to uninstall and click on “Uninstall“.
This will delete the entry from the list of applications and the uninstallation process is complete.
Fix 4 – Lower UAC settings
Sometimes the higher UAC settings can prohibit the un-installation process.
1. Press the Windows key+S and write “User accounts” in the search box.
2. Then, you need to click on the “Change User Account Control settings“.
3. Once the User Account opens up, slide down the bar to the bottom mark that reads “Never notify“.
4. To save this change, click on “OK“.
After doing so, try to uninstall the application again from your computer.
This should work out for you.
Fix 5 – Disable MSI
Microsoft installer or MSI handles the installation or un-installation processes.
1. Open the Registry Editor on your computer.
2. Go to this location of the key-
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer
2. Once it opens up, on the right-hand side of the window, check if you can find the “DisableMSI” DWORD value.
NOTE–
If you can’t find any key named “DisableMSI” then you have to create the key. Follow these steps to do so-
a. On the right-hand side of the Registry Editor window, right-click and then click on “New>” and then click on “DWORD (32-bit) Value“.
b. Name the new key as “DisableMSI“.
3. On the right-hand side, double click on “DisableMSI” to edit the value data of the key.
4. Now you need to set this ‘Value data:‘ to “0” and then click on “OK” to save the changes.
Once you have done this, close the Registry Editor window.
Try uninstalling the application further. It should fix the problem you were facing with the uninstaller.
Fix 6 – Check the uninstall path is correct in the registry
If there is an unknown character is attached to the ‘UninstallString’ value, you may see this error message.
1. Press the Windows key+R keys together.
2. In the Run panel, type “regedit” and click on “OK“.
3. Once the editor opens up, proceed to the location on the Registry Editor screen –
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
For 64-bit users –
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
4. You will see a list of ‘Uninstall‘ keys. These keys are the list of the installed applications on your system.
5. On the left-hand side, click on the first key, you hve to note down the ‘DisplayName‘ on the right-hand side to check out the actual name of the application.
6. Check all the keys to identify the key that is associated with the application you want to uninstall.
7. Once you have detected the key, select it on the left-hand side.
8. Scroll down through the right-hand side and double click on the “UninstallString” key.
9. Check the contents in the ‘Value data:’ box.
10. Remove any extra character from the ‘Value data:’ box and click on “OK“.
Close the Registry Editor window. Run the uninstaller again on your computer.
Fix 7 – Run as administrator
Running the uninstaller as an administrator should fix the issue on your computer.
1. Locate the uninstaller of the particular application on your system.
NOTE–
You can find the uninstaller in the installation location of the application. In case if you are wondering how to find that, follow these steps-
a. Type the name of the application in the search box.
b. Right-click on the application in the search results and click on “Open file location“.
(Example – Suppose you are trying to locate the uninstaller of the ‘Telegram’ app, you have to search it’s installed location on your machine.)
c. Here you will find the uninstaller for the application.
2. Right-click on the uninstaller executable file and click on “Run as administrator“.
This should work out for you and solve the issue you are facing with your system.
Fix 8 – Install the latest version of the application
Some application installer has the capability of removing or fixing the corruption in the installed version on your computer.
1. Go to the website of the software from where you have downloaded it.
2. Now, download the latest build of the installer available.
3. After downloading the installer, run it on your system.
4. Once the installer runs, you can choose the “Uninstall“/ “Remove“.
Follow the on-screen steps to uninstall the application from your system.
Check if this works out for you.
Fix 9 – Use an admin account
Using an administrator account may fix the issue for you.
1. Click on the search box and start to write “cmd“.
2. Further, right-click on the “Command Prompt” and click on “Run as administrators“.
3. Write this command and then hit Enter.
net user administrator /active:yes
Once you see the ‘The command completed successfully’ has appeared on the terminal, close the window.
Restart your computer. In the Sign-up screen, sign-in with the administrator account.
Further, try to uninstall the application again.