reinstillation problem

[justaname]

Ive encountered an annoying/weird problem. Ive played simcity societies before on this computer that Im using and it worked well, but then i got bored of it so I uninstalled it. I really dont remember how but it was most likely through add/remove programs in the control panel. Now Ive just gotten the urge to play it again so i put the disk in the same computer, and the first thing i noticed that was weird was that the scs launcher has the buttons "Play, Technical Support, Check for Updates, Web, View Readme File, Uninstall and Quit" which is weird because i do remember uninstalling it. so i press play to see if i still got it, but nothing happens. so i bring the launcher back and press uninstall and the setup comes up, i allow, put in my cd key, then windows installer pops up, prepares... then and error. that says "Another version of this product is already installed. Installation of this version cannot continue. To configure or remove existing version of this product use add/remove programs on the control panel." I check my add/remove programs and scs doesnt even show up and i put a search on my computer so i can delete everything that has to do with scs, start menu shortcut, root files in programs file/prgram file (x86), everything until no traces of scs come up in the search. when i try to bring up the launcher it still has the option of uninstalling and when i click it the same error comes up saying I cant install because i already have it even though Im tryin to uninstall it which make 100% no sense. Any help on fixing this would be great.

[Keith]

Sounds like you didn't use the uninstall properly the last time or the uninstall was corrupted somehow.

I don't have SCS. But if it like most of the rest of the games it probably has a hidden installshield file that remains on your hard drive and that is preventing you from installing the game again because as long as that file exists the installer thinks the game is already installed.

Fortunately, the installshield installer program puts all these files into a single hidden folder on your hard drive. You can access the folder but you first have to make it visible.

Open My Computer on your desktop. Then click TOOLS > FOLDER OPTIONS and then the VIEW tab. Expand the FILES AND FOLDERS folder.

In the FILES AND FOLDERS section at the top of the VIEW list find the folder marked HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS.

Click the "radio button" next to SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS. Click APPLY and OK. Close the menu.

Now use My Computer to open the C:\PROGRAM FILES folder on your hard drive. Scan down the list until you find the INSTALLSHIELD INSTALLATION INFORMATION folder and open it.

Inside this folder you will see a bunch of other folders that all have long alpha-numeric names. SCS's install info may be in one of these and you'll have to open each one to find it.

Be careful not to change anything or delete anything when doing this step.

Open the top folder and look for a file that says setup.ini. Using Windows text editor Notepad open that file. If there is no setup.ini file in the folder then backup to the main level and open the next folder in the Installshield Installation Information folder.

Example: If I were attempting to fix the reinstall of Tilted Mill's Caesar IV would open the folders until I found one that contained the following information in the setup.ini file.

[Startup]
AppName=Caesar IV
ProductGUID=B7666229-351B-47D9-AA6F-DF777CF04BBF
CompanyName=Tilted Mill Entertainment
CompanyURL=http://www.tiltedmill.com
ErrorReportURL=http://www.installshield.com/isetup/ProErrorCentral.asp?ErrorCode=%d : 0x%x&ErrorInfo=%s
MediaFormat=3
LogMode=1
Resource=_Setup.dll
SmallProgress=N
SplashTime=5
CheckMD5=Y
CmdLine=
ShowPasswordDialog=N
EngineVersion=12.0.0.49974
EngineBinding=1
Source=0
AllUsers=1
InstallGuid={B7666229-351B-47D9-AA6F-DF777CF04BBF}
[Languages]
Default=0x0009
count=1
key0=0x0009

In this case the Caesar IV installshield info is contained in the folder named B7666229-351B-47D9-AA6F-DF777CF04BBF. All you have to do is find the one that says Sim City Societies in the AppName = line of the setup.ini file and you have found your target folder.

If the folder has no setup.ini file move on to the next one.

Being absolutely sure the folder you have opened belongs to SCS, make a note of the folder alpha-numeric name. Then move back to the main Installshield Installation Information folder. Double and tripple check the name of the SCS folder so you have the correct one. Then when you absolutely sure it belongs to SCS delete that folder.

You can now change the HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS setting back to its orignal setting in the My Computer > Tools and Folder Options > VIEW > FILES AND FOLDERS > HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS section.

If you found a SCS related folder and deleted it you should be able to now install the game again.

Follow these instructions at your own risk. Deleting the incorrect folder could cause your system serious problems.

[justaname]

@Keith

Thank you for the help, but I've followed everything you posted and i couldn't find the folder that was based on SCS. I have vista so the installshield installation information folder was not in program files but in program file(x86) and i double checked each folder with the weird/long, number/alpha names and found nothing that had that had anything close to SCS. i even found 2 empty ones that i deleted and nothing changed, it still doesn't allow me to install for the same reason posted in my first post. I'm not that unknowledgeable of the PC so I'm pretty sure i wasn't in the wrong folder as Ive enabled view hidden folders when i first gotten my computer.

[Keith]

Hmmm....

If there is no installshield installation information folder, it is possible that your game stores some info in the system registry file.

Now before you do anything with the registry file understand that poking around in it and deleting the wrong thing can cause your computer to stop working proplerly. Follow the instructions below at your own risk.

You should backup the registry file before you proceed with any changes or deletions.

To get to the registry, click START then RUN. In the box type

regedit

Press OK.

The list will open. Now be extremetly careful. Under the the word FILE in the top menu bar click on EXPORT and save the copy to your windows desktop or some other safe place. That's your backup. It will let you restore the registry to the way it is right now by using the IMPORT command if you need to do so.

Under the EDIT menu command click on FIND and type in Sim City Societies. Then put checks in all three boxes in the "Look at" section. and click the FIND NEXT button.

The search will start. It will stop when it finds a folder that has the words "Sim City Societies" in it. The screen on the left shows the various registry "keys" in the form of folders that can be expanded. When a match is found the folder containing the match will change to an open folder and display the information in that folder in the right panel of the registry editor.

Continue the search if it stopped on a folder by pressing your keyboard F3 key or clicking on the FIND NEXT button again.

If you find a follder that contains a bunch of info about Sim City Societies in it, usually it will be a bunch of lines referring to the where it is installed, the date installed, the code key, and some other info about the game. It could be a dozen lines or it could be more or less.

I will use Caesar IV as an example again. You want to see if you can find a key folder that contains info similar to this one for Caesar IV. See image below. The containing folder is highlighted in the image in the left column and the contents in the right panel.

If you find one that contains that sort of info, you can at your own risk, delete that key folder in the left column that contains that info. You just highlight it and press the DELETE button on your keyboard.

Editing the registry is not for the faint of heart or people that aren't sure about their computer skills. Remember a mistaken removal of a wrong folder or entry can cause serious problems with your computer. If you choose to take the risk, and make a mistake, you can IMPORT that backup file to restore your registry. So move slowly and deliberately when working with the system registry file.

[justaname]

Thank you so much I've finally been able to re install the game and the game work perfectly thank you again for your help.

[Keith]

I am glad to hear it.

So I assume that the problem was in the registry file then.

[justaname]

yea, i just deleted most of the folders that had to do with SimCity Societies in it.

[Keith]

Ok. I was just curious.

I am not sure why the entry that gave you problems was left behind during the uninstall. It happens some times, but usually the programs own uninstaller and the ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS function will do the job.

You may want to give a program I've been using lately a try. It's called Revo Uninstaller. It does a more thorough job of uninstalling programs than the ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS and a program's own uninstaller may do.

It has the option to do the same job as the ADD/REMOVE PROGRAM function but it also has an advanced option that will search for leftover folders, files, and registry entries that may get left behind.

If you want to try it, just run the revouninstaller.exe file and click on the program you want to uninstall on the menu. Then click on the UNINSTALL button. Confirm YES/NO that you want to delete the selected file. The uninstall menu has four options. See images below.

I use the advanced option to remove most of the things I uninstall.

It runs the program's own uninstaller first in the advanced mode then runs through additional searches to find the rest. If it finds more it puts them in a list of expandable folders (like the regitry editor).

You do have to be careful with it and expand the list of the things it finds and only remove the sub-items on the list that are directly related to the program being uninstalled.

You just put a check mark next to each item found that relates to the program you uninstalled and then click the delete button.

I have attached a copy of the "portable" uninstaller program I use below. It can be run without "installing" and it can even be run from a USB memory stick.