Why does uninstall ask to close an app that isn't open?

Question

When launching uninstall from Explorer, it pops up a message asking the user to close the application.

However, the application is not running. What does FindWindow see that the user can't see?

This does not happen on Windows95 or systems using the Win95 interface.

The problem does not happen when uninstalling from the uninstall icon in the start menu.

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 24 '13 at 11:05

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the procees is still running in background. Take a look with ProcessExplorer or WindowTaskManager maybe you will recognize it

answered Apr 24 '13 at 11:05

Mihai

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score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 24 '13 at 11:10

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In the Win95 GUI, the title of the Explorer Window included the full path - e.g. C:\BuildScripts - whereas in later version (our QA is using Win7 and Win8) the title is now the folder name - e.g. BuildScripts.

Therefore, if your installation folder has the same name as your product, FindWindow cannot differentiate between the open Explorer window and your product.

This is why the problem only arises if you uninstall from Explorer, and does not happen if you uninstall from the uninstall icon in the start menu.

Solutions:

Don't use the same name for your installation folder and your product.
Use the "class" parameter in FindWindow

answered Apr 24 '13 at 11:10

Danny Schoemann

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Full path vs folder name in the title is an Explorer setting (The default has probably changed over the years) – Anders Apr 25 '13 at 05:05
Thanks, @Anders. I guess we can't rely on that anymore, as this is for shrink-wrapped SW. – Danny Schoemann Apr 25 '13 at 08:34

Why does uninstall ask to close an app that isn't open?

2 Answers2