Can't Remove or Update Skype - not in add/remove Programs

[GrahamW2]

Every time I run Skype on my Windows 7 Desktop PC, it says that it wants to install an update. When I allow this ... it fails. It says that I must uninstall the older version first.

Now I know that it shouldn't say this. The Skype on line help says that you don't need to uninstall first ... and I've done the same thing on my laptop with no problem.

The Skype message tells me to go to Control Panel - Add/Remove programs to uninstall the old version.

Leaving aside that Win7 doesn't actually have an Add/Remove programs option in Control Panel ... I think we all know what they mean.

Anyway, Skype doesn't appear in the installed programs list - so I can't uninstall it.

There is no uninstall option when I use Start - Programs - Skype.

There are no useful programs with names like "Uninstall.exe" in any Skype folders.

I downloaded a "power uninstaller" (Revo) which drew the exact same blank.

So ...

Does anyone know how I can uninstall Skype "manually" ?

My guess is that I would need to delete some things from the registry - but I am not going to monkey about with that unless someone can give me explicit instructions (and sound like a guru whilst doing so !)

Cheers

Graham

[caperjack]

hi, if it were mine i would delete its folder in program file and then use CCleaners' registry cleaner to remove it from the registry ,having said that i don't use skype ,but have done the same thing with many computers and many different programs that would not uninstall! good luck .
www.ccleaner.com

[GrahamW2]

hi, if it were mine i would delete its folder in program file and then use CCleaners' registry cleaner to remove it from the registry ,having said that i don't use skype ,but have done the same thing with many computers and many different programs that would not uninstall! good luck .
www.ccleaner.com

That's not a bad idea.

But if it doesn't work ... I could be left without Skype (having deleted it) AND without the ability to install the latest version of Skype.

It's a risk I don't want to take (given that Skype is actually working OK right now).

Regards

Graham

[caperjack]

ok

[GrahamW2]

That's not a bad idea.

But if it doesn't work ... I could be left without Skype (having deleted it) AND without the ability to install the latest version of Skype.

It's a risk I don't want to take (given that Skype is actually working OK right now).

Regards

Graham

OK. So I decided to "bite the bullet".

I deleted all elements of my existing Skype installation; the desktop shortcut, the program files and the Skype program directory.

I then ran CCleaner and did a full registry fix. Although I didn't watch too closely, I could see that most of the errors getting fixed were related to missing Skype files.

I then rebooted and went back to the Skype web site to perform a full, fresh install of the latest version.

And you can guess the rest - the same error message about deleting the old version first !

So I cannot run Skype (there is no trace of it on the PC), I can't uninstall it (there is still no reference in add/remove programs) and I can't install it either. Triple whammy !

I then, very carefully, went to the registry and manually deleted every value and key which had "Skype" in the name. It was pretty scary stuff as many had "Skype" buried within bigger items, sometime called X-Skype and various other things which I freely admit to having no undertanding of. Perhaps some were just system settings within Windows 7 telling the os what to do if Skype was present.

The only thing keeping me sane was knowing that I had made a backup of the registry. Of course, if I couldn't run Windows afterwards ...

Anyhoo ...

I rebooted and was able to install Skype normally thereafter. So problem sorted.

But CCleaner isn't as thorough as you might think (but that's probably a good thing - it's better to err that way than delete something you later need to run your PC !)

Regards

Graham