[sims] Uninstall SIMS?

[Koldov]

Hi All,

 

Just wondered if there is such a thing as 'uninstalling' SIMS properly and cleanly with some kind of uninstall routine/program?

 

Or is it just a case of deleting the program folders and shortcuts, leaving all sorts of registry entries and other such debris scattered all over the drive?

 

Kol.

[vikpaw]

There used to be, but now you just delete the folder and leave the debris. Tbh the debris is less harmful than keeping and using the main app

I don't know if SOLUS 3 does a proper removal - i'm not convinced it yet does a proper install.

If you want to be clear, i'd sooner reimage the PC.

[matt40k]

SIMS .net uses the Wise installer, the Wise uninstaller is call unwise.exe. I guess that's why SIMS doesn't have uninstaller

@vikpaw I have you know S3 uses MSI which means they it's suppose to be a clean install\uninstall - according to Microsoft spec of MSI installers

[vikpaw]

So if it uses MSI - you could just take the MSI and drop the S3 part - that would be a wise move

[matt40k]

just take the MSI and drop the S3 part

 

... then you'd have your SIMS .net MSI you've been banging on about

[GREED]

Just wondered if there is such a thing as 'uninstalling' SIMS properly and cleanly with some kind of uninstall routine/program?

 

There is an undervalued procedure call 'format the hard drive', it was the best solution I ever found.

 

[robjduk]

Glad I am not the only one. Every time we have a SIMS update I get about 3-4 laptops where SIMS crashes the second it starts and with no uninstaller insight I just transfer their documents to another laptop and reimage the original. I long for the day I can just out Capita and their backwards thinking.

[harriuk]

We have the same everytime we push out an update to Sims via Solus3 a few laptops error out. We just copy the SIMS.net folder from a working computer which seems to fix the issue every time!

[winng]

For the aforementioned reasons, I can see why some schools are moving towards using web-based MIS providers, such as Bromcom, where there is no longer a need to locally install anything whether that is via MSI or Solus 3.

[matt40k]

It's a pretty poor reason to change MIS systems. I mean the end-user - teachers, office staff or headteachers etc - don't care how much effort is required to get it working, so long as it's working and that boils down to cost. If you were going to change MIS system it should be for improvement - look at Arbor and their big data stuff, how they are using public data, raiseonline and other data sources to give you more information at your figure tips. Making IT staff life easier by changing the MIS system should be a bonus not the why.

[GraemeBC]

It's a pretty poor reason to change MIS systems. I mean the end-user - teachers, office staff or headteachers etc - don't care how much effort is required to get it working, so long as it's working and that boils down to cost. If you were going to change MIS system it should be for improvement - look at Arbor and their big data stuff, how they are using public data, raiseonline and other data sources to give you more information at your figure tips. Making IT staff life easier by changing the MIS system should be a bonus not the why.

 

I accept your point @matt40k however, when the teachers, office staff or headteachers are repeatedly unable to access their MIS due to the issues being reported here and elsewhere almost every time you deploy and update or patch, the benefit of having 24/7 access comes into view.

[matt40k]

There are a few "techy" issues why you might look at other MIS systems, I think the issues that get raised here are often environment, ie hardware not spec correctly or software not configured correctly - with a cloud product or even just a web based product, most of these issues disappear. You will off course still need a working device!! Those environment issues will occur regards of the MIS system, it's just a cloud MIS you could almost get away with walking into PC World and picking pretty much any device they sell and it'll work, SIMS, well... not so much. If the environment issues where such a problem, you can basically spend money to resolve it - remember 20,000 schools use SIMS and yet we only see a few hundred people moaning about upgrades!

 

The "techy" issues I would say are worth a look at a new MIS are, development cycle - SIMS does what, 3 releases a year, Arbor does about 12 a year - that's not patches either. Still I would look at their last 12 month release notes and the roadmap head as it doesn't mean they will be able to do any of the changes you want any quicker!! The other is testing, a focused MIS like ScholarPack will have a easier time testing then SIMS. ScholarPack is focused on the primary sector, SIMS is has to worry about a lot more scenarios, like if that shinny new secondary school module will affect primary schools.

[vikpaw]

@winng is biased, but he has a valid point.

The techies are dealing with issues on behalf of the end user and they have a lot of power in some cases.

 

I can easily see where the end users' feelings and perception is prioritized over a Tech's judgement.

 

I don't think we see close to a representative number of issues here that actually occur and of course many occur and are fixed without ending up here.

 

However I don't think these issues are what drives people away from SIMS and other client based progs, but it sure plays it's part when weighing things up.