Removing a program from 200 Windows XP PCs

[flashsnaps]

Morning all,

 

 

I have 200odd Windows XP Professional PCs on a Windows 2003 Server domain, can anyone advise of the quickest way to remove a program without having to manuelly login to every PC and uninstall it from Add or Remove programs.

 

Thanks for any suggestions

[kmount]

How was it installed?

 

What application is it?

[flashsnaps]

It's called Classlink, used to lock down PCs.

[SYNACK]

If it is an MSI packaged program its a simple script to uninstall it, otherwise it can be trickier.

 

http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/647866cd-d8ca-4660-933b-ea08dbc9d46f

Edited October 28, 2012 by SYNACK

[eddyc]

If you are referering to Viglen Classlink then removing the Classlink Client msi does not really unlock a great deal. Most of the restrictions are GPO's applied on server side.

[flashsnaps]

@eddyc

 

Whats the best way to just remove the client from the PCs? We will be using group policy to do Classlinks job from now on in.

[SYNACK]

@eddyc

 

Whats the best way to just remove the client from the PCs? We will be using group policy to do Classlinks job from now on in.

 

If you are referering to Viglen Classlink then removing the Classlink Client msi does not really unlock a great deal. Most of the restrictions are GPO's applied on server side.

 

If it is an MSI packaged program its a simple script to uninstall it, otherwise it can be trickier.

 

Script Delete Software

 

As it is an MSI just use the script and the programs exact name from add/remove programs as a machine startup script to uninstall it.

[flashsnaps]

@SYNACK

 

Thanks for that, is it not easier to put the msi into the Group policy under Computer Configuration\Policies\Software Settings\software installation?

[SYNACK]

@SYNACK

 

Thanks for that, is it not easier to put the msi into the Group policy under Computer Configuration\Policies\Software Settings\software installation?

 

It is if you are installing it, you can't uninstall software from there unless it was installed in that way to start with. If so just find it in the GPO used to deploy it, right click it and remove > remove immediately from all stations.

 

If not you'll need to use a script.

Edited October 28, 2012 by SYNACK

[eddyc]

@eddyc

 

Whats the best way to just remove the client from the PCs? We will be using group policy to do Classlinks job from now on in.

 

 

The client is an MSI which can be removed in the way that SYNACK has already mentioned above. - I was just pointing out that removing the Classlink client from the workstations will not add any functionality back to the computers.

The domain will have numerious Classlink group policy objects that lock the machines down - you would need to go back through these to add the functionality you require back to the machines.

One school that I have worked in unpicked a whole Viglen Classlink network - and another just scrapped it and started from scratch to go Vanilla over the summer holidays.

The best thing to do is group policy model and then work out which policies you want to modify \ disable to give you the access that you need.

 

I hope this helps! Ed

[flashsnaps]

Thanks chaps for your help.