Manually Uninstalling Rhino

The following process applies to Rhino 4 and later (For Rhino 5, 6, 7 & 8)

Problem

During the startup, install or uninstall of Rhino, you get an error message like this:

The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable. Click OK to try again, or enter an alternate path to a folder containing the installation package '<filename>.MSI' in the box below.

Cause

The Windows Installer cache cannot find a file or registry key required for uninstall. This is a common problem caused by the Windows Installer Service. The best solution is to use Windows Install Clean Up to thoroughly remove the previous installation. After you clean up the previous install, you will be able to reinstall Rhino and get a valid install.

Manually remove Rhino and the Windows Installer registration for the product. You will need to have Administrator privileges on your computer to complete this.

1. Run the Program Uninstall

  1. Close the Rhino application.
  2. Go to Windows Search.
  3. Type App and Features (or Add and Remove programs)
  4. Find the Rhinoceros x.0 program on the list, pick and select Uninstall button.

2. Delete the Rhino install folder

  1. Browse to C:\Program Files\.
  2. Delete folder Rhinoceros x or Rhinoceros x Evaluation.

3. Delete the Rhino folders

  1. Browse to %AppData%\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros.
  2. Delete folder x.0 where x is the Rhino version.
  3. Browse to %ProgramData%\McNeel\Rhinoceros
  4. Delete folder x.0 where x is the Rhino version.

4. Delete Registry Keys:

  1. Go to Windows Search and type Registry Editor.
  2. Open the Registry Editor.
  3. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\McNeel\Rhinoceros.
  4. Delete the x.0 Key. For example, Rhino 4.0, 5.0 or whatever version of Rhino you are removing.
  5. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\McNeel\Rhinoceros.
  6. Delete the x.0 Key. For example, Rhino 4.0, 5.0 or whatever version of Rhino you are removing.

5. Reboot

  1. Apply all Windows updates.
  2. If you plan to reinstall, download the latest Rhino installer here.

_

Optional

You should only do the following procedures if uninstall fails from the Apps and Features.

Run Microsoft's Uninstall Fix

  1. Visit http://support.microsoft.com/mats/program_install_and_uninstall
  2. Click Run Now.

Cleaning up the Windows Installer Cache

Warning: The following procedure may result in registry corruption and a 1402 error next time you install software. Only follow these steps if the above procedure did not allow you to install Rhino.

  1. Download the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility.
  2. Unzip the contents of WindowsInstallerCleanupUtility.zip to a “Windows Installer Clean Up” folder on your desktop.
  3. Run msicuu.exe.
  4. Scroll down to (All Users) Rhinoceros 5.0 WIP (or All Users Rhino 5.0 WIP x64) on 64-bit systems.
  5. Click Remove.

If you followed these steps and then got a 1402 error, these instructions may resolve the 1402 error.