Uninstall causes continual reboot

RodneyRichardson

Hi,

I recently uninstalled an expired trial version of ANTS Profiler 4, on Windows XP SP2. Now when I try to log in to Windows I get as far as the "Applying local settings", then the machine reboots. I can get in if I choose "Last Known Good" from the Windows boot menu.

Any ideas? How can I uninstall this?

Here's the order I've installed and uninstalled some things over several weeks, which may be relevant:
- Install Visual Studio 2005.
- Install ANTS Profiler 3 (trial)
- Install ANTS Profiler 4 (trial)
- Uninstall ANTS Profiler 3 - not sure exactly when. Is it part of installed version 4?
- Install .NET Framework 3.0 SP1, and 3.5.
- Uninstall ANTS Profiler 4.

RodneyRichardson

I tried installing the latest version (4.1.0.37). After installing, my machine will log in successfully. If I uninstall this, though, I still cannot log into Windows.

RodneyRichardson

I have now manually uninstalled your software by deleting all "red gate" folders (Program Files, App Data), and (nearly) all registry keys keys with the word "ANTS".

My machine now allows me to log in normally.

Unfortunately, I still have a dead menu item in VS2005 called "ANTS4". Can you tell me how to remove this? I believe I can called "devenv /resetAddin namespace.classname", but I don't know the classname.

RodneyRichardson

I've now also managed to remove the "ANTS 4" menu item by using "Tools | Customize", and dragging the menu item off the menu.

Brian Donahue

Thanks for the updates. This is the second report of uninstalling Profiler causing this problem. I can't think of a reason for it offhand, but I was about to suggest manually uninstalling the ANTS Performance Profiler 4 and Memory profiler 4 services as some versions of the installer are leaving it behind. Since the startup type is automatic, I could see that being a problem if the serivice is left behind and the associated executable or dlls are deleted.

You still may want to check this. If these services still exist in your services control panel, you can delete them manually using

SC DELETE "ANTS Performance Profiler 4 Service"
SC DELETE "ANTS Memory Profiler 4 Service"

We're sorry for the inconvenience.

P.S. Visual Studio can be a bit neglegent when it comes to removing add-in menus, so dragging the menu item off was the right thing to do. To reset a VS 2005/2008 add-in, the command is

devenv /resetaddin RedGate.Profiler.Addin.Connect

...although this is typically used to fix an add-in that is malfunctioning.