Member Avatar for wayne_owens

I have not used my yahoo messenger for a while and when I did I find that it won't open. So I attempted to uninstall it and reinstall it, but the uninstall program locks up and won't work either. Any suggestions?

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Consolidated, practical steps to get a stuck Yahoo Messenger Beta uninstall unstuck (summary of the thread for ). ’s “install over” idea sometimes works, but when the installer insists on removing the broken install first it won’t. ’s registry-clean idea can help, but manual registry edits are risky unless you back up first. Try the steps below in order — each step moves from safest to more aggressive.

  1. Stop Yahoo processes and disable auto-start.
    Use Task Manager (end ymsgr/ypager processes) and then run Autoruns (run as Administrator) to uncheck or delete Yahoo startup entries so nothing is locking files during uninstall. Reboot and try uninstall again. (learn.microsoft.com)

  2. Run Microsoft’s Program Install and Uninstall troubleshooter, then try a targeted MSI uninstall.
    The troubleshooter can repair corrupted installer state and registry keys so the normal uninstaller works again. If the app isn’t listed you’ll be prompted for the product code (GUID). To find it look under the Uninstall registry keys — e.g.
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
    (or the WOW6432Node path on 64-bit systems). Then run msiexec to remove the product directly (example below). (support.microsoft.com)

msiexec /x {PUT-PRODUCT-GUID-HERE} /L*V C:\yahoo_uninstall.log

See msiexec docs for switches and logging. (learn.microsoft.com)

  1. Use a forced-uninstall tool, Safe Mode, and (only if necessary) manual cleanup.
    If the built-in uninstaller still chokes, use a reputable tool’s “Forced Uninstall” or leftover-scan feature (Revo Uninstaller is an example) to run the uninstaller (if present) and then scan and remove leftover files/registry entries — review what it finds and let it back up entries before deleting. If that fails, boot Vista into Safe Mode and repeat the uninstall/cleanup steps. Always create a System Restore point and export any registry keys before deleting them. (revouninstaller.com)

If none of the above works you can remove the Yahoo program folder and service entries and then clean the Uninstall registry keys, but that is last-resort and should only be done after a restore point and full registry backup. Note: Yahoo Messenger was discontinued in 2018, so reinstalling an old beta may not be worthwhile. (macrumors.com)

If a specific step fails, include the msiexec log (the /L*V file) and the exact point it stops — those logs usually show the root cause and point to the next action.

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Member Avatar for HoustonIT

Thats probably why it's still in beta. Try to just install msgr over the current install.

Member Avatar for wayne_owens

No good. The install quits working. It insist on uninstalling first. Any ideas?

Member Avatar for Ancient Dragon

search the registry for all instances of yahoo then delete the keys that belong to messenger.

Member Avatar for wayne_owens

Still no good. Used a Registry cleaner and then manually deleted all the rest and yahoo im installer only goes to 98% then it stops. Any other suggestions?

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