I need to reinstall Schrödinger software on Windows, but the installation fails. What do I do?

If an uninstallation was unsuccessful and cannot be completed by rerunning the installer, or if your Schrödinger software installation folder (usually C:\Schrodingeryear) no longer exists, the registry entries need to be cleaned up before you can reinstall the software or complete its removal. A cleanup tool for the registry is available from the FTP site.

To obtain the cleanup tool:

1. Download the tool from ftp://ftp.schrodinger.com/support/hidden/uninstall/SchrodingerRegCure.zip.
2. Extract the archive into the folder C:\Users\username, or on Windows XP into C:\Documents and Settings\username. There should be two executables, SchrodingerRegCure32.exe and SchrodingerRegCure64.exe. These are used for 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems, respectively.

You must have administrator privilege to run this tool.

To run the cleanup tool:

1. Open a Command Prompt window: choose Start → All Programs → Accessories → Command Prompt.
2. To check whether the cleanup tool is available in the current folder, type ls. You should see the two executables mentioned above in the list of files. If they are not there, open an explorer window, locate the files, and move them to the folder mentioned above.
3. If you have a 32-bit installation of the software (whether on a 32-bit or a 64-bit operating system), run the cleanup tool by typing in the following command:

   
   SchrodingerRegCure32.exe year username
   

   where year is the software release year (e.g. 2012), and username is the user name of the user who installed the software.
   If you have a 64-bit installation of the software, type in the following command:

   
   SchrodingerRegCure64.exe year username
   

If the software was installed in "Only for me" mode, this command removes the registry keys for the specified user. Otherwise it checks if the software was installed for all users, and removes the registry keys. If you run with the username Administrator, it removes all registry keys for that particular release.

Once you have run this tool, you can safely remove any remaining parts of the installation, such as menu items, files, etc., or you can reinstall the software.

Important! To avoid problems of this kind, you should never try to uninstall the software by simply removing the folder in which the software was installed, which is C:\Schrodingeryear by default. You should always uninstall the software with the installer or choose Start → All Programs → Schrodinger-year → Uninstall. If the installation directory still exists after the uninstallation, you can safely remove it then, as the registry is cleaned up, and all that should remain are files that may have been added or replaced in the installation. Note also that Schrödinger software cannot be removed with Add/Remove Programs.

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