How to uninstall HOTFIXES manually when the base SQL 2000 is not there in the box

Consider a scenario where SQL 2000 has been uninstalled and Hotfixes are still visible. In my case it was hotfix 2050 and 2273. One will find the hotfix components visible in the ADD\REMOVE program. In that scenario attempts of removing the hotfixes are unsuccessful from the ADD\REMOVE programs. Attempts of removing the same from C:\Winnt\-->Uninstall or C:\Windows\-->Uninstall will fail.


SOLUTION

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For this specific issue, Searched in registry for the Hotfixes 2273 and 2050 and found them in the below locations.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\Microsoft SQL Server 2000 \<INSTANCENAME>\ SP4\KB948110(ENU) ==>KB number for the patch in my case

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ <KB OF THE PATCH>

Took the backup of the entire registry, and then deleted the below keys,

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\Microsoft SQL Server 2000

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ <KB OF THE PATCH>

Closing the Add/Remove programs, and reopening it removed the hotfixes from the list.

 

Note: This post should not be treated as the Microsoft’s Recommendation or Resolution to the problem, it is only a workaround which worked in our environment and so we would like to share it.

 

Dibakar Dharchoudhury

SE, Microsoft SQL Server,

Reviewed By,

Rakesh Singh,

TL, Microsoft SQL Server