Situation: You use an app that requires Adobe AIR but decide you don’t want it anymore and uninstall it. The app was easily removed by going to Add/Remove Programs, but AIR is still installed and there appears to be no way to uninstall it.
Update: The latest version of AIR does have an Add/Remove entry after installation but older versions do not. If you’re running an older version, read below for how to uninstall AIR.
Can you uninstall Adobe AIR completely?
Yes.
Perform the following steps.
1. Uninstall all AIR apps first.
Being that you’re not going to use AIR anymore, uninstall any app that uses it. You most likely know which apps these are, and they can all be uninstalled via Add/Remove.
2. Download the AIR intstaller executable file.
Available here: http://get.adobe.com/air/
The file downloaded will be AdobeAIRInstaller.exe. Download this direct to the desktop. You’ll understand why in a moment.
Note: If you run this file by double-clicking it, all it will do is update your existing AIR installation but not uninstall it.
3. Launch a Command Prompt.
Click Start, then Run, type cmd and click OK.
You get something that will look similar to this.
4. Type cd Desktop and press Enter.
It looks like this:
5. Type the following command exactly as shown:
AdobeAirInstaller.exe -uninstall
It looks like this:
You must type it exactly as shown, then press Enter.
Adobe AIR will then be uninstalled from your computer.
5. Type the following command exactly as shown:
AdobeAirInstaller.exe -uninstall
It looks like this: *screenshot*
The “air” in “AdobeAirInstaller” in the screenshot is capitalized, yet the command to be typed in isn’t. As the screenshot isn’t exactly the same as what’s meant to be typed in, will this make a difference?
I’m guessing not, but figured I’d check to be sure, as this is a really cool tip (one I’ll be making use of actually)
Hello,
I have a problem where Adobe air doesn’t uninstall through Program Features -Vista. I tried your fix through the command prompt. I get a short return when it loads but fininshes with
C:\users\Rod York\Desktop>Uninstalling Adobe Air failed
I’m not sure where the log is to give you that info. I’ve looked in system 32 but no text logs under log files
can you help please?
Kind Regards
Rod York
Hello again,
I found that after following your advice above -the uninstall through Program Features was now live and it uninstalled in 5 seconds.
Thanks for the info
Regards
this is what I got, still can’t get rid of it. I don’t know where to look for a log.
C:\Documents and Settings\Jan\Desktop>AdobeAirInstaller.exe -uninstall
C:\Documents and Settings\Jan\Desktop>Uninstalling Adobe AIR (all versions)
failed (consult log)
I found another way. Since I already downloaded the installer to the desktop. I just installed the latest version and then used the control panel to uninstall the program. its gone for me.
Arnie, I had this same problem but I tried it with the windows Vista “User Account Control” set to OFF and it worked first time.
Hope this helps
Neil
Thank you very much. it works!
I used this in Xp and found that nothing happened if I just waited and eventually closed the DOS window with the mouse. However, if I typed exit in the DOS window and then hit the enter key, that seemed to trigger the uninstall. Thanks for the tip!
On XP, this fails with the error as described above, and no indication of where any log is. Simply running the installer and trying to install the latest version also fails. None of the suggested workarounds work.