Windows Installer
1605
This action is only valid for products that are currently installed.
Needs attention
What it means
You asked Windows Installer to uninstall or reconfigure a product GUID that is not registered on this device. In a fleet, this normally means the uninstall already ran, or the GUID belongs to a different version of the product.
Real causes
- The application is not installed on that device at all.
- The product GUID changed between versions and your uninstall command still references the old one.
- The product is installed per-user under a different profile than the one the uninstall is running in.
What to do
- List what is actually registered:
Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, PSChildName - Check the 32-bit hive too:
HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* - Treat 1605 as success in an uninstall deployment. The end state you wanted, the product being gone, is already true.
Where to look
- Application event log, MsiInstaller source
Checked against Microsoft documentation. Last reviewed 2026-08-20.
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