Installation Error: The installer says that a previous version is already installed, uninstall it and try again

[MrDoGooder]

I tried installing the new version, when the above message popped up, i uninstalled the previous version using iobit uninstaller and restarted the system. Tried installing it but it kept saying the previous version still exists.

[billziss-gh]

I do not know what iobit uninstaller is, but you do not need anything special to uninstall WinFsp. You can just go to "Add or remove programs" from Windows settings or run the installer (.msi) file directly.

The problem you are experiencing can only happen if you have some other software that installs WinFsp in a non-standard way. This is "against the rules" (because it causes problems such as yours) but people do it anyway. One way to find out the culprit is to run the command sc.exe qc winfsp after you have uninstalled WinFsp.

[MrDoGooder]

I do not know what iobit uninstaller is, but you do not need anything special to uninstall WinFsp. You can just go to "Add or remove programs" from Windows settings or run the installer (.msi) file directly.

The problem you are experiencing can only happen if you have some other software that installs WinFsp in a non-standard way. This is "against the rules" (because it causes problems such as yours) but people do it anyway. One way to find out the culprit is to run the command sc.exe qc winfsp after you have uninstalled WinFsp.

I tried running the command, it said Failed 1060: The specified service does not exist as an installed service. I tried running msi but still the same error is being presented saying that a previous version exists.

[lenmerkel]

I have a similar issue to the OP. Attempting to run WinFsp 2022.2 Setup gives me the message box: "An older version of WinFsp is already installed. You must uninstall it before you can install this version". However, there is no previous version to uninstall.

WinFsp was installed automatically some time ago by an installation of Cryptomator, but that has since been uninstalled. It is possible that the Cryptomator uninstallation failed to correctly remove all references to WinFsp, but I'm unable to verify that. Attempting to reinstall Cryptomator results in the automatic installation of WinFsp failing with the same message as the stand-alone WinFsp 2022.2 setup.

I have researched and determined:

• There are no folders/files on the filesystem referencing WinFsp.
• There are no Windows services registered referencing WinFsp.

I have to assume there are leftover windows registry entries referencing WinFsp, and those are causing the WinFsp setup to believe there is an older version installed. What I'm hoping is that someone can provide a list of those registry entries that can be safely deleted. Otherwise, WinFsp can't be installed on my system.

Thanks. Windows 11 Pro, 22H2.

[billziss-gh]

@lenmerkel

Can you please let me know what the following commands report:

• reg.exe query HKLM\Software\WinFsp /reg:32
• sc.exe query winfsp
• sc.exe qc winfsp

[lenmerkel]

@billziss-gh

Sure thing - here we go:

C:\Users\Len>reg.exe query HKLM\Software\WinFsp /reg:32

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WinFsp
    InstallDir    REG_SZ    C:\Program Files (x86)\WinFsp\

C:\Users\Len>

Note that the folder above does not exist.

C:\Users\Len>sc.exe query winfsp
[SC] EnumQueryServicesStatus:OpenService FAILED 1060:

The specified service does not exist as an installed service.

C:\Users\Len>

C:\Users\Len>sc.exe qc winfsp
[SC] OpenService FAILED 1060:

The specified service does not exist as an installed service.

C:\Users\Len>

Please let me know if you need more.

[billziss-gh]

@lenmerkel

It is not clear why this happened, but this looks like the result of a failed installation / uninstallation.

Use regedit to remove the InstallDir setting under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\WinFsp registry key and you should be able to install again.

[lenmerkel]

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, removing that key and then rebooting didn't resolve the problem. Still getting the same message box whether installing stand-alone or as a bundled component with a Cryptomator install.

I ran a registry query searching recursively for the string "winfsp" under each of the 5 root keys, with the following results:

reg.exe query HKLM /s /f winfsp -> 50 matches
reg.exe query HKCU /s /f winfsp -> 0 matches
reg.exe query HKCR /s /f winfsp -> 6 matches
reg.exe query HKU /s /f winfsp  -> 0 matches
reg.exe query HKCC /s /f winfsp -> 0 matches

I've attached the results of the two queries with non-zero matches (no personal/private info). I'm guessing that one or more of these registry entries is what's causing the installation to believe there's an existing version installed?

reg_query_winfsp_HKLM.txt
reg_query_winfsp_HKCR.txt

[billziss-gh]

The WinFsp registry settings are documented here.

Your system appears to have many registry settings that are seemingly WinFsp-related, but are not created by WinFsp or its installer. These may be the result of a custom installation/uninstallation of WinFsp. For this reason I cannot be of much help as I can only support releases of WinFsp as shipped by this project.

The best advice I can offer is to find the original installer you used to install WinFsp and use that to uninstall it. Failing that I recommend to slowly and methodically remove the registry entries that reference WinFsp (some of them are duplicates) and reboot.

I also recommend that if you want to continue using WinFsp to only install the official releases as shipped by this project.

[lenmerkel]

@billziss-gh

Apologies for a delayed response. I needed to switch focus to another project. My issue is now RESOLVED.

Thank you for your advice, and for pointing out the WinFsp registry settings. Both were very helpful. After some careful registry cleanup (with backups, of course), I was able to run the stand-alone WinFsp installer without problem.

It does appear that a previous installation/uninstallation had failed some time ago - unknown why. It's also possible there might have been some interaction between the WinFsp installer and BitDefender running on my system, but I can't prove that - too much water under the bridge.

Cryptomator offers 2 Windows installers: with a bundled WinFsp and without. In future, I'll take your advice and install WinFsp independently, using the official project download. Both are now running perfectly.

[billziss-gh]

@lenmerkel good to hear that your issue is now resolved.

[billziss-gh]

@MrDoGooder was this problem ever resolved for you?

I will be closing this issue, because the latest WinFsp 2023 (currently in Beta) is based on a new installer that allows for uninstallation and upgrades without reboot.

[MrDoGooder]

@billziss-gh i factory reset my pc and then did a fresh install and it worked. I am sorry that i forgot to close the issue after the problem been cleared.

[billziss-gh]

@MrDoGooder no problem. Thanks for letting me know.