Corey Roth [MVP]

Well, if you read, the Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies Team Blog, you know that the SharePoint SDK and MOSS SDK have been updated to version 1.3 which includes updates for SP1.  Instead of someone that just posts the fact that this came out, I am posting a useful tip that might affect those in a corporate environment.  As you know, many companies like to lock down desktops of their users using a Group Policy.  I find this funny, when they do it to developers.  They don't want you to be able to install software, yet they will give you a tool such as Visual Studio to write software.  I find it even more amusing when they lock down the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel.  This accomplishes absolutely nothing.

Anyhow, not to get caught on that aside.  Today, I was locked out of removing the previous version of the SDK, so I decided to circumvent the problem using msiexec.exe and determining the GUID of the installer.  The way I determined the GUID was by looking at a log file it put in my temp folder.  Then I just executed the following command and I was able to remove the SDK and install the new one.

msiexec /x {90120000-1121-0409-0000-0000000FF1CE}

Notice the 31i73 spelling of office in that GUID?  Apparently someone at Microsoft has a sense of humor.  This technique would work if you just installed the WSS SDK as well, but I am afraid I don't have that GUID, so you would have to look it up.