Problem removing old versions with customization wizard 8

Question

I'm trying to deploy Acrobat Reader 8 to our XP Professional desktops via Active Directory software installation (Windows Server 2003 domain)
I have obtained the MSI release of Reader 8, customised it using Adobe Customization Wizard 8, and deployed it through AD as per the Adobe documentation. This works as expected for new machines without a previous release of Reader installed.
However for desktops that have Reader 6 or 7 installed, we end up with two versions installed side by side (visible in Add/Remove Programs). Reader 8 works fine at this point. Removing the older version causes the PDF file association that Reader 8 created to be broken, also the Internet Explorer browser plugin is broken. Reader 8 has to be reinstalled manually to fix this issue.
I have read that Reader automatically removes old versions of itself when you install a new version. Additionally, when customising the MSI, "Remove previous version of Reader" is greyed out. However it appears that the installer is not removing old versions.
Any ideas as to a solution?
Thanks a lot
Tom Fanning

Answer 1

I have the same problem and i have wasted like 50 hours on this s**t. I'm trying to deploy reader 8 on our 1800 XP workstations with SMS 2003.
The cutomization tool is totally useless. The only way i have came up with is to create a script wich checks if earlier versions of Adobe reader is installed by looking if the installation folders exists (for example c:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader ).
If the installation folders exists, the script would run the uninstallatoin string of the reader using its Windows installer product code, like this:
MsiExec.exe /x /qn {AC76BA86-7AD7-1035-7B44-A70000000000}
Now, the problem with the script is that we have several versions of reader 6 and 7 including 3 different languages. The script or the .BAT file would be quite complicated and the testing is allmost impossible.
I think that it would be much more easier to create a script that deletes all the shotcuts for Adobe reader and then installs a Freeware product for openig PDF files.
http://www.docu-track.com/home/prod_user/PDF-XChange_Tools/pdfx_viewer
In my opinion, adobe products are a nightmare for IT admins and their support system is even worse than Microsofts.