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Fiddler install problems in Sept 2017 version

Hi, I recently used Fiddler installer "[Sep-15-17] v4.6.20173.38786" to upgrade from a July 2017 build. The installer, even when run as administrator, no longer chooses Program Files even if Fiddler is already installed in that location. Instead the location is always "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Programs\Fiddler" whether I run it as admin or not.

So I manually changed the location to "c:\Program Files (x86)\Fiddler2". But then the installer told me uninstall failed and to manually uninstall the july version. In the programs menu I had trouble finding "Fiddler" because you actually put the company name in the program name field instead of just in the company field. For example it's listed as "Progress Telerik Fiddler" which I don't think anyone is going to think of if they want to uninstall. Almost all programs put their company name in the company field and leave it out of the program name. Anyway, I did uninstall it but chose to keep settings.

Then when I installed it I noticed it connecting to emergency update even though I had that disabled in the registry. In other words the uninstall though promising to keep my settings wiped out the:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Fiddler2]
"BlockUpdateCheck"="True"

so I had to re-add that.

Now everything appears to be working ok.

I think you should fix the following things in the installer:

  • Fix the auto-detect for the Fiddler program location or if not then offer Fiddler users an option to install single-user or all-users.
  • Fix the uninstaller not to remove the BlockUpdateCheck key, or better whatever other settings it deletes from the registry.
  • Fix the installer not running a proper uninstall (if possible -- that may be just a fluke on my end for some reason).
  • Change the program name to Fiddler and put your company name in the company field so if someone needs to uninstall it they can easily find it.
  • Guest
  • Nov 16 2017
  • Under review
Bug
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  • Guest commented
    15 Feb, 2018 08:09pm

    Everything described above is still an issue in build Dec-14-17 v5.0.20173.50948 installer which is the latest version. Also I noticed that there's no entry in 'Programs and Features' list of installed programs so it can't be easily uninstalled through that list.