[TechNote] Reinstalling WebSphere Application Server Version 6.1 or 7.0 fails when an existing installation is detected

Reinstalling WebSphere Application Server Version 6.1 or 7.0 fails when an existing installation is detected

Problem(Abstract)

Even after using the WebSphere Application Server uninstall script and then verifying the uninstall by following the manual uninstall instructions, a reinstallation may still fail when an existing installation is detected by the installer.

Cause

If the uninstall instructions are not followed correctly or if processes are running in the background that prevent a clean uninstall of WebSphere Application Server, the CIE registry (.nifregistry) may become corrupted and require manual correction or renaming to allow reinstalling or updating WebSphere Application Server in the same directory path.

Resolving the problem

To determine if the CIE registry is corrupted or if uninstall did not remove references to the WebSphere instance, use the installRegistryUtils command to gather a list of products and the list of packages referenced in the CIE registry (.nifregistry). The command can be located in the <WAS_HOME>/bin directory of an existing installation, or in the WebSphere V6.1.0 install image in the WAS/installRegistryUtils/bin directory.
Run installRegistryUtils using the -listProducts or -listPackages parameters to display a list of what is contained in the CIE registry. The -cleanProduct parameter can be used to remove a particular installation from the CIE registry.