Unable to uninstall (remove) plugins!blem

Petewg

Hi,

I’m trying to remove some plugins, using Plugin Admin but nothing happens.
I do select them, I press the [Remove] button,
I get the message: “If you click YES you will quit Notepad++ to continue the operation. Notepad++ will be restarted … etc”
I press the [Yes] button, Npp restarts and then … the supposedly removed plugins are still there!
(below is the Debug Info of my Npp installation)
__________________________________
Notepad++ v8.4.2 (64-bit)
Build time : May 29 2022 - 16:47:30
Path : C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Command Line :
Admin mode : OFF
Local Conf mode : OFF
Cloud Config : OFF
OS Name : Windows 10 Pro (64-bit)
OS Version : 21H2
OS Build : 19044.1766
Current ANSI codepage : 1253
Plugins :
CodeAlignmentNpp (14.1.107)
ColumnTools (1.4.4.1)
DSpellCheck (1.4.24)
LanguageHelp (1.7.5)
MenuIcons (1.2.5)
mimeTools (2.8)
NavigateTo (1.12.7)
NppConverter (4.4)
NppExport (0.4)
NppPluginDemo (4.2)
NppPluginTemplate (4.2)
OpenSelection (1.1.3)
pork2sausage (2.2)
_CustomizeToolbar (5.3)
____________________________________

Seems that Plugin Admin, for some reason, cannot remove the plugins, so I’m thinking to remove them manually by deleting entirely their folders, (a not so elegant move, actually).

Any idea about what could be the culprit here, would be appreciated.

—
Pete

PeterJones

@Petewg said in Unable to uninstall (remove) plugins!blem:

Seems that Plugin Admin, for some reason, cannot remove the plugins, so I’m thinking to remove them manually by deleting entirely their folders, (a not so elegant move, actually).

That “not so elegant move” is, however, the recommended way to remove the plugin if the Plugins Admin is unable to do the job.

To remove, for example, porktosausage, you would exit the Notepad++ application, go to C:\Program Files\Notepad++\Plugins and delete the porktosausage folder. The next time you start Notepad++, that plugin will be gone.

Petewg

@PeterJones said in [Unable to uninstall (remove) plugins!]

That “not so elegant move” is, however, the recommended way to remove the plugin if the Plugins Admin is unable to do the job.

Thanks for your quick reply!
Well, after some “try and fail” attempts, the Plugins Admin eventually succeeded to remove one of the plugins in question (interestingly, the removed plugin was indeed the mentioned pork2sausage ;-) )
What I did notice was/is the fact that upon restart Npp could not start in Admin mode, which evidently is needed for to be able to remove plugins (given that they are placed inside Program files which is a protected folder).
I tend to believe this is the cause of Plugins Admin’s failure. The question then is, what is the reason that prevent Npp to start in Admin mode?

—
Pete

PeterJones

@Petewg ,

Have you tried running Notepad++ in Admin mode manually, and then do the Remove from Plugins Admin? it might be that Notepad++ is not asking for Admin mode on the restart (or that it is, but it’s too late, because the in-between process does not have Admin mode). So maybe starting in Admin mode will allow it to properly Remove.

Petewg

@PeterJones said in Unable to uninstall (remove) plugins!blem:

@Petewg ,

Have you tried running Notepad++ in Admin mode manually, and then do the Remove from Plugins Admin?

Yes! this is one of the first things I had thought and tried. Unfortunately, it did not help.

it might be that Notepad++ is not asking for Admin mode on the restart (or that it is, but it’s too late, because the in-between process does not have Admin mode).

This “too late” hypothesis, sounds quite reasonable, however, the UAC is always triggered asking for permissions, but Npp most of the times does not run as Admin, don’t know why.

Anyway, the option of “manual removing” the plugins’ folder(s), resolves relatively easy (and drastically!) the problem, so, the only reason one might want to further elaborate the issue, is only for the case that this “inability” of Npp to start in admin mode, would hinder or prevent altogether the execution of other more critical processes.

—
Pete

senselocke

On any install of NPP, either updated from prior version or a fresh install, I am unable to add or remove any plugins. NPP resets, but the progress bars don’t show and no changes are made. I am using Windows 7. I have had this problem with every version since 7.3.x.

I found a solution that worked here:
@jnappo64 said in Cannot install plugins at all:

go to proxy configuration and delete 0.0.0.0

Hitting the [?] button on the right (next to [Window]), then > [Set Updater Proxy …]. Delete the ‘0.0.0.0’ from the ‘Proxy Server:’ field, delete ‘0’ from the ‘Port:’ field. Click [OK], then restart NPP.

Completely wiping these entries allowed plugin admin to install/delete/update as normal.

I do this now on every install. I have a reminder file set up in the folder I install NPP to, because I always forget and start to panic.

I know this topic is kinda old, but maybe it will work for you, or for someone else down the line.

nana gadelia

This post is deleted!