Here's one way to avoid using Win32_Product

Dakota_Lewis · December 20, 2023, 11:22pm

I recently found a script made by the almighty Johan Arwidmark, for those of you familiar with MDT. He suggests to use a com object based around WindowsInstaller.Installer. I made some modifications and turned it into a local Immy function called Detect-SoftwareWithCOM. Here’s the script itself:

param(
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,Position=0)]
    [String]$InstalledSoftware
)

Invoke-ImmyCommand {
    $Installer = New-Object -ComObject WindowsInstaller.Installer
    $InstallerProducts = $Installer.ProductsEx("", "", 7)
    $InstalledProducts = ForEach($Product in $InstallerProducts){
        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Name          = $Product.InstallProperty("InstalledProductName")
            ProductCode   = $Product.ProductCode()
            LocalPackage  = $Product.InstallProperty("LocalPackage")
            VersionString = $Product.InstallProperty("VersionString")
            VersionMajor  = $Product.InstallProperty("VersionMajor")
            VersionMinor  = $Product.InstallProperty("VersionMinor")
            ProductPath   = $Product.InstallProperty("ProductName")
            InstallSource = $Product.InstallProperty("InstallSource")
            InstallDate   = $Product.InstallProperty("InstallDate")
            URLUpdateinfo = $Product.InstallProperty("URLUpdateInfo")
            Transforms    = $Product.InstallProperty("Transforms")
            ProductIcon   = $Product.InstallProperty("ProductIcon")
        }
    }

    $InstalledProducts | Where-Object { $_.productpath -like "*$($using:InstalledSoftware)*"  }
    return
}

I’ve mentioned the negatives of using WMI with the Win32_Product class before, so here’s a bit of an alternative. Once I figure out how to utilize the detection to start an uninstall, I’ll add it here.

For more information here’s a couple resources about the problem WMI class:
Please Stop Using Win32_Product To Find Installed Software. Alternatives Inside! | xkln.net

and even Microsoft’s own documentation:
Win32_Product class (Windows) | Microsoft Learn