How do I completely remove houdini 5.5 including the houdini license client and houdini license server?

I am running windows 2000 pro and add/remove programs houdini only removes houdini and its installation folder. The houdini license client and server services still launch everytime I start windows.

Short of re-installing windows and all my software is there a way to completely remove this from my machine?

I have not ever seen an application that installs itself then can never be uninstalled. Why the heck do I need houdini license servers services running on this machine if houdini is no longer installed? Thats just a waste of my resources.

OMG!!!!!! This program is like a freaking virus!!!!!!!!!!

I have just spent 6 hours installing/uninstalling and I am about to format c: my disk and just re-install my entire system!!!!

I can uninstall houdini but the license services are forever embedded in my registry and my drivers folder and they start up on every boot and sit there doing nothing because the program is not on this system anymore.

Very frustrated and pissed off atm!

No program should EVER I mean E-V-E-R install services that can never be un-installed.

So I tried this program out and my reward is it has embedded license services forever on my machine that I cannot remove without reformatting my system drive and spending a month re-installing the os, applications, updates, patches, configurations. THIS IS JUST GREAT!

What you did to remove the services was correct. The only remaining place you missed were the files in c:\winnt\keys (or c:\windows\keys depending on where you installed your OS) .

The houdini keys are in the WINNT server. Also, in your system32 folder are the files which comprise the server portion. I believe one is hserver.exe, and the other is sesi_something.exe.

Most people who install houdini, frequently uninstall it for upgrade to a newer build. If it was necessary to reinstall license keys each time it would be a nightmare. However for those who whish to remove things completely, the location of the key files is printed clearly in the installation pdf. You just gotta look before you panic.

Thanks for the replies.

I was on the verge of panicing because it takes more then the average windows artist to manually go into the registry and remove keys to remove the license servers (hserver.exe, and sesinetd.exe)!

I found the key folder but having to manually kill the license services is VERY crude!

I understand that users don't want to re-install license keys but at some point a user might want to COMPLETELY uninstall the program and forcing them to remove keys from the registry, remove files from the winnt/system32 folder and winnt folder is just begging for a major windows meltdown!

I don't see why they can't add a simple …

Houdini has been uninstalled. Would you like to completely remove the license server? (y/n).

To the uninstaller. I hate dinking around in the registry. Just deleting the service keys left some hanging entries in the registry that norton windoctor found and corrected. Who knows what might not have been caught.

I am not a windows registry expert and to simply remove a program should not require any user to be one.