Fix: Please wait until the current program is finished uninstalling or being changed

If you have ever uninstalled/installed a program and then tried uninstalling/installing another program, you may have seen the error message “Please wait until the current program is finished uninstalling or being changed”. This message is usually shown to notify you that if a program is being changed, you cannot change any other program since this may induce conflicts in your system and the programs may be changed with glitches or errors.

Normally it takes a few minutes for a program to install/uninstall on your system. However, there are some programs that require a substantial amount. There are some cases that even after 15-20 minutes, the application doesn’t complete its operations and you are shown this message whenever you try to install another one.

There are various straightforward fixes for this issue. Start the implementation from the top and work your way down accordingly.

Solution 1: Restarting your Computer

When you restart your computer, all the currently opened applications or programs get shut down forcefully even if their operations are going on. Windows usually give a few seconds to notify all the running applications that the system is going to be shut-down. If the applications don’t close even after the specified time, Windows forcefully closes them and proceeds with the restart. Do note that this might mean that the program which is currently being installed will forfeit some of its operations which are remaining.

After restarting your computer, check if you can successfully install/change the application you were trying to earlier.

Solution 2: Re-registering Windows Installer

Windows Installer is a software component and application programming interface for Windows which is used for the installation, removal, and maintenance of programs. They are also used by various applications to get themselves installed. We can try unregistering the Windows installer and then re-register it. When you will unregister the installer, it will effectively end all the operations it is performing and be forced to be uninstalled.

1. Press Windows + S, type “msiexec /unreg” in the dialogue box and Run the command as shown below (Press Enter to run the command). Windows Installer will now be unregistered from your system

2. Press Windows + S, type “msiexec /regserver” in the dialogue and press Enter to execute the command. Windows Installer will now be re-registered on your system.

3. Restart your computer and check if the error message still persists.

Solution 3: Restarting Windows Explorer

A simple and one of the easiest workaround is to restart the Windows Explorer using the task manager. This will reset all current configurations of the process and reset it accordingly. Windows Explorer is a file manager; it provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file system on your system. It is possible that the application which you are trying to install is stuck accessing Windows explorer. After you restart it, it will effectively reset the entire module and the message can go away.

Note: All your current explorer windows will close down. Make sure to save all your work before proceeding.

1. Press Windows + R to bring up the Run Type “taskmgr” in the dialogue box to bring up your computer’s task manager.
2. Click the “Processes” tab located at the top of the window.
3. Now locate the task of Windows Explorer in the list of processes. Click on it and press the “Restart” button present at the bottom left side of the window.
4. After restarting the explorer, check if the problem got solved.

Solution 4: Power-cycling your machine

Believe it or not, another workaround which works for a lot of users is power cycling your computer and the entire setup. Power cycling is an act of turning off a device completely off and then on again. Reasons for power cycling include having an electronic device reinitialize its set of configurations parameters or recover from an unresponsive state or mode. It is also used to reset all the network configurations as they are all lost when you turn the device completely turned off.

You should turn off your computer and take out the main power supply for the computer and all the monitors. If you have a laptop, turn it off and remove the battery carefully. Wait a few minutes before you power the setup back on.

Note: You can also check which specific application is causing the error message to pop up. Open the task manager and look for any active application processes. Right-click it and end it.

Solution 5: Using Third-party Application (Revo Uninstaller)

If both the above solutions fail, and you are still getting the error message when you try to change or uninstall a program, you can resort to using a third-party application to perform your tasks. Revo Uninstaller is an installer for Microsoft Windows which uninstalls programs in your system and removes all the Windows Registry entries afterward too. It also cleans out files in your temporary folder, entries in the Windows start-up menu, browser history, etc.

Note: Appuals have no affiliations with any third-party application whatsoever. They are listed purely for the information of the user. Proceed at your own risk.

1. Download and double-click the executable to install the Revo Uninstaller on your computer.
2. Follow all the on-screen instructions to install the software on your computer.

3. Open the application. On the front page, all the applications installed on your computer will be listed. Right-click on the application you are trying to uninstall and click on Uninstall to remove it from your computer.