Can neither install nor uninstall

I have a clean Windows 10 installation. I installed Bitdefender Home by mistake, because I wanted the Free Edition. I only noticed this when it expired, and so I uninstalled both Bitdefender Home and the Bitdefender Agent after that.

I restarted the computer then downloaded Bitdefender Antivirus Free and tried to install it. It would tell me:

Potentionally incompatible software found

Bitdefender Agent was detected on your system. In order to continue installing Bitdefender ANTIVIRUS FREE please remove any other antivirus solution.

In Apps and Features there's no Bitdefender listed. So I turned off Windows Defender thinking that may have caused it (even though it specifically state Bitdefender Agent). So I attempted to continue the installation anyway after this, because I had already uninstalled both Bitdefender apps and I no longer had any other antivirus active. The installation continues, and I'm asked to restart the computer.

After reboot, it tells me:

Error

Bitdefender Product Agent was not found. Please check the installer validity.

It still puts a large V in the installation window showing that the installation is complete, and it asks me to sign in to my account. I do so, but I have no Bitdefender software showing up. There's no icon for it in the lower right corner in the task bar. Also, there's no Bitdefender showing up in my Apps and Features. Apparently the installation didn't succeed. The only trace I could find was that the Bitdefender Agent was now running in the task manager.

So I downloaded the uninstaller tool from your website, ran that, then restarted the computer and tried again, but still the same issue occurs.

I then noticed there was still a folder for Bitdefender in "C:\Program Files\" so I deleted that folder. Then I searched through the registry with regedit and deleted anything I could find related to Bitdefender. I restarted the computer and attempted to install again. No success. Same issue.

So basically when I try to install, it says Bitdefender Agent is found even though I've used your uninstaller, manually cleaned off the files and even gone through regedit, and it STILL says the Bitdefender Agent is found. How else am I supposed to remove it? Then, if you continue anyway and attempting to install, it says that the Bitdefender Product Agent is NOT found.

I'd also like to add that your uninstallers (be it in Apps and Features or with the separate downloadable uninstaller) leave residual files and registry entries and are thus not very thorough and complete. You're literally bloating people's computers with your software leaving residual files and registry entries.

So what am I supposed to do here? It doesn't seem possible to use this software and I'm sorry to say but unless there's a solution given to me I'll be forced to use a different anti-virus software instead.

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[Deleted User]

Hello /index.php?/profile/217948-cestral/&do=hovercard" data-mentionid="217948" href="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/217948-cestral/" rel="">@Cestral,

Kindly email us at bitsy@bitdefender.com in order to open a support ticket number. This will be necessary as we need to further investigate the situation you're encountering.

Once you email us you will receive a support ticket number. Please reply to this thread with the support ticket number once you receive our automated reply.

questions

On 11/28/2019 at 4:45 PM, Cestral said:

So what am I supposed to do here? It doesn't seem possible to use this software and I'm sorry to say but unless there's a solution given to me I'll be forced to use a different anti-virus software instead.

Sending an email to bitsy@bitdefender.com and going back and forth for several weeks is not the path to follow.

Reinstall / restore win10 and use Windows Defender which has 100% detection rate in the last 18 months on AV Comparative and AV TEST.

mctonyc

we're in may 2021 and im having the same issue I downloaded the bitdefender free installer. But it instead installed bitdefender total securty because my account had 3 days left on it, even though its not what i asked to be installed. I wanted FREE AV. Couple of weeks later ( this is my backup computer ) i log on for a friend to play a couple of rounds of WAR THUNDER on STEAM. Total security decides to flag an update and quarantines it. Then says i have to PAY to be able to access the software because my subscription is over ( cannot even cick on the RED ICON showing the quarantined file, it wont let me unless i PAY ( RANSOMWARE PRACTICE ). So i remove total security, AGENT, VPN ... all of it. I DL bitdefender FREE ( AGAIN it even had a (1) next to it so i know for sure i downloaded the right one in the first place and not total security). I the run the installer, it installs bitdefender agent. Then proceeds to tell me that i have to remove bitdefender agent in order to install bitefender free av. A bit confused i uninstall it. Then the installer tells me that bitdefender AGENT isn't found and it cannot install.. So which is it ??? install or remove ??? So i proceed to remove everything, clean my registry, retsart computer, DL another time Bitdefender FREE just in case. Run the install again it downloads install AGENT again. Then installer tells me i have to remove potentialy incompatible software BITDEFENDER AGENT AGAIN. But why ? So i don't remove it and click continue, it then prompts me to restart ( AGAIN ). I do, installer opesn up and tells me AGAIN that AGENT isn't found.... WTF THIS IS AN ENDLESS LOOP OF BS ???!!