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Oracle® Database Client Installation Guide 10g Release 2 (10.2) for Microsoft Windows (x64) Part Number B15684-03 |
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# 5 Removing Oracle Database Client Software

This chapter describes how to remove the Oracle Database Client software:

- Stopping Oracle Services on Windows

- Removing Oracle Database Client with Oracle Universal Installer

- Manually Removing the Remaining Oracle Database Client Components

Note: Always use Oracle Universal Installer to initially remove Oracle components. To avoid installation and configuration problems with new Oracle installations, follow the instructions in this chapter.

See Also: Component-specific documentation for individual requirements and restrictions

## 5.1 Stopping Oracle Services on Windows

You must first stop the Oracle Windows services before removing Oracle components or removing any registry entries.

See Also: Your Microsoft online help for more information about stopping services

To stop Windows services:

1. Open the Windows Services utility: From the Start menu, choose Programs, then Administrative Tools, then Services.

2. If any Oracle services (names begin with `Oracle` or `Ora`) exist and have the status Started, then select each of the services, and click Stop.

3. Exit Services.

## 5.2 Removing Oracle Database Client with Oracle Universal Installer

You first use Oracle Universal Installer to remove Oracle Database Client from the inventory on the computer. Afterwards, you must manually remove the remaining components. This section covers the following topics:

- Guidelines for Removing Oracle Database Client with Oracle Universal Installer

- Procedure for Removing Oracle Database Client with Oracle Universal Installer

### 5.2.1 Guidelines for Removing Oracle Database Client with Oracle Universal Installer

Follow these guidelines:

- Do not manually remove Oracle Database Client components without first deinstalling with Oracle Universal Installer. An exception is if, during an installation, you exit Oracle Universal Installer using any of the following methods:

  - Clicking Cancel

  - Turning off the computer

  - If the installation does not complete (that is, all required configuration tools do not run at the end)

  In these cases, Oracle Universal Installer does not register the installation in its inventory. However, it may have copied files to your Oracle home. Remove these files manually and restart the installation.

- If you need to remove an Oracle home manually, first remove the Oracle components with Oracle Universal Installer. An example of removing the Oracle home manually would be by deleting the directory structure with Windows Explorer or the command prompt.

  You should not remove the Oracle home manually first because their components remain registered in the Oracle Universal Installer inventory. If you subsequently try to install Oracle in the same home, some or all of the components selected may not be installed, since Oracle Universal Installer will determine the components are already installed.

### 5.2.2 Procedure for Removing Oracle Database Client with Oracle Universal Installer

Oracle Universal Installer creates Windows services for Oracle components during installation. However, Oracle Universal Installer does not delete all the services created by Oracle Net Configuration Assistant.

To remove components on a Windows computer with Oracle Universal Installer:

1. Ensure that you first follow the instructions in "Stopping Oracle Services on Windows".

2. Start Oracle Universal Installer. The start procedure depends on which version of Oracle Database Client you installed.

   1. If you installed the Administrator, Runtime, or Custom versions of Oracle Database Client, then Oracle Universal Installer was also installed. From the Start menu, choose Programs, then Oracle - HOME_NAME, then Oracle Installation Products, then Universal Installer. The Welcome window for Oracle Universal Installer appears.

   2. If you installed the Instant Client version of Oracle Database Client, Oracle Universal Installer was not installed. Instead, run it from your installation media or the installation directory you created for downloaded or copied installation files.

      To do so, insert Oracle Database installation media and navigate to the `client` directory. Alternatively, navigate to the directory where you downloaded or copied the installation files. Then double-click `setup.exe` to start Oracle Universal Installer. In the Welcome window, choose Install/Deinstall Products.

3. Click the Deinstall Products button.

   The Inventory window appears.

4. Select the Oracle home you wish to remove. Expand the tree of installed components only if you want to remove selected components of an Oracle home.

   For example, if you installed Oracle Database Client with the Runtime option and later installed additional components with the Custom option, then expand the Oracle home component to display all the components installed in the Oracle home.

5. Check the boxes of components to remove.

6. Click Remove.

   The Confirmation window appears.

7. Click Yes to remove the selected components.

   Note: A message may appear indicating that removing some components may cause other components to not function properly.

   After the components are removed from your computer, the Inventory window appears without the removed components.

8. Click Close to close the Inventory window.

9. Click Cancel to exit Oracle Universal Installer.

10. Click Yes to confirm that you want to exit.

11. After Oracle Universal Installer exits, go to the next section to remove the remaining Oracle Database Client components.

## 5.3 Manually Removing the Remaining Oracle Database Client Components

Oracle Universal Installer does not remove all Oracle components. After using Oracle Universal Installer to remove Oracle components, you need to manually remove remaining registry keys, environment variables, Start menu options, and directories.

This section contains these topics:

- Removing Oracle Keys from the Registry Editor on Windows

- Updating the PATH Environment Variable Path

- Removing Oracle Database Client from the Start Menu

- Removing Oracle Database Client Directories

Note: In rare situations, you might want to correct serious system problems by completely removing Oracle components manually from the computer without first deinstalling with Oracle Universal Installer. Do this only as a last resort, and only if you want to remove all Oracle components from your system.

### 5.3.1 Removing Oracle Keys from the Registry Editor on Windows

Oracle Universal Installer does not delete all services created by Oracle Net Configuration Assistant. In addition, it does not delete several other registry keys. You must remove any existing registry keys manually by following the instructions in one of the following sections:

- Removing Only the Oracle Net Service Registry Key

- Removing All Oracle Registry Keys

Caution: Use Microsoft Registry Editor at your own risk. Incorrectly using the Registry Editor can cause serious problems and might require you to reinstall your operating system.

#### 5.3.1.1 Removing Only the Oracle Net Service Registry Key

To remove only the Oracle Net Service registry entry (if it exists):

1. Log in as a member of the Administrators group.

2. Ensure that you first follow the instructions in "Stopping Oracle Services on Windows".

3. From the Start menu, choose Run, and then enter the following command:

       regedit

4. Go to `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services` and delete the `Oracle` `HOME_NAME` `TNSListener` registry entry.

   When you ran Oracle Universal Installer to deinstall Oracle Database Client, it deleted all other Oracle Net services.

5. Exit the registry editor.

6. Restart your computer.

#### 5.3.1.2 Removing All Oracle Registry Keys

To remove all Oracle registry keys from a computer (if any exist):

Caution: These instructions remove all Oracle components, services, and registry entries from your computer. Exercise extreme care when removing registry entries. Removing incorrect entries can break your system. Any database files under `ORACLE_BASE`\`ORACLE_HOME`\`DB_NAME` should be deleted only after completing these instructions.

1. Log in as a member of the Administrators group.

2. Ensure that you first follow the instructions in "Stopping Oracle Services on Windows".

3. From the Start menu, choose Run, and enter the following command:

       regedit

4. Go to `HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT`.

5. Delete keys that begin with the following:

   - ORAMMCPMON10

   - ORCLSSO

   - OraOLEDB.ErrorLookup

   - OraOLEDB.Oracle

   - OracleInProcServer.XOraServer

   Note: These registry keys do not appear if you installed Instant Client.

6. Go to `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE`.

7. Delete the `ORACLE` `Group` key.

8. If you installed Oracle Services for Microsoft Transaction Server, go to `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services \Eventlog\Application`.

9. Delete the `Oracle Services for Microsoft Transaction Server` key.

10. Go to `HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software`.

11. Delete all `Oracle` keys, including `Oracle-``HOME_NAME` entries under: `Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs`.

12. Exit the Registry Editor.

13. Restart your computer.

### 5.3.2 Updating the PATH Environment Variable Path

Check the `PATH` environment variable and remove any Oracle entries.

1. Display System in the Control Panel.

2. Select the Advanced tab and then click Environment Variables.

3. Select the system variable `PATH` and edit it to remove any Oracle entries.

   For example, remove Oracle entries that contain `ORACLE_BASE``\``ORACLE_HOME` in the `Path` variable. You may see a `Path` variable that contains entries similar to the following:

       ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\bin;ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\jre\1.4.2\bin\client;
       ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\jre\1.4.2\bin

4. Save any changes and exit System.

### 5.3.3 Removing Oracle Database Client from the Start Menu

Check the Start menu for any Oracle Database Client entries and remove them.

Follow these steps:

1. Select Start, then Programs, then Oracle - HOME_NAME.

2. Right-click Oracle - HOME_NAME, and from the menu, select Delete.

You can also remove Oracle Database Client menu entries by using the following method:

1. Right click the Start button to display the pop-up menu.

2. Select the Explore All Users option.

3. Under Documents and Settings, expand the `\Start` `Menu\Programs` folder.

4. Right-click and delete the Oracle - HOME_NAME folder.

### 5.3.4 Removing Oracle Database Client Directories

After removing all Oracle Database Client registry keys and restarting the computer, delete any existing Oracle Database Client directories and files.

1. Using My Computer or Windows Explorer, delete the `SYSTEM``_``DRIVE``:\program files\oracle` directory.

2. Using My Computer or Windows Explorer, delete all `ORACLE``_``BASE` directories on your hard drive.