Uninstalling SQL Server 2008

Peter Schmitz

Administrator
Staff member
To uninstall SQL Server 2008, open up your control panel, and select "Programs and Features" (using Windows 2008. On earlier versions, you have to use "Add or remove programs".

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Double-click the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 installation (In my case, the one marked with (64-bit)). You will be prompted by Windows to confirm that the request is legit, and give permission to perform the action:

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You will now see the SQL Server 2008 configuration menu, where the bottom option can be used to perform an uninstall. Click "Remove":

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SQL Server will now check the settings of your installation. Depending on the speed of your server, this might take a bit.

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When done, you will see a screen informing you whether your system passed all checks:

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You can click the "Show Details" button for some additional information:

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Or, by clicking on "Show detailed report", you can see a more extensive overview of the individual checks performed:

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You can now select which instance or components of SQL Server you want to uninstall. In the screenshot, I only have a single instance installed:

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Next, you will determine which features of SQL Server to uninstall. In my case, I only want to remove the engine, but leave the other tools intact:

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Some additional checks will be performed, and once again you get a report showing the result of these checks. The screenshot shows the screen after clicking the "Show Details: button:

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And, like before, a more detailed report can also be pulled up if desired:

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You will now be shown a summary screen detailing the uninstall plan, based on your input:

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Clicking "Remove" will commence the uninstall, during which you can follow the staus of the removal progress:

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When it completes, you will be shown additional details about the uninstall:

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And finally a screen confirming the uninstall finished:

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At this point, I would recommend you to reboot the server, to clear up any potential leftovers from the uninstall.

That's it. I hope you find this little tutorial useful.
 
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