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".
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:
You will now see the SQL Server 2008 configuration menu, where the bottom option can be used to perform an uninstall. Click "Remove":
SQL Server will now check the settings of your installation. Depending on the speed of your server, this might take a bit.
When done, you will see a screen informing you whether your system passed all checks:
You can click the "Show Details" button for some additional information:
Or, by clicking on "Show detailed report", you can see a more extensive overview of the individual checks performed:
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:
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:
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:
And, like before, a more detailed report can also be pulled up if desired:
You will now be shown a summary screen detailing the uninstall plan, based on your input:
Clicking "Remove" will commence the uninstall, during which you can follow the staus of the removal progress:
When it completes, you will be shown additional details about the uninstall:
And finally a screen confirming the uninstall finished:
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.
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:
You will now see the SQL Server 2008 configuration menu, where the bottom option can be used to perform an uninstall. Click "Remove":
SQL Server will now check the settings of your installation. Depending on the speed of your server, this might take a bit.
When done, you will see a screen informing you whether your system passed all checks:
You can click the "Show Details" button for some additional information:
Or, by clicking on "Show detailed report", you can see a more extensive overview of the individual checks performed:
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:
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:
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:
And, like before, a more detailed report can also be pulled up if desired:
You will now be shown a summary screen detailing the uninstall plan, based on your input:
Clicking "Remove" will commence the uninstall, during which you can follow the staus of the removal progress:
When it completes, you will be shown additional details about the uninstall:
And finally a screen confirming the uninstall finished:
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.