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Manually uninstalling on a Windows system

Uninstall a WebSphere Application Server product from a Windows system by running the uninstaller program and performing some manual steps to remove log files and registry entries. Such registry entries can prevent you from reinstalling the product into the original directory. If you are not planning to reinstall, you do not have to uninstall manually.

Before you begin

The uninstaller program removes all profiles by default, including all of the configuration data and applications in each profile. Before you start the uninstall procedure, back up the config folder, the installableApps folder, and the installedApps folder of each profile, if necessary, or use the -OPT removeProfilesOnUninstall="false" parameter on the uninstall command.The uninstaller program leaves all profiles, including all of the configuration data, applications, and other user data in each profile. Use the -OPT removeProfilesOnUninstall="true" parameter on the uninstall command to delete all of the data, or delete it manually at a later time, if you decide the data is unnecessary.See Using command line tools for a description of managing configuration files. Back up all applications that are not stored in another location.

Determine the installation root directory for the product so that you remove the correct product and produce a clean system.

About this task

Reinstalling the product into a new directory when files remain from a previous installation can create a coexistence scenario. However, you can delete all files and registry entries to completely remove a WebSphere® Application Server product. A clean system lets you reinstall the product into the original directory without coexistence.

Default directories are shown in the following planning table:

Table 1. Major directory locations
Identifier Default location Actual location
app_server_root C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer  
profile_root C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\profiles  
plugins_root C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\Plugins  

[Windows] If you move either installation root directory, move them to a shorter path name. Some Windows systems have a length restriction of 258 characters for a command. A problem can occur that prevents the successful creation of a profile when either path is too long. The maximum length for the installation root directory is 60 characters. The maximum length for the profiles installation root directory is 80 characters.

The Installation wizard and the Profile Management tool let you specify your own locations for installation root directories.

Use the installRegistryUtils command to examine the installation locations for all installed WebSphere Application Server products.

Perform the following procedure to produce a clean system.

Procedure

  1. Log on with the same user ID that you used to install the product.
  2. Run the uninstaller program for the Web server plug-ins for WebSphere Application Server.

    If a Web server is configured to run with the application server, uninstall the plug-ins to remove the configuration from the Web server. See Uninstalling the Web server plug-ins for WebSphere Application Server.

  3. Stop any browsers and any Java processes related to WebSphere Application Server products, as described in Uninstalling the product.
  4. Issue the uninstall command.

    If you have already run the uninstaller program, skip the rest of this entire procedure. If you cannot run the uninstaller program, go to the next step.

    app_server_root\uninstall\uninstall

    See the description of the uninstall command for more information.

    The Uninstaller wizard begins and displays the Welcome panel.

  5. Verify that you have an Emergency Recovery Disk. Instructions for creating this disk are in the Windows help documentation.

    This step is a safeguard. This procedure does not require the recovery disk.

  6. Use the regback.exe program from the Windows Resource Kit to back up the registry.

    This step is a safeguard. This procedure does not require the backup copy of the registry.

  7. Remove the application server service from the operating system.

    Stop the IBM WebSphere Application Server V6.x - nodename service using the Windows Services panel, or run the WASService -stop command located in the app_server_root/bin directory. Then run the WASService -remove command to remove the WebSphere service from the operating system.

  8. Delete product registry entries for the WebSphere Application Server product that you are uninstalling.

    Edit the Windows system registry by invoking the regedit.exe command from a command prompt.

    Handle the Registry with care
    Note: You can easily make a mistake while using the registry editor to view and edit registry contents. The editor does not warn you of editing errors, which can be extremely dangerous. A corrupt registry can disrupt your system to the point where your only option is to reinstall the Windows operating system.
    1. Press Ctrl-F to search for all instances of WebSphere to determine whether you should delete each entry. You might not be able to remove all of the entries related to WebSphere Application Server, which is not a problem.
    2. Expand and select keys related to WebSphere Application Server products.

      See Operating system registry keys for a list of Windows registry keys to search for and delete.

    3. Click Edit > Delete from the menu bar for each related key.
    4. Click Yes when asked to confirm deletion of the key.
    5. Click Registry > Exit from the menu bar when you are finished.
  9. Delete the installation root directory for the product that you are uninstalling.
  10. Locate all of the profile directories and delete the directories if they were located outside of the app_server_root directory and were not deleted in the previous step.
  11. Open a Windows Explorer window and browse to the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\IBM WebSphere directory.
    Avoid trouble Avoid trouble: If you are running Windows 2008, then browse to the C:\Users\<user_name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\WebSphere directory. gotcha

    If you have one installation of a WebSphere Application Server product, delete the following folder:

    Application Server Network Deployment v6.x
  12. Edit the vpd.properties file.

    The file is located in the installation directory of the operating system, such as the C:\WINNT directory or the C:\windows directory.

    Do not delete or rename the vpd.properties file because the InstallShield MultiPlatform (ISMP) program uses it for other products that it installs. If the WebSphere Application Server product that you are uninstalling is the only product with entries in the vpd.properties file, you can delete this file.

  13. Use the installRegistryUtils command to examine the installation locations for all installed WebSphere Application Server products and remove the desired products from the install registry.
  14. Restart your machine if a prompt displays that directs you to restart.

Results

This procedure results in having a clean system. You can reinstall into the same directories now. A clean system has no trace of a previously deleted installation.

What to do next

Go to Task overview: Installing to begin planning a new installation.




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Last updated: Feb 19, 2011 5:25:36 AM CST
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