Things I tried prior to the solution that worked for me!
(Described further below)
1) Modify startup setting in the Skype for Business application options
Procedure followed
The Result I got
After rebooting my system it seemed that these setting had no effect as Skype for Business would still appear at the start of windows. I went back to the options to see if the settings had been restored. The settings were still unchecked but appeared to have been ignored.
2) Remove Skype for Business from Office installation
Procedure followed
The Result
I was expecting to get a window showing me all office applications with an option to add/remove individual applications (such as 'Skype for Business') But instead, I was presented with a dialogue box titled "How would you like to repair your Office programs" with only two options to choose from:
* Quick Repair
* Online Repair
There was no option to remove any individual component.
3) Completely remove Microsoft Office 2016 Pro plus including Skype for Business
Procedure followed
The Result I got
The setup does not even ask which components should be installed (like previous versions of Office did). So Skype for Business was part of the package again. Total waste of time! :(
4) Disable Skype for Business from windows startup list in the Windows Task manager
Procedure followed
The Result I got
There is no entry in the startup tab for Skype for Business! So I figured to go old school into the registry to delete the entries manually from:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and/or
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
But neither of these locations contained any Skype entries
The Procedure that finally did work for me!
Frustrated, I searched and found a Microsoft article at "answer.microsoft.com that finally allowed me to remove Skype for Business from my system. (Source: Original article)
The following steps will guide you through the process of removing Skype for Business
<Configuration>
<Add SourcePath="C:\ODT2016" OfficeClientEdition="32">
<Product ID="O365ProPlusRetail">
<Language ID="en-us" />
<ExcludeApp ID="Lync" />
</Product>
</Add>
<Display Level="Full" AcceptEULA="TRUE" />
</Configuration>
cd c:\ODT2016
setup.exe /download configuration.xml
setup.exe /configure configuration.xml
For me this worked like a charm and Skype for Business was finally gone from my system.
Also worth noting is that all of the remaining Office applications still work just fine. The procedure has had no impact of any of their settings.
I hope this article is of help to those of you who have or are facing the same problem!
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Comments (4)
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Commented:
Was told I needed to uninstall my Microsoft Office 2016 Pro Plus x64.
I did the uninstall the usual way (and I kept the command window open while doing this so I could continue following the instructions after the uninstall finished)
Then what was installed was Microsoft Office 365 and it did not ask about closing Skype for Business as the instructions suggested it would.
I tried putting my Office license key back in. Office said the key was for the desktop version not 365, but then proceeded to use the key to activate the installed software as the fully paid desktop version.
I rebooted and there was NO Skype for Business hassel that had been there before.
So I think everything is ok :-)
Thank you !!
Commented:
Edit: Updated Office and those features are back. Thank you!