Manually uninstalling SQL Server Instances
We have a load balancing process for when databases are spun up and due to a bug in code, one SQL server had 50 instances installed on it. (SQL Server 2008R2).
Not a big deal, except for when I try and uninstall SQL (GUI or cmdline) it won't uninstall an instance and shows a message that "there are already 50 instances of SQL server. Please uninstall an instance".
I guess it's a bug or something, so looks like I have to manually pull it out. Has anyone done this before, or what all do I need to pull out in order to get these instances removed?
Not a big deal, except for when I try and uninstall SQL (GUI or cmdline) it won't uninstall an instance and shows a message that "there are already 50 instances of SQL server. Please uninstall an instance".
I guess it's a bug or something, so looks like I have to manually pull it out. Has anyone done this before, or what all do I need to pull out in order to get these instances removed?
ASKER
Thx for the suggestion, as mentioned it doesn't work via GUI or cmdline.
In Control Panel in Program & Feature. Click on SQL Server 2008R2 to uninstall. This will Start SQL Server Wizard Click Next and the to uninstall Instances.
Select Instance page, use the drop-down box to specify an instance of SQL Server to remove, or specify the option to remove only the SQL Server shared features and management tools. To continue, click Next.
Have a look here for more:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/install/uninstall-an-existing-instance-of-sql-server-setup
Also You may check this: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/955396/how-to-identify-sql-server-2008-setup-issues-in-the-setup-log-files
Select Instance page, use the drop-down box to specify an instance of SQL Server to remove, or specify the option to remove only the SQL Server shared features and management tools. To continue, click Next.
Have a look here for more:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/install/uninstall-an-existing-instance-of-sql-server-setup
Also You may check this: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/955396/how-to-identify-sql-server-2008-setup-issues-in-the-setup-log-files
ASKER
Thanks Jason, though as mentioned I can't uninstall via the GUI or cmdline as there are 50 instances and the installers won't proceed.
I would expect an addifional instance being nothing more than the service entry, a new disk folder for at least the system DB files, and some registry entries for keeping track of fhe instance installation and its special settings like fixed network ports (if set).
Since none of the installer parts work, going thru the Registry and removing anything related to the instances to get rid of is probably your only choice. Use sc delete with the service name to remove the service entry prior to going thru reg.
Since none of the installer parts work, going thru the Registry and removing anything related to the instances to get rid of is probably your only choice. Use sc delete with the service name to remove the service entry prior to going thru reg.
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ASKER
Yeah, I made a snapshot and tried removing the services, data folders, registry entries... must still be missing something because it thinks that the SQL instance I tried to remove was still there.
Surprised it hasn't been addressed yet.
Surprised it hasn't been addressed yet.
Surprised it hasn't been addressed yet.I guess they need to be remembered again about this issue.
ASKER
Totally forgot to update this back when I figured out a solution but:
To get around this, I scanned the registry for the Instance name and found the MSI files for the uninstallers. I ran msiexec /x "{id}" and was able to uninstall without the managed installer complaining. The services had to be cleaned up manually.
After removing one instance, the managed installer could uninstall other ones.
To get around this, I scanned the registry for the Instance name and found the MSI files for the uninstallers. I ran msiexec /x "{id}" and was able to uninstall without the managed installer complaining. The services had to be cleaned up manually.
After removing one instance, the managed installer could uninstall other ones.
Setup.exe /Action=Uninstall /FEATURES=SQL /INSTANCENAME=MSSQLSERVER /Q