Uninstall an Existing Instance of SQL

Server (Setup)
 09/11/2019
 4 minutes to read
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APPLIES TO: SQL Server (Windows only) Azure SQL Database Azure SQL
Data Warehouse Parallel Data Warehouse

This article describes how to uninstall a stand-alone instance of SQL Server. By following
the steps in this article, you also prepare the system so that you can reinstall SQL Server.
Note

To uninstall a SQL Server failover cluster, use the Remove Node functionality provided
by SQL Server Setup to remove each node individually. For more information, see Add
or Remove Nodes in a SQL Server Failover Cluster (Setup)
Considerations
 To uninstall SQL Server, you must be a local administrator with permissions to log
on as a service.
 If your computer has the minimum required amount of physical memory, increase
the size of the page file to two times the amount of physical memory. Insufficient
virtual memory can result in an incomplete removal of SQL Server.
 On a system with multiple instances of SQL Server, the SQL Server browser service
is uninstalled only once the last instance of SQL Server is removed. The SQL Server
Browser service can be removed manually from Programs and Features in the
Control Panel.
 Uninstalling SQL Server deletes tempdb data files that were added during the
install process. Files with tempdb_mssql_*.ndf name pattern are deleted if they
exist in the system database directory.
Prepare
1. Back up your data. Either create full backups of all databases, including system
databases, or manually copy the .mdf and .ldf files to a separate location. The
master database contains all system level information for the server, such as
logins, and schemas. The msdb database contains job information such as SQL
Server agent jobs, backup history, and maintenance plans. For more information
about system databases see System databases.

The files that you must save include the following database files:

master.mdf mastlog.ldf model.mdf modellog.ldf

msdbdata.mdf msdblog.ldf Mssqlsystemresource.mdf Mssqlsustemresource.ldf

Tempdb.mdf Templog.ldf ReportServer[$InstanceName] ReportServer[$InstanceName]T

Note

The ReportServer databases are included with SQL Server Reporting Services.
 2. Stop all SQL Server services. We recommend that you stop all SQL Server services
before you uninstall SQL Server components. Active connections can prevent
successful uninstallation.
3. Use an account that has the appropriate permissions. Log on to the server by
using the SQL Server service account or by using an account that has equivalent
permissions. For example, you can log on to the server by using an account that is
a member of the local Administrators group.
Uninstall
 Windows 10 / 2016 +
 Windows 2008 - 2012 R2
To uninstall SQL Server from Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019,
and greater, follow these steps:

1. To begin the removal process navigate to Settings from the Start menu and then
choose Apps.
2. Search for sql in the search box.
3. Select Microsoft SQL Server (Version) (Bit). For example, Microsoft SQL Server
2017 (64-bit).
4. Select Uninstall.

5. Select Remove on the SQL Server dialog pop-up to launch the Microsoft SQL
Server installation wizard.
 6. On the 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, select Next.
7. On the Select Features page, specify the features to remove from the specified
instance of SQL Server.
8. On the Ready to Remove page, review the list of components and features that
will be uninstalled. Click Remove to begin uninstalling
9. Refresh the Apps and Features window to verify the SQL Server instance has been
removed successfully, and determine which, if any, SQL Server components still
exist. Remove these components from this window as well, if you so choose.
In the event of failure
If the removal process fails, review the SQL Server setup log files to determine the root
cause.

The KB article How to identify SQL Server setup issues in the setup log files can assist in
the investigation. Though it is for SQL Server 2008, the methodology described is
applicable to every version of SQL Server.