Uninstalling Windows SharePoint Services
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There are different degrees to which you can uninstall Microsoft . Depending on your needs, you can choose from the following options:
Remove from a virtual server and preserve the site content.
You can choose to remove , but keep the site content in the content databases. This allows you to extend the virtual server again later and reconnect to the site content. If you leave the content databases intact, you can reconnect to them, from the same virtual server or from a different virtual server, and continue hosting the site content using the same Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Use this method to temporarily remove and then restore a virtual server, or to change which virtual servers are hosting which content in a server farm setting.
Remove from a virtual server and delete the site content.
You can choose to remove and delete the site content in the database. Use this method to remove a virtual server permanently, but continue using on other virtual servers. For example, use this method if you are finished with a project and no longer need the associated Web sites.
Caution: When you use this method, you cannot reconnect to the site content later. If you choose to delete the content databases, you are permanently deleting the site content, and cannot recover the site data except from a backup.
Uninstall completely from a server.
You can choose to uninstall by using the Add/Remove Programs control panel. This method does not delete site content. You can reinstall and reconnect to the site content. Use this method to repair an installation or to remove a Web front-end server from a server farm.
All of these methods leave the virtual server or server in a clean state, ready to be used for other Web sites or applications; however, each method affects the content and configuration database in a different way. The following table explains what happens when you use each of these remove or uninstall methods.
Method |
What happens to the databases |
Actions during removal |
Remove and preserve content |
The content databases associated with the virtual server remain untouched. You can reconnect to the site content. The entry for the virtual server remains in the configuration database. |
The Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI) filter is uninstalled, and the virtual directories for are removed from the virtual server. Any physical directories created by under the physical home directory of the virtual server are removed. The Port section in the registry for the virtual server is removed. This means that any managed paths and any URL mapping are removed. |
Remove and delete content |
The content databases are deleted. You cannot reconnect to the site content. The entry for the virtual server is removed from the configuration database. |
The ISAPI filter is uninstalled, and the virtual directories for are removed from the virtual server. Any physical directories created by under the physical home directory of the virtual server are removed. The Port section in the registry for the virtual server is removed. This means that any managed paths and any URL mapping are removed. |
Uninstall |
The content and configuration databases associated with the server remain untouched. You can reinstall later and reconnect to databases. If you do not want to reconnect, you can delete the databases by using the Microsoft SQL Server computer or Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (Windows) (Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (Windows) (WMSDE 20)) database administration tools. |
is removed from any virtual servers. The administration virtual server is removed. The DLL files are removed from the installation directory. |
Removing from a Virtual Server
You can remove from a virtual server by using HTML Administration or the command line administration tool. Both of these tools allow you to either preserve or delete content when you remove .
Removing from a Virtual Server by Using HTML Administration
To remove from a virtual server by using HTML Administration, you use the Remove from Virtual Server page.
Remove from a virtual server
Click Start , point to All Programs , point to Administrative Tools , and then click SharePoint Central Administration .
On the Central Administration page, under Virtual Server Configuration , click Configure virtual server settings .
On the Virtual Server List page, select the virtual server you want to configure.
On the Virtual Server Settings page, under Virtual Server Management , click Remove from Virtual Server .
On the Remove from Virtual Server page, select one of the following:
Remove without deleting content databases
This removes only the folders from the virtual server the content database remains intact, so you can reconnect to it later using the same virtual server or a different one.
Remove and delete content databases
This both removes the folders from the virtual server and deletes the content database. You will not be able to reconstruct the sites previously stored on that virtual server unless you have a backup.
Click OK .
Removing from a Virtual Server by Using the Command Line
You can use the unextendvs operation with the Stsadm.exe command line utility to remove from a virtual server. The unextendvs operation takes the -url parameter and the optional - deletecontent parameter. When you use unextendvs without the -deletecontent parameter, it leaves the content databases in place, so that you can reconnect to the content for a virtual server. When you include the - deletecontent parameter, the content databases are removed and the virtual server is removed from the configuration database.
For example, to remove from a virtual server, but preserve the content databases, use the unextendvs operation with syntax like the following:
stsadm -o unextendvs -url https://servername
To remove from a virtual server and remove the content databases permanently, use the unextendvs operation with syntax like the following:
stsadm -o unextendvs -url https://servername -deletecontent
When you use the unextendvs operation with the -deletecontent parameter, you cannot reconnect to the site content later.
Uninstalling from the Server Computer
Note: You must be an administrator on the server computer to uninstall .
If you want to remove from a server computer entirely, you can uninstall by using the Add or Remove Programs control panel. Uninstalling does not remove any chained products that were installed, such as WMSDE. You must uninstall these programs separately.
Uninstall
On the server computer, click Start , click Control Panel , and then click Add or Remove Programs .
Select ** , and then click Remove .
When you use the Add or Remove Programs control panel to remove from a server, it calls a command-line operation, stsadm -o uninstall , to perform the task. The uninstall operation does not remove any chained products that were installed. The uninstall operation takes the optional - deletecontent parameter. When uninstall is used without the -deletecontent parameter, it leaves the content and configuration databases in place, so that can be reinstalled, and you can reconnect to the databases and continue hosting sites. When the - deletecontent parameter is used, the content and configuration databases are removed, and you cannot recover the site content.