How To Remove Oracle Client Software From A Windows Platform NOTES: This is a modified version of Oracle Note: 124506.

1 to be used for Ohio University Data Warehouse client installations needing to remove Oracle client 8.06 before installing Oracle client 9i2. For original Oracle notes see the Oracle client page at www.ohiou.edu/datawarehouse. The current configuration for OU Data Warehouse access uses Microsoft ODBC drivers. If you are using Oracle ODBC drivers for any applications, be aware that a custom installation of Oracle 9i2 will be needed and that you will need to delete and recreate the ODBC data sources to use the new drivers. See the data warehouse web page for instructions to install oracle odbc drivers from the 9i2 cd. There is also a patch on the web page that will need installed also. Also, if you have an Oracle database installed on this computer please ask for instructions specific to the removal of an Oracle Database. WARNING: This procedure will remove ALL Oracle Client Software from your computer. Please make an image backup of your computer before performing these steps. If you do not want to remove ALL of your Oracle Client Software, please do not perform this procedure. PROCEDURE FOR REMOVING ORACLE CLIENT 1. Log into the Windows operating system as a user with Administrator privileges. 2. Make a backup of your registry by opening the registry editor [Start | Run | type regedit | hit OK] then exporting the registry [in registry editor -> File | Export Registry File]. 3. Make backup copies of your TNSNAMES.ORA and SQLNET.ORA files. These files are located in your oracle home directorys network\admin\ subdirectory and will be deleted when Oracle is removed. Sample oracle home directorys are: Oracle, OraNT, OraWin95, and OraWin. 4. Go into the Services Control Panel. There may not be any Oracle services running on your computer. Windows XP Start | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services Windows 2000 Start | Settings | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services a. Stop any services that are running with the name OracleXXX b. If present, it is recommended you additionally stop the following 3rd-party services which may place locks on certain Oracle software files: i. Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) ii. Internet Information Server (IIS) Admin Service 5. Open the Oracle Installer (start | programs) and uninstall all Oracle Client Software. You should be able to remove everything except the installer itself. If there is a problem removing any particular component, skip it and continue removing the rest of the components. Perform this step for each Oracle Home you have installed on the computer. 6. Run the Registry Editor [Start | Run | type regedit | hit OK] and delete the following

ORACLE folders if they exist: a. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\ORACLE b. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE 7. Use the Registry Editor to delete all existing ORACLE services by removing these keys: a. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\OracleXXX b. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet00X\Services\OracleXXX There are typically two control sets, ControlSet001 and ControlSet002. But, your environment may be different. Therefore, check all of your control sets, signified by the X, that exist in your registry. 8. Use the Windows Explorer to delete all folders on your hard drive that contain Oracle Client Software. You may have permission problems deleting an oracle folder. If this is the case, go into the oracle folder and delete all subfolders except the bin folder. Then, go into the bin folder and delete as much as you can. Reboot the computer and you should be able to delete the oracle folder. Dont ask why! Common folder names to look for: Oracle, OraNT, OraWin95, OraWin 9. Check the Start | Programs menu and look for any remaining Oracle folders. If any exist, remove them by opening Windows Explorer and deleting the Oracle folders listed in the following: Windows 2000/XP C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs and C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs 10. Check your PATH and CLASSPATH environment variables and remove any part that still references Oracle. Windows 2000 Go to the desktop and right-click My Computer. Choose Properties and click the Advanced tab. Click the Environment Variables button. Windows XP Start | Control Panel. Open the System control panel. Choose the Advanced tab and then click the Environment Variables button. 11. Empty the Recycle Bin and reboot your computer. You are now ready to install new Oracle software. (Before installing Oracle software make sure you have logged into the Windows operating system as a user with Administrator privileges.)