Microsoft Security Essentials - Uninstall Completely

How to Completely Uninstall Microsoft Security Essentials​

   Information

This tutorial will guide you through removing Microsoft Security Essentials completely from your machine, either so you may reinstall it or make sure everything is cleaned up to move to a new anti-virus.

This guide assumes you have no antivirus protection installed at the moment. If you do, disable it during this guide as it may interfere with this procedure.

   Warning

Always Uninstall Microsoft Security Essentials the proper way through Control Panel - Uninstall A Program when possible. DO NOT FOLLOW THIS TUTORIAL IF YOU HAVE WINDOWS 8 or WINDOWS 10, IT WILL CORRUPT WINDOWS DEFENDER.

Then continue to this method. If the uninstaller fails for whatever reason, then attempt this method.

   Information

Microsoft security essentials is now called windows defender in windows 8 and windows 10. They are the same product now, providing anti-virus and anti-spyware protection. Windows Defender in windows 7 and Vista is just anti-spyware protection.

1.) First, download the Microsoft Security Essentials removal tool fix it here:

Download


Source: How can I uninstall Microsoft Security Essentials from my computer?
2.) Close all programs. Open the fix it file you just downloaded.

3.) The utility opens, Choose I agree, then click next to uninstall like in the picture below.

4.) The program will start to be removed. During the process you will see this image:

5.) Choose Close to finish and then restart the PC.

6.) You're finished!

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Uninstall or Change a Program in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Uninstall Programs using Command Prompt in Windows
• How to Uninstall Programs and their Leftovers using Revo Uninstaller Freeware
• How to Completely Uninstall Avast Antivirus
• How to Completely Uninstall Norton/Symantec Products
• How to Completely Uninstall AVG
• How to Completely Uninstall IOBIT Products

 

[Zalophus]

Doesn't work for me. Fix It gives me the following message:
"Service "Microsoft Antimalware Service could not be stopped. Verify you have sufficient privileges to stop system services.
I am administrator. What other privileges do I need?

 

[Layback Bear]

Try this.

Right tick on MSE go to Properties and select Advance and put a check mark in Run as Admin.

 

[andrew129260]

Doesn't work for me. Fix It gives me the following message:
"Service "Microsoft Antimalware Service could not be stopped. Verify you have sufficient privileges to stop system services.
I am administrator. What other privileges do I need?

In this case, you can delete the service by using the

sc delete MsMpSvc

command in an elevated command prompt. Then run the tool again.

 

[Zalophus]

Thanks, but I get "[SC] OpenService FAILED 5: Access is Denied". Any other ideas?

 

[UsernameIssues]

Doesn't work for me. Fix It gives me the following message:
"Service "Microsoft Antimalware Service could not be stopped. Verify you have sufficient privileges to stop system services.
I am administrator. What other privileges do I need?

In this case, you can delete the service by using the

sc delete MsMpSvc

command in an elevated command prompt. Then run the tool again.

Thanks, but I get "[SC] OpenService FAILED 5: Access is Denied". Any other ideas?

And that is as it should be. Would you really want an antivirus product that could be stopped by such a simple means

I'm guessing that you are using this tutorial because the normal* means of uninstalling MSE failed.

*via Control Panel's Programs and Features interface.



andrew129260,
The tutorial instructs user to download a FixIt that is for MSE version 1. MSE is up to version 4 now.

The link that you offer as your source of the FixIt tool is:

Source: How can I uninstall Microsoft Security Essentials from my computer?

And yet the title of that website is:

How to manually uninstall Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0.1963 if you cannot uninstall it by using the Add or Remove Programs item

Perhaps Microsoft changed the title of the webpage.

Anyway, when you visit the web page, you should see a note like this:

Note Use this Knowledge Base article only if you are running Microsoft Security Essentials version 1.0.1963 or an earlier version (1.0.1407.0, 1.0.1500.0, 1.0.1610.0, 1.0.1961.0). If you're running a version of Microsoft Security Essentials that begin with the number 2, visit:
~~~

MSE version 4 (and earlier versions) make folders and registry keys using the name Microsoft Security Client. The KB articles for versions 1 and 2 offer a "Let me fix it myself" section that uses MSE's old name (Microsoft Security Essentials) for registry keys. I bore you with that to say this: I would not try to follow the steps in those KBs without understanding the changes between versions.

The FixIt in your tutorial sometimes "works" on MSE version 4 because (just like so many other antivirus removal tools) the FixIt attempts a normal uninstall first. I watched it do that via Process Monitor. If that normal method fails, then the FixIt tries to rip MSE out by various hard coded methods. Those methods are version specific; hence, the different FixIt tool for MSE version 2. I do not know of a similar FixIt tool for versions 3 and 4 of MSE.


Zalophus,
If the normal uninstall process has failed for you, then something has damaged your MSE installation. The first thing that I would try would be to re-install MSE, restart and then try the normal uninstall method. But my guess is: MSE will not install and will not repair the current damaged installation... but try that and let us know how it goes.

 

[Zalophus]

Have tried everything that I can find on the various sites and forums. Already have tried reinstall, and am blocked because it reads MSE already on my machine. Since I can't uninstall, and can't reinstall until I uninstall...well you get the idea. Time to turn it off, and try something else. Interesting enough, it works fine in Safe Mode. except Safe Mode, won't let me uninstall, because...?

 

[UsernameIssues]

What version of MSE do you have?


You can attach screenshots via these steps:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

Have you run a complete scan with MSE while in the safe mode?

What error(s) do you get from MSE during a normal uninstall?
Is MSE locking up during normal mode scans?
If so, on which file?
(We have seen a few threads about MSE locking up in the past few days.)

Have you tried a normal mode clean boot...
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ation-conflicts-performing-clean-startup.html
...and then uninstall MSE?

Would you be willing to scan your computer with WDO?
What is Windows Defender Offline? - Windows Help
I would be curious to see if it finds anything.
I use a USB flash drive (memory stick).

Are you current on your patches/updates?

 

[Zalophus]

Thanks for replies. Found this:
Uninstalling Microsoft Security Essentials - Microsoft Community

and the "Advanced Method" did uninstall MSE, however when I start to reinstall, I get as far starting the actual installation and then "MSE ERROR CODE 0x8004FF91".

I have looked at this thread that started in 2013 on this error code, tried all the suggest solutions and none work.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/.../17f5227a-01bf-47b8-92a2-4cb087aaa1e0?page=01

Thoughts?
Thanks

 

[UsernameIssues]

...tried all the suggest solutions and none work.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/.../17f5227a-01bf-47b8-92a2-4cb087aaa1e0?page=01

Thoughts?
Thanks

I hope that you did not try IObit Uninstaller as suggested on page 8 of that thread.

Avoid every app by IObit.



I did not see where you commented on these two parts of my last post:

~~~
Would you be willing to scan your computer with WDO?
What is Windows Defender Offline? - Windows Help
I would be curious to see if it finds anything.
I use a USB flash drive (memory stick).

Are you current on your patches/updates?

It is fine if you don't want to scan with WDO, just say so. The scan might run all night.

It is helpful to know if all other patches/updates are installed.

 

[Zalophus]

I did only the Advance Method using CMD and "mseremoval". Haven't tried WDO yet. Have it downloaded but was waiting to hear from you. Did not use IObit.

All patches and?updates are current.

Safe Mode scan seems to run ok on C drive. Scans work fine on my other HDDS. It;'s just "C" Drive

I'll try WDO next.

 

[Zalophus]

Just tried WDO, and it apparently requires that MSE be active and updated. Since I have uninstalled MSE, and Safe Mode/WDO will not allow reinstalling MSE, it appears I can't use WDO.

 

[UsernameIssues]

WDO should work without MSE.

That said, I cannot get WDO to create an ISO file.

Let's give up on WDO for now.


According to your post #10, you can still run MSE scans in the safe mode... even after running that mseremoval batch file as admin in the normal mode. Is that what you are saying?

 

[andrew129260]

Zalophus,

please post a new thread here in the security section of the forums with your issue. We can then take a deeper look.

 

[Zalophus]

Update- Seemed to have fixed problem by restoring to August 24, just before the latest Win7 updates were installed which is when problems started. Had to do a start repair using the F8/boot, and now MSE is restored, and I have run two full scans with not a problem.
Thanks for help and I now consider problem solved.

 

[mcmanimal]

Microsoft Security Essentials Removal - Final

Shut down your computer.
Remove the Hard Drive.
Connect it to another computer with equal or greater OS.
Rename the directory: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client - I renamed mine to "Die"
Safely Eject the Hard Drive
Reconnect it to the original computer.
Boot Back Up - Navigate back to C:\Program Files\Die and delete that folder.
Lastly - Install a different Antivirus Program!

I spent an inordinate amount of time trying all the fixes proposed in many forums. In my case I had uninstalled to the point where it no longer showed up in the Programs and Features List, but the process MsMpEng.exe wouldn't go away and was eating a ton of memory and processor power.

 

[hazel123]

I didn't have a problem uninstalling MSE through Control Panel but there is a definitions update left installed in Windows Updates which says it cannot be removed - KB2310138. Does this matter? Or will it cause issues on the machine or with other antivirus now installed? Thanks.

 

[Brink]

Hello Hazel,

It won't affect anything.

If you like, you can use the tutorial below to remove old outdated updates that have since been updated with newer updates. That should help free up some space.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/307546-windows-updates-remove-outdated-updates-windows-7-a.html

 

[hazel123]

Thanks very much! That's great to know it won't affect anything - I really didn't want to reinstall from scratch again and the update is on my recent system image too. I did remove old Windows updates through disk clean up but it didn't remove that one!

 

[Brink]

Glad I could help.