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Can't Uninstall Sophos Endpoint 9.5

Hi everyone,

One of my Windows 2003 server (out of about 15 already installed with Sophos 9.5) is having strange Sophos issues. I can't get it to auto update, doesn't show up correctly in the enterprise manager, things like that.

As a first step in troubleshooting, I'm trying to completely uninstall Sophos from that server. Everytime I try this using the Add/Remove programs, I get:

The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable.

..enter an alternate path to a folder containing "sophos anti-virus.msi" in the box below.

Problem is, I don't have this msi file on any network location. If I manually navigate to the SophosUpdate share / CIDs / S000 /  SAVSCFXP / savxp, I can see a MSI file with that name, but it doesn't work for the uninstaller.

I still see the Sophos shield icon, and when I try to double click it, I get many error boxes starting with one related to CVersionPanelDLG: Initialize: Line 110. All those errors tells me something is seriously hosed with my current Sophos installation.

I cannot reinstall the product from the Enterpise Console - it errors out, which makes sense because there's obviously something very wrong with what is currently running on that server.

What's the trick to uninstalling Sophos on this server so I can reinstall it and start over? Thanks!

:7695


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  • Hi,

    Typically you get this sort of error removing Sophos AV if the cache of AutoUpdate is removed before you try and remove Sophos in the managed install scenario.  For a managed install AutoUpdate installs Sophos Anti-Virus and therefore the source of the install is:

    "C:\ProgramData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\cache\savxp\" on a Vista+ machine (adjust for other platforms), this source location is stored in the InstallSource value for the product in the registry, I.e.

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{9ACB414D-9347-40B6-A453-5EFB2DB59DFA}\InstallSource

    on 64-bit adjust again as required.

    The DisplayName key will show "Sophos Anti-Virus" so you know you've found the right key.

    So typically you should be able to copy the cache directory from a machine running the same version to this machine and just browse when prompted or move it to the location that is in the registry key InstallSource.

    Another option might be to use the copy of the msi file that is stored in the "\windows\installer\" directory.  The filenames are a bit cryptic but if you look at the "Subject" properties (suggest adding this column in the Explorer view), you should be able to spot the MSI file of SAV.  Once you find that you could right click on it and choose uninstall.  

    I would opt for the first method first though and then try the installer directory technique.

    Jak

    :7707
Reply
  • Hi,

    Typically you get this sort of error removing Sophos AV if the cache of AutoUpdate is removed before you try and remove Sophos in the managed install scenario.  For a managed install AutoUpdate installs Sophos Anti-Virus and therefore the source of the install is:

    "C:\ProgramData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\cache\savxp\" on a Vista+ machine (adjust for other platforms), this source location is stored in the InstallSource value for the product in the registry, I.e.

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{9ACB414D-9347-40B6-A453-5EFB2DB59DFA}\InstallSource

    on 64-bit adjust again as required.

    The DisplayName key will show "Sophos Anti-Virus" so you know you've found the right key.

    So typically you should be able to copy the cache directory from a machine running the same version to this machine and just browse when prompted or move it to the location that is in the registry key InstallSource.

    Another option might be to use the copy of the msi file that is stored in the "\windows\installer\" directory.  The filenames are a bit cryptic but if you look at the "Subject" properties (suggest adding this column in the Explorer view), you should be able to spot the MSI file of SAV.  Once you find that you could right click on it and choose uninstall.  

    I would opt for the first method first though and then try the installer directory technique.

    Jak

    :7707
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