Great tip for us SQL Server DBAs – Uninstall Programs from Command Line

It has happened to most SQL Server DBAs and Windows Administrators before: We go to uninstall a program, on Windows Server, and when we open “Add/Remove Programs” it just sits there loading forever, while you are waiting to try to move on to the next thing.

One great way to get around this problem and be able to get back to your day job is to just go command line with the Windows Instrumentation command-line interface (WMIC).  It’s much faster than using the dreaded “Add/Remove” programs and lets us get some bragging rights when we talk to our UNIX/LINUX friends.

Below is some information on how to use WMIC.

– Open the command prompt.

– Input WMIC and press Enter.  You should see something like wmic:rootcli>

– Type in the following command and press enter: product get name

– To uninstall a program type: product where name=”Your program name” call uninstall

– When you are prompted type y to confirm the uninstall and press Enter

That’s it!  Pretty simple.