I am having problems un-installing mcafee.
When i try to un-install it from "remove programs" it says all other
mcafee services should be un-installed first.  However i cant seem to
un-install the anti-virus service (8.0).  Mcafee anti-virus does not
appear in the list of programs.
When i follow the un-install manually steps from the officail mcafee
website and restart the computer, the anti-virus is obviously still
working as it notifys me that there are updates available for
download.
i have tried to install again, then uninstall but that doesn't work.
I have search the web for help and it looks like a lot of people are
having the same problem.
Please help me a rid of this program.

note: i do not want to use the recovery disk.

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 03 Sep 2005 20:23 PDT

billy...

I can only guess, as there is, indeed, a striking lack of 
information available on this topic, even in the Mcafee
documentation.

First off, you said that the message indicated that all
other Mcafee "services" should be removed first. This
implies the possibility that the AV program is installed
as a Windows "Service", and will appear under the Windows
Services section of the Computer Management Console under
Administrative Services. You probably need to disable it
there by right-clicking on the service (if you find it 
there) and stopping the service and disabling it on 
Startup.

You could then reboot and try the uninstall again. If that
doesn't work, you could look to see if you can determine
the directory, in Windows Explorer, in which tha AV program
is installed. Then look for an unwise.exe file with which 
you can uninstall the AV.

Let me know where this takes you...

sublime1-ga

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Clarification of Question by billy21-ga on 03 Sep 2005 20:51 PDT

Hi,
i went to the services section and disabled all the mcafee services
but when i rebooted, mcafee still loaded up.  I checked in the
"services" again and it shows that they are disabled but mcafee is
still clearly running.
I then went to "add/remove program" and found that mcafee is not on
the list anymore.
I also could not find any file that resembled an unwise.exe in the
mcafee directory.
Any ideas?

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 03 Sep 2005 21:44 PDT

billy...

Well, if the Windows Mcafee service is disabled, and there's
still something running (presumably visible in the system
tray), I would try disabling that by right-clicking on the 
systray icon, and first seeing if there's a preferences
item on the menu that allows you to disable it starting with
Windows. If not, there should be a menu item that allows you
to exit the program.

You can then use msconfig (Start -> Run -> type msconfig ->
Enter -> go to Startup tab) to disable it starting up with
Windows. The component that's still running seems to be an
update scheduler. You should also be able to see, in msconfig,
the path used to call the program at Windows startup.

If this is the only component of Mcafee remaining, just go
and delete that folder, but I had the impression there was
a Mcafee suite you still needed to uninstall, from when you 
said:

"When i try to un-install it from "remove programs" it says
 all other mcafee services should be un-installed first."

If that uninstall can still be run, do that instead of just
deleting the folder. If not, deleting the folder will get
rid of most of it, though programs like this will leave
orphaned files in other locations, such as in:
C:\Documents and Settings\LogonID\Application Data\Mcafee
for example, and other locations as well.

You can search both your registry and Windows Explorer
for any entries related to Mcafee, and delete them, but
you do that at your own risk. Editing the registry in this
manner can cause problems. On the other hand, a few orphaned
entries won't cause any real problems.

Another way to find and delete orphaned files and registry
entries is by using a free program like CCleaner:
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Let me know where this takes you, and what else you need
in order to consider this question answered to your complete
satisfaction.

sublime1-ga

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Clarification of Question by billy21-ga on 03 Sep 2005 23:45 PDT

Maybe i'm doing something wrong.
I've now stopped mcafee from lauching at start-up.
But i still cant delete the mcafee files from windows explorer.

"access denied, please make sure that the disk is not full or
write-protected or is currently in use"

I've tried deleting the folders when the pc is in safe mode but the
same message pops up.

Also, when i right click on any file the "scan file" option is there
and when i click it it runs. This is suprising since i have deleted a
lot of mcafee files.

I suppose if the program doesn't start up by it self and conflict with my new 
anti-virus program then i suppose i can live with it.

Anyway, you helped me a lot.
Mcafee shouldn't be a problem now.
Thanks for your assistance.

It is annoying though, knowing that it is still there and i cant remove it.

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 04 Sep 2005 00:30 PDT

billy...

The "currently in use" message means that some component
of Mcafee is still running. The only place I haven't 
suggested that you look is in the Startup folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\LogonID\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Another free program that lets you have a good look at, and 
control over, startup programs, is WinPatrol:
http://www.winpatrol.com/

Let me know...

sublime1-ga