Manually uninstall your ESET product using the ESET uninstaller tool

Created by Paul Sillars, Modified on Fri, 5 Jan at 11:56 AM by Paul Sillars

Issue

You have used the ESET Start Menu uninstaller and continue to have problems uninstalling or reinstalling your ESET product
Your ESET product remains active after uninstallation
Your uninstallation of ESET product fails
Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019
Windows Vista, Home Server, XP, Windows Server 2003 R2, 2003, 2000

Do not use ESET Uninstaller on Microsoft Azure/Amazon Virtual Machines

The ESET Uninstaller tool should not be used on Microsoft Azure/Amazon Virtual Machines (VMs) because the tool must be run on the machine when in Safe Mode. Microsoft Azure/Amazon VMs do not have RDP connectivity when in Safe Mode, and they lock up when restarting in Safe Mode.

I am a Mac user

Details

Click to expand

Solution

Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019

Export your settings

Before using the Uninstaller tool, export all ESET product settings. Your settings will not be restored automatically when you reinstall ESET.

Back up network adapter settings

After using the ESET Uninstaller tool, you may be required to reinstall your network adapter drivers. Follow the steps below to back up your network adapter settings and restore them after uninstallation is finished:

Before running the Uninstaller Tool: Open an administrative command prompt and type the following command to back up your network adapter settings:
- netsh -c interface dump > C:\NetworkSettings.txt
After uninstallation is complete: Reinstall your network adapter drivers if necessary and then open an administrative command prompt and type the following command to restore your network adapter settings:
- netsh -f C:\NetworkSettings.txt

Download the ESET Uninstaller and save it to your computer.
Restart your computer in Safe Mode.
Start Windows in Safe Mode to run ESET Uninstaller Tool
You must start Windows in Safe Mode to run the ESET Uninstaller tool. If you start Windows in Normal Mode, ESET Uninstaller will not proceed:
Figure 1-1
Windows 11 users with Microsoft account
If you are using Windows 11, logged in to your Microsoft account, and attempt to start ESET Uninstaller tool from your Desktop, a "This file cannot be accessed by the system" error message will appear.
To resolve this issue, move the ESET Uninstaller .exe file from your Desktop to a different folder on your disk that is not synced with OneDrive (for example, Documents in C:\Users\Documents).
In Safe Mode, double-click the installer file you saved to your computer in step 1 to run ESET Uninstaller tool. If you want to use the Advanced user commands below, open an Administrative command prompt first and then change to the relevant directory.

Advanced user commands

Read the warning and type y to confirm.
Figure 1-2
Review the items listed under Installed ESET products. Type the number that corresponds to the ESET installation that should be uninstalled and press the Enter key.
Figure 1-3
Verify that you are uninstalling the correct ESET product from the operating system and type y to confirm.
Figure 1-4
After the ESET Uninstaller tool has finished running, press any key to exit (or type q and then press any key).
If needed, run the ESET Uninstaller again until the product is no longer listed under Installed ESET products.
Figure 1-5
Restart your computer in Normal Mode. The uninstaller writes a log of all its processes to the ~ESETUninstaller.log file (located in the same folder as the ESETUninstaller.exe file) for future reference.
Figure 1-6
Click the link below that corresponds to your ESET product for help with reinstallation. If you continue to experience issues with reinstallation, delete the ehdrv driver using device manager and then repeat the steps above to run the ESET Uninstaller application again. Since ESET is designed as a security application, in some instances, multiple attempts are required to uninstall the product completely.