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Attempting to Uninstall McAfee in Favor of Windows Defender, but IT WILL NOT WORK

Anonymous
2014-12-29T02:09:33+00:00

I've been trying to uninstall McAfee for sometime now, but it never seems to work.  When going by the process McAfee offers here, the first step is already ridiculously difficult.  Programs and features does not appear on my start screen or on the settings to the right, but I must instead meander through the Control Panel to reach it.  What should have taken ten seconds took me fifteen minutes to figure out the first time around.

Though that is not necessarily McAfee's fault, it set the stage for how POed I was about to be, because after FINALLY reaching Programs and Features and finding that the program specified in the instructions, "McAfee Security Center", is not even listed as an uninstallable program...

...I have to try and make do with the only McAfee program on the list, "McAfee Livesafe - Internet Security".  But of course, when I click on the program and select "uninstall/change" all I get is a blank, white window like this:

And, after clicking around and moving my mouse for a little bit on the window, I receive the following message:

My subscription expired several months ago, it came preinstalled with my computer, and I do not have a McAfee account.  I want this off now, because I've recently made a user on my computer for the specific purpose of schoolwork.  I cannot load any web browsers on that account, and can therefore do zero research.  I know that it is not a problem with my Internet connection, as I can still connect to the Internet on my other computer account and through the Wi-Fi on my phone.  I strongly suspect that the problem is McAfee, as McAfee has a problem with blocking web browsers from using the Internet.

Regardless of whether or not McAfee is causing the problem, I want it off of my computer.

Thank you for reading, please respond.

(**NOTE: I do not know which Topic this fits under, if anybody knows a more appropriate topic, it would be quite nice if you let me know)

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Security and privacy

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-12-29T02:50:20+00:00

    Hi,

    Using Programs and Features was only the first method to use.

    Did you use this Method at the link you gave us?

    1. Download and run the McAfee Consumer Product Removal (MCPR) tool:
    2. Download the MCPR tool from: http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust\_support\_patches/MCPR.exe and save it to a folder on your computer.

    IMPORTANT: The MCPR tool is updated periodically when new products and updates are released. Always download a new copy of the MCPR tool before using it to uninstall your product. 2. Navigate to the folder where you saved the file, and double-click MCPR.exe. 3. When you see the User Account Control dialog box, click Yes. 4. At the McAfee Software Removal screen, click Next. 5. At the End User License Agreement (EULA) dialog box, click Next to accept the agreement. 6. When prompted, type the Captcha information, which is case sensitive, to validate to application security, and then click Next. - If you have Family Protection installed, type your Administrator user name and password and click Next. - If you cannot authenticate, follow the on-screen instructions to obtain an uninstall code. If you do not have Family Protection installed, you will not receive this authentication prompt. 7. When you see the message CleanUp Successful, restart your computer. Your McAfee product will not be fully removed until after the restart.

    Cheers.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-12-29T20:29:34+00:00

    You are very welcome.

    Glad you got it uninstalled.

    Cheers.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-12-29T15:00:30+00:00

    Thank you for clearing that up.  McAfee is now uninstalled, Windows Defender is now on, and web browsers now work on my other account.

    Again, thank you for your help, and have a nice day.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-12-29T09:59:08+00:00

    You use the Removal Tool anyway.

    https://community.mcafee.com/message/266522

    Correct Answerby ddd1 on 01/05/2013 2:03 PM

    I can hardly believe it, but minutes after posting my plea for help above, I found the McAfee removal tool.  (I've been searching for about a year and had even bought a new laptop because I couldn't use this one with the alert windows blocking everything.)

    The instructions said that it is important to remove the McAfee software first using the Windows Add/Remove Programs interface. Since that did not work for me (dead Remove button) no matter how many times I tried it in Safe or Normal mode, I tried the MCPR tool anyway.

    Lo and behold!  It worked.  Or seems to have.  I had to use Regedit to get rid of the Mcafeeupdater entry, but the rest seems to be gone.  I am relieved.  The link to the tool is here:

    http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=TS101331

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-12-29T03:55:39+00:00

    Thank you for responding,

    Yes, I did attempt to use that method.  It seems to be the second step in a single solution, as double clicking MCPR.exe brings up the following window, which reads "Before proceeding, please ensure you have uninstalled all McAfee products through Add/Remove programs."

    And of course I cannot uninstall all McAfee products through Add/Remove, and therefore cannot use MCPR.exe.

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