Uninstalling Oracle 11g database

Question

I have a test machine that used to run multiple DBMSes, including Oracle 11g.

Since we moved to a new machine with a lot of horse-power, we don't need the old Oracle DB and I need to free its space so that SQL Server can reclaim it in case of need.

I can see no option of uninstalling Oracle from Windows programs. Plus, when I search Google for uninstall oracle database the engine insists in suggesting me how to install oracle database. So it looks like there is no walkthrough on uninstalling the software when not needed anymore.

I have already killed the boot-start of all Oracle-related services. Should I just kill the 90GB C:\app directory under which Oracle is installed along with the unused data files?

Answer 1

Maybe you used the wrong terms for search.

Oracle 11g is not a database, it's the client of Oracle.

Googling for "uninstall Oracle 11g" gives this at the first place.

Removing Oracle Database Client with Oracle Universal Installer You first use Oracle Universal Installer to remove Oracle Database Client from the inventory on the computer. Afterwards, you must manually remove the remaining components. This section covers the following topics:

Procedure for Removing Oracle Database Client with Oracle Universal Installer 5.2.1 Guidelines for Removing Oracle Database Client with Oracle Universal Installer Follow these guidelines:

Do not manually remove Oracle Database Client components without first deinstalling with Oracle Universal Installer. An exception is if, during an installation, you exit Oracle Universal Installer using any of the following methods:

Clicking Cancel

Turning off the computer

If the installation does not complete (that is, all required configuration tools do not run at the end)

In these cases, Oracle Universal Installer does not register the installation in its inventory. However, it may have copied files to your Oracle home. Remove these files manually and restart the installation.

If you need to remove an Oracle home manually, first remove the Oracle components with Oracle Universal Installer. An example of removing the Oracle home manually would be by deleting the directory structure with Windows Explorer or the command prompt.

You should not remove the Oracle home manually first because their components remain registered in the Oracle Universal Installer inventory. If you subsequently try to install Oracle in the same home, some or all of the components selected may not be installed, since Oracle Universal Installer will determine the components are already installed.

from https://docs.oracle.com/cd/B28359_01/install.111/b32007/deinstall.htm#i1008427