Trying to use the deinstall tool packaged with the Oracle 11.2.0.1 client on one particular server failed and displayed the following output.
C:\oracle\product\11.2.0\client_2\deinstall>deinstall
Checking for required files and bootstrapping …
Please wait …
ERROR: Cannot find the file bin\ONSCLIENT.dll in the ORACLE_HOME C:\oracle\product\11.2.0\client_2. You must download the standalone version of the deinstall tool from OTN to deconfigure/deinstall this Oracle Home.
cannot remove directory for C:\Users\JOHN~1.KNI\AppData\Local\Temp\OraDeinstall-
11-2015_14-35-50: Permission denied at C:\oracle\product\11.2.0\client_2\deinstall\bootstrap.pl line 179
1 file(s) copied.
1 file(s) copied.
The system cannot find the path specified.
1 dir(s) moved.
I was running deinstall in a DOS window with elevated Administrator rights so was slightly perplexed as to why this wouldn’t work.
First step is to obtain the standalone version of the deinstall tool from the following URL:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/enterprise-edition/downloads/112010-win64soft-094461.html
Scroll down to near the bottom of the page and select the appropriate tool, in this case, Oracle De-install Utility (11.2.0.1.0) for Microsoft Windows (x64).
When the download has completed, extract the ZIP file and then, in a DOS window with elevated rights, browse to that location.
Running the deinstall tool from here means that you have to specify the Oracle home as the tool cannot derive the value automatically. It is also wise to use -checkonly so that a log file is generated and you can review what will be removed.
deinstall -home “C:\Oracle\product\11.2.0\client_1\” -checkonly
Review the log and then if happy proceed with the deinstallation using deinstall -home “C:\Oracle\product\11.2.0\client_1\”