5 Removing Oracle Database Client Software

5.1 About the Deinstallation Tool

Starting with Oracle Database 12c, the deinstallation tool is integrated with the database installation media. You can run the deinstallation tool using the runInstaller command with the -deinstall and -home options from the base directory of the Oracle Database, Oracle Database Client or Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation media.

The deinstallation tool is also available as a separate command (deinstall) in Oracle home directories after installation. It is located in the $ORACLE_HOME/deinstall directory.

The deinstallation tool uses the information you provide, plus information gathered from the software home to create a response file. You can alternatively supply a response file generated previously by the deinstall command using the –checkonly option, or by editing the response file template.

If the software in the Oracle home is not running (for example, after an unsuccessful installation), then the deinstallation tool cannot determine the configuration, and you must provide all the configuration details either interactively or in a response file.

Oracle recommends that you run the deinstallation tool as the Oracle software installation owner. The default method for running the deinstall tool is from the deinstall directory in the Oracle home as the installation owner:

$ $ORACLE_HOME/deinstall/deinstall

The deinstall command uses the following syntax, where variable content is indicated in italics:

./deinstall [-silent] [-checkonly] [-paramfile complete path of input response file] [-params name1=value
name2=value . . .] [-o complete path of directory for saving files]
[-tmpdir complete path of temporary directory to use] 
[-logdir complete path of log directory to use] [-help]
 

To run the deinstallation tool from the database installation media, use the runInstaller command with the -deinstall option, followed by the -home option to specify the path of the Oracle home you want to remove using the following syntax, where variable content is indicated in italics:

./runInstaller -deinstall -home complete path of Oracle home [-silent] [-checkonly] [-paramfile complete path of input response file] [-params name1=value
name2=value . . .] [-o complete path of directory for saving files] 
[-tmpdir complete path of temporary directory to use] 
[-logdir complete path of log directory to use] [-help]
 

Provide information about your servers as prompted or accept the defaults.

The deinstallation tool stops Oracle software, and removes Oracle software and configuration files on the operating system.

In addition, you can run the deinstallation tool with a response file, or select the following options to run the tool:

• -home

  Use this flag to indicate the home path of the Oracle home to check or deinstall.

  To deinstall Oracle software using the deinstall command, located in the Oracle home you plan to deinstall, provide a response file located outside the Oracle home, and do not use the -home flag.

  If you run deinstall from the $ORACLE_HOME/deinstall path, then the -home flag is not required because the tool identifies the location of the home from which it is run. If you use runInstaller -deinstall from the installation media, then -home is mandatory.

• -silent

  Use this flag to run the deinstallation tool in noninteractive mode. This option requires one of the following:

  • A working system that it can access to determine the installation and configuration information. The -silent flag does not work with failed installations.

  • A response file that contains the configuration values for the Oracle home that is being deinstalled or deconfigured.

  You can generate a response file to use or modify by running the tool with the -checkonly flag. The tool then discovers information from the Oracle home to deinstall and deconfigure. It generates the response file that you can then use with the -silent option.

  You can also modify the template file deinstall.rsp.tmpl, located in the $ORACLE_HOME/deinstall/response directory.

• -checkonly

  Use this flag to check the status of the Oracle software home configuration. Running the tool with the -checkonly flag does not remove the Oracle configuration. The -checkonly flag generates a response file which you can then use with the deinstallation tool and -silent option.

• -paramfile complete path of input response file

  Use this flag to run the deinstallation tool with a response file in a location other than the default. When you use this flag, provide the complete path where the response file is located.

  The default location of the response file depends on the location of the deinstallation tool:

  • From the installation media or stage location: /response.

  • After installation from the installed Oracle home: $ORACLE_HOME/deinstall/response.

• -params [name1=value name2=value name3=value . . .]

  Use this flag with a response file to override one or more values to change in a response file you have already created.

• -o complete path of directory for saving response files

  Use this flag to provide a path other than the default location where the response file (deinstall.rsp.tmpl) is saved.

  The default location of the response file depends on the location of the deinstallation tool:

  • From the installation media or stage location before installation: /response

  • After installation from the installed Oracle home: $ORACLE_HOME/deinstall/response.

• -tmpdir complete path of temporary directory

  Use this flag to specify a non-default location where Oracle Deinstallation Tool writes the temporary files for the deinstallation.

• -logdir complete path of log directory

  Use this flag to specify a non-default location where Oracle Deinstallation Tool writes the log files for the deinstallation.

• -help

  Use the help option (-help) to obtain additional information about the command option flags.

5.2 Example of Running the Deinstallation Tool

If you run the deinstallation tool using the runInstaller command with the -deinstall option from the installation media, then help is displayed unless you enter a -home flag and provide a path to the home directory of the Oracle software to remove from your system.

Use the optional flag -paramfile to provide a path to a response file.

In the following example, the runInstaller command is in the path /directory_path, where directory_path is the path to the client directory on the installation media, and /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/client_1/ is the path to the Oracle home to remove:

$ cd /directory_path/
$ ./runInstaller -deinstall -home /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/client_1/

The following example uses a response file in the software owner location /home/usr/oracle:

$ cd /directory_path/
$ ./runInstaller -deinstall -paramfile /home/usr/oracle/myparamfile.tmpl

5.3 Example of Running the Deinstall Command

If you run the deinstallation tool using the deinstall command from the $ORACLE_HOME/deinstall folder, then the deinstallation starts without prompting you for the Oracle home path.

Use the optional flag -paramfile to provide a path to a response file.

In the following example, the deinstall command is in the path /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/client_1/deinstall, and it uses a response file in the software owner location /home/usr/oracle:

$ cd /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/client_1/deinstall
$ ./deinstall -paramfile /home/usr/oracle/myparamfile.tmpl

5.4 Deinstallation Response File Example

You can run the deinstall command with the -paramfile option to use the values you specify in the response file. The following is an example of a response file, in which the Oracle Database binary owner is oracle, the Oracle Database home (Oracle home) is in the path /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/client_1/, the Oracle base (where other Oracle software is installed) is /u01/app/oracle/, the central Oracle Inventory home (oraInventory) is /u01/app/oraInventory, and the client is client1:

ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle
INVENTORY_LOCATION=/u01/app/oraInventory
CRS_HOME=false
HOME_TYPE=CLIENT
silent=false
local=false
LOCAL_NODE=node1
ObaseCleanupPtrLoc=/var/tmp/install/orabase_cleanup.lst.
LOGDIR=/u01/app/oraInventory/logs/
ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/client_1