10 Removing Oracle Database Software

These topics describe how to remove Oracle software and configuration files.

You can remove Oracle software in one of two ways: Use Oracle Universal Installer with the deinstall option, or use the deinstallation tool (deinstall) that is included in Oracle homes. Oracle does not support the removal of individual products or components.

Caution:

If you have a standalone database on a node in a cluster, and if you have multiple databases with the same global database name (GDN), then you cannot use the deinstall tool to remove one database only.

About Oracle Deinstallation Options
You can stop and remove Oracle Database software and components in an Oracle Database home with Oracle Universal Installer.
Oracle Deinstallation Tool (Deinstall)
The deinstall tool is a script that you can run separately from Oracle Universal Installer (OUI).
Deinstallation Examples for Oracle Database
Use these examples to help you understand how to run deinstallation using OUI (runinstaller) or as a standalone tool (deinstall).
Deinstallation Response File Example for Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster
You can run the deinstallation tool with the -paramfile option to use the values you specify in the response file.
Migrating Standalone Oracle Grid Infrastructure Servers to a Cluster
If you have an Oracle Database installation using Oracle Restart (that is, an Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation for a standalone server), and you want to configure that server as a cluster member node, then complete the following tasks:
Relinking Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster Binaries
After installing Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster (Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM configured for a cluster), if you need to modify the binaries, then use the following procedure, where Grid_home is the Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster home:
Changing the Oracle Grid Infrastructure Home Path
After installing Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster (Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM configured for a cluster), if you need to change the Grid home path, then use the following example as a guide to detach the existing Grid home, and to attach a new Grid home:
Unconfiguring Oracle Clusterware Without Removing Binaries
Running the rootcrs.sh command flags -deconfig -force enables you to unconfigure Oracle Clusterware on one or more nodes without removing installed binaries.