How to remove a Systems Management Server 2003 client

This step-by-step article describes how to remove the Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 Advanced client and the SMS 2003 Legacy client.

Note You must have administrative credentials on the client computer to remove the SMS 2003 client software.

How to remove the SMS 2003 Legacy client

Method 1: The SMSMAN Wizard

To remove the SMS 2003 Legacy client using the SMSMAN Wizard, follow these steps:

1. To start the SMSMAN Wizard, double-click the Smsman.exe file. Use the following path to locate the Smsman.exe file:
   \\Servername\SiteCode\Client\I386\
2. Click Next.
3. Select Remove Systems Management Components, and then click Next.

Method 2: Remove the client's subnet or network number from the site boundary

To remove SMS software from clients, you can remove the client's subnet from the SMS 2003 site boundaries to remove the client's assignment to a Systems Management Server site.

Note When you remove the client's subnet, all other computers in that subnet will also have the SMS 2003 Legacy client removed.

To remove the subnet or network number from the site boundary, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, click Systems Management Server, and then click SMS Administrative Console.
2. Expand Site Database, and then expand Site Hierarchy.
3. Right-click SiteName, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Site Boundaries tab, click the subnet that you want to remove, and then click Delete.

The Systems Management Server Legacy Client software is removed from the client after the next maintenance cycle or when you restart the client computer.

How to remove the SMS 2003 Advanced Client

Method 1: The Ccmclean tool

You can remove the SMS 2003 Advanced client with the Ccmclean tool. The Ccmclean tool is a component of the SMS 2003 Toolkit. You can use the tool to remove the SMS 2003 Advanced client, the SMS 2003 management point, or both.

To download the SMS 2003 Toolkit, visit the following Microsoft Web site:Note Before you use Ccmclean to remove the SMS 2003 Advanced client, see the SMS 2003 Toolkit documentation.

Method 2: MSIEXEC /X

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

With the Msiexec /x command and the SMS 2003 Advanced Client unique identifier (GUID), you can remove the SMS 2003 Advanced client. For example, you can run the following command:Note {D8EF2D11-47CF-45E5-B423-47B29706DE12} is the corresponding GUID for the SMS 2003 Advanced client. In SMS 2003 with Service Pack 1, the GUID for the SMS 2003 Advanced client is {FCDC3CDD-F53E-4239-8CA5-BC492942931B}.

You can use Registry Editor to search the client registry for the GUID information that is contained in the following registry key:The correct GUID has SMS Advanced Client as the Display Name value.

Depending on the client configuration, you may have to manually remove the VPCache folder. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Start Registry Editor.
2. Locate the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\VPCache
3. The Path value for VPCache is the location of the VPCache folder on the system drive. For example, %Windir%\System32\VPCache.
4. Use Windows Explorer to locate the VPCache folder on the system drive.
5. Right-click the VPCache folder, and then click Delete.
6. In Registry Editor, right-click the VPCache registry key, and then click Delete.
7. Close Registry editor.

For more information about MSIEXEC switches, visit the following Microsoft Web site: