You must have local administrator permissions in order to uninstall SQL Server. Next, Make a backup of your data. You can either manually move the.mdf and.ldf files to a different location or make complete copies of all databases, including system databases. Additionally, halt all SQL Server services before uninstalling.
Go to the Control Panel and choose Programs and Features to begin the uninstallation process from Windows Server versions 2008 and 2012. Select Uninstall from the menu when you right-click Microsoft SQL Server (Version) (Bit).
Go to Settings from the Start menu, then select Apps to begin the removal process from Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019. In the search box, type SQL, then choose Microsoft SQL Server (Version) (Bit). For instance, the 64-bit version of Microsoft SQL Server 2016 is displayed below:
Choose “Uninstall.” then choose Remove to start the Microsoft SQL Server wizard in the SQL Server pop-up dialog box.
- Choose Instance from the drop-down menu, mark the name of the SQL Server instance, or choose to eliminate just the administrative tools and shared features of SQL Server. Click Next to proceed.
- Select the features that need to be deleted from the SQL Server instance on the Select Features screen.
- View the list of features and components that will be removed on the Remove page. To begin the uninstallation process, click Remove.
To confirm that the SQL Server instance has been successfully uninstalled, try refreshing the Apps and Features box in Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, or Programs and Features in Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012, and Windows 2012 R2.
You can watch this process in the below video
