Issue
- You need to perform a Safe Mode uninstall of an ESET product using the ESET Uninstaller tool
- You are running a Windows-based VM on Microsoft Azure
- Prerequisites
- Affected products
- Affected operating systems
Details
Click to expand
Users can boot an Azure VM into Safe Mode with a Network. The Microsoft Remote Desktop Service will be disabled in Safe Mode to protect the machine.
Prerequisites
- Download the ESET Uninstaller tool and save it to the desktop
- Enable Boot Diagnostics and Custom Storage Account in the Web Serial Console in Azure
Solution
I. Enable Safe Mode
-
Download the ESET Uninstaller Tool using a Local Administrator Account and save the file to the Desktop.
-
Press the Windows key, type Windows Administrator Tools and select Windows Administrator Tools. Select System Configuration.
-
Click Boot. Under the Boot options, select the check box next to Safe boot and select Network.
Figure 1-1 -
Click OK and click Restart to boot to Safe Mode.
II. Run the ESET Uninstaller in Safe Mode
-
In the Azure Portal, click the VM name.
-
Click Support and Troubleshooting and select Serial Console.
-
A command prompt window will open on the right-hand side.
Figure 2-1 - Type cmd.
Figure 2-2 - Type ch -si 1 to select the new Channel.
Figure 2-3 -
Press any key to continue to the login screen. Type in the requested information:
- Username – Local Administrator or Domain Admin
- Domain – Leave blank if using a Local Administrator Account
- Password – Account password
Figure 2-4
-
After logging in, the Standard Microsoft Command Prompt interface will be displayed.
Figure 2-5 -
Update the working directory path to the desktop that contains the
esetuninstaller.exefile, using your username.cd \Users\[username]\Desktop.
Figure 2-6 -
Type esetunisntaller.exe and press the Enter key to load the tool.
Figure 2-7 -
Follow the on-screen prompts:
- Are you sure you wish to continue?: Type y.
- Type the assigned number of the product to be uninstalled.
Figure 2-8 -
Are you sure you want to uninstall ESET File Security for Microsoft Windows Server from this OS? (y/n): Type y.
-
After the uninstall is complete, the ESET Uninstaller window will close.
Figure 2-9
III. Disable Safe Mode
-
In the Windows Boot Loader, type bcdedit /enum. If safeboot displays Minimal or Network, Safe Mode is enabled.
- To disable Safe Mode, in the Windows Boot Loader, type bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot.
- Run the command from step 1 of this section to confirm that Safe Mode has been disabled.
- To normally restart your VM type shutdown /r /t 1.
- After your VM has restarted, reinstall your ESET product.
Affected products (ESET and other applications)
All ESET applications that can be installed on Windows operating systems.
Affected operating systems
| Operating system | Affected |
| Windows 11 | Yes |
| Windows 10 | Yes |
|
Windows Server 2025
|
Yes |
|
Windows Server 2022
|
Yes |
| Windows Server 2019 | Yes |
| Windows Server 2016 | Yes |
| Windows Server2012/R2 | Yes |
| Windows Server2012 | Yes |