Guide for completely removing McAfee

Look no further if you are like me and have been stuck with leftover McAfee processes after running the uninstallers.

There are plenty of guides with canned answers from Microsoft that have done nothing but frustrate you; this is what you need to do.

This is a known solution for Windows 11 Pro 22H2 (Build 22621.1194). This should work on most supported Windows versions since Windows 7 with minor tweaks.

Disclaimer: My professional experience as a SysAdmin dates back to 2010, and my hobbyist experience dates back to 1998. I can only say that the solution below worked for me, and I will not be held liable if you mess up your computer. If you don't have a supplemental subscription Antivirus, I would not recommend removing the extra security.

Things You'll Need

• Bitlocker Key - https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey - Get this before Step 2
• MCPR tool (direct link) - Download this BEFORE attempting Step 2
  • or download it from McAfee's support page if you do not trust me: McAfee KB - How to remove McAfee products from a Windows PC (TS101331))
• A way to read Step 2 without Internet access
• About 30 minutes

Step 1 - Remove McAfee products from your computer using Windows

1. Open Settings > Apps > Installed Apps
2. Search the list for McAfee
3. Next to each result, click the Elipsis (...) and click Uninstall You can reboot as prompted or reboot after all of them are done. If you run into problems, reboot, then try again.
4. Feel free to run the MCPR tool; if it succeeds, you are finished; if not, continue to Step 2

Step 2 - Reboot and Disable Early Launch Anti-Malware Protection

1. Open Settings > System > Recovery
2. Next to Advanced Startup, click Restart Now
3. Wait for reboot and select Troubleshoot at the Choose an option page
   At some point, you may be prompted to enter your BitLocker recovery key, be sure to have this on hand
4. Select Startup Settings
5. Select Restart (Yeah, this is redundant)
   You may be prompted to enter your BitLocker recovery key again because of the reboot
6. Select the option that states Disable early launch anti-malware protection. If this option is not available, reboot into Safe Mode instead.
   Windows will start in the selected mode but will start normally when the computer is restarted again.

It would be best if you didn't run any browsers while you have early launch anti-malware protection disabled. Navigating the wrong site could easily hijack your real antivirus and create more significant problems.

Step 3 - Run the MCPR Tool

1. Pretty straightforward; just run the MCPR tool. It will disable and remove any found McAfee services, prompting a reboot at the end.
2. Reboot

Step 4 - Remove Dangling Services/Files (If Needed/Optional)

1. Open Services and check for any McAfee references
2. If found, open CMD/PowerShell/Windows Terminal as an admin (Right click > run as Admin or Ctrl +Shift + Enter/Click)
3. Get the service name from Services, Right click and choose Properties and grab the short name. (McAfee Access Protection is mcapexe)
4. In the terminal window, type sc delete <short_name> (e.g, sc delete mcapexe)
5. If you run into errors, the product wasn't entirely removed, and you may try Step 2 again.

I can offer assistance if this doesn't work but don't expect a quick or accurate response for your situation. You may have a faster and more accurate response from McAfee Support. 🍻