What steps do I need to take to completely uninstall MySQL?

Question

I have installed and uninstalled MySQL Server for about 100 times. Each time I reinstall the thing, it shows the same configurations, which I think cause problems. I would like to get rid of all traces of MySQL and install it as if it was the first installation.

I'v already deleted the MySQL folder, but I'm still having the same problem.

How can I start over and reinstall MySQL?

EDIT: My OS is Windows 7.

Answer 1

Found a solution on Server Fault: http://serverfault.com/questions/88473/how-to-completely-remove-mysql-from-windows

Using Windows 7, here's what I had to do:

• Uninstall MySQL using the uninstaller
• Delete C:\Program Files\MySQL
• Delete C:\Program Files (x86)\MySQL
• Delete C:\ProgramData\MySQL
• Delete from any Users' AppData folders. Example: C:\Users\rdoverby\AppData\Roaming\MySQL
• Reinstall MySQL

Answer 2

To ensure that everything is gone, I would :

1. Use Revo Uninstaller Freeware to uninstall MySQL
2. Install Agent Ransack and search for all occurrences on disk of "mysql", ".cnf" and ".conf" files and directories
3. Use regedit and search for "mysql"

Note down the directories and registry keys that you find, and then construct yourself a batch file that will do the cleanup of all the leftovers.

Answer 3

MySQL stores configurations in a file named my.cnf (probably called my.config on windows) try searching it on you system and deleting it.
It is usually located somewhere in /usr/local/mysql or /usr/local/var

Answer 4

The ProgramData folder referred to in the first answer is a hidden folder. To view the hidden folder and find some additional MySQL files that you need to delete, follow the instructions here.