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15 Posts

119601

September 15th, 2012 22:00

How to remove mcagent.exe from Notification Area Icons

Recently purchased a new Dell XPS 8500.  I removed McAfee through Control Panel uninstall programs, followed by using the McAfee removal tool per instructions on this site and others.  When I click on Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Notification Area Icons, mcagent.exe - McAfee Security Center is still on the list.  How can that be permanently removed?

TIA

565 Posts

September 15th, 2012 23:00

Hi,

To remove mcagent.exe, follow the instructions mentioned below:

  • Download the MCPR tool from: http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe , when prompted, save it to a folder on your computer
  • Navigate to the folder where you saved the file, and double-click MCPR.exe. 
  • When you see the User Account Control dialog box, click Yes.
  • At the McAfee Software Removal screen, click Next.
  • At the End User License Agreement (EULA) dialog box, click Next to accept the agreement.
  • When prompted, type the Captcha information to validate to application security, then click Next
  • When you see the message CleanUp Successful, restart your computer. Your McAfee product will not be fully removed until after the restart.

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15 Posts

September 16th, 2012 00:00

Thanks for the reply, but please re-read my post.  I've already done that.   The issue is that Dell pre-installs McAfee and new customers that don't want it, waste a lot of time removing the program and then find there is still one more thing to do.  It appears this is a Windows 7 thing.  Dell should either not pre-install, or have a simple solution.

Click on double arrow in taskbar > click "customize" > mcagent still there after both removal processes.

SOLUTION for Windows 7 (not recommended for novices):  Using Ccleaner (piriform.com), go to Cleaner, go to Advanced, click Tray Notification Cache, Click Analyze, Run Cleaner.  Close Ccleaner.  Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete, click Start task Manager, click Processes, right click explorer.exe, end process (desktop will disappear),  Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete, on right side see red button, press and restart.  mcagent should be gone from Notification Area Icons.

15 Posts

September 16th, 2012 09:00

The issue was related to "How to remove mcagent.exe from Notification Area Icons", not how to remove mcagent.exe.  If you read elsewhere in the Dell Community, that is a two step process.  These are two different issues and solutions.

RE:

Hi Dell- M,

your solution worked for me thanks!!!!

41 Posts

September 16th, 2012 09:00

Hi Dell- M,

your solution worked for me thanks!!!!

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