How to uninstall or disable Apple Remote Desktop 2 or 3
Summary
Sometimes you may need to uninstall or disable Apple Remote Desktop 2 or 3 for maintenance tasks. Follow the steps below for both client and administrator computers.
Warning: This article provides advice on Terminal commands that must be entered exactly as shown. Misuse of the "rm" command, such as by mistyping a pathname, can result in data loss up to and including all information on the hard disk. Consider performing a routine backup before using these steps.
Products Affected
Apple Remote Desktop 2.x, Apple Remote Desktop 3.X
Administration software
To remove the administrator software:
- Drag the Remote Desktop application to the Trash.
- Empty the Trash.
- Delete the ARD database from /var/db/RemoteManagement/ by executing these commands in Terminal:
sudo rm -rf /var/db/RemoteManagement
sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteDesktop.plist
rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteDesktop.plist
For Apple Remote Desktop 3, run these commands in Terminal as well:
sudo rm -r /Library/Application\ Support/Apple/Remote\ Desktop/
rm -r ~/Library/Application\ Support/Remote\ Desktop/
Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4 clients
Normally, you should not try to remove Apple Remote Desktop from Mac OS X 10.3 or later clients, because it is an integral part of the operating system. Simply disable the client in Sharing preferences, if desired.
However, if you installed Apple Remote Desktop 3 (admin or client) and wish to revert to Apple Remote Desktop 2, use the Terminal commands listed below in the 10.2 section, then reinstall Apple Remote Desktop 2.
Mac OS X 10.2 clients
To disable Apple Remote Desktop client software:
- On the client computer, open System Preferences and click Remote Desktop. If necessary, click the lock button to authenticate as an administrator of that computer.
- Deselect "Make Apple Remote Desktop active on this computer."
- Deselect the checkbox of each account that was enabled for ARD. (Alternatively, you can open Terminal and use the kill command to stop the ARDHelper process, followed by the ARDAgent process.)
To Remove Apple Remote Desktop, execute these commands in Terminal:
sudo rm -rf /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu\ Extras/RemoteDesktop.menu
sudo rm -rf /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/
sudo rm -rf /System/Library/PreferencePanes/ARDPref.prefPane
sudo rm -rf /System/Library/StartupItems/RemoteDesktopAgent/
sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.ARDAgent.plist
sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteManagement.plist
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