How to properly remove or disable Search Server Express?

Question

I am working with an environment that is using SharePoint Foundation 2010 and Search Server Express. Due to a third party tool not supporting Search Server Express I would like to go back to using the SharePoint Foundation search.

In a previous attempt (different environment) to remove Search Server Express we went ahead and uninstalled it via control panel. This resulted in SharePoint more or less breaking and needing to reinstall/reconfigure and attach the content database to the new farm.

Since I believe the above method to be a bad idea and not at all ideal, I am thinking that its possible I can simply turn off the service and remove the service application and then enable the SharePoint Foundation search and be good to go.

The problem I am facing is I know for a fact that the time it would take to set up an environment for testing and then to actually test this process would take me much more time then just performing the work since the environments I have for dev and test are 2010 enterprise with standard search and the environment in question does not have a dev or test environment. To help save on time (total hours, not time elapsed) I thought I would reach out to the community to see if anyone has tried this or knows of a better way to remove or disable search server express.

What is the best way to remove or disable search server express? Is the solution I propose above a working one that someone has actually tested?

Answer 1

This is a problem we have encountered time and time again. Downgrading SharePoint is a pain in the proverbials...

Basically the only known way of doing this is backing up your data, removing and reinstalling SharePoint on the machine in question. So as you said the solution is:

"In a previous attempt (different environment) to remove Search Server Express we went ahead and uninstalled it via control panel. This resulted in SharePoint more or less breaking and needing to reinstall/reconfigure and attach the content database to the new farm."

It may seem like a bad idea, but it is a valid strategy and easily implemented.

Your alternate solution:

"I am thinking that its possible I can simply turn off the service and remove the service application and then enable the SharePoint Foundation search and be good to go."

Seems fine in Theory but it is breaking because of the Keys involved, nothing to do with services. (That's my experience anyway and 2008 was worse than 2010 uninstalling broke the server) [update]

However after our chat, it is the firm belief that just disabling the service and enabling foundation search wouldn't break SharePoint as long as it is fully disabled and all indexes removed first.

The funny thing is Microsofts download page of the product for Uninstalling this [here] just says to remove from control panel. (Anyone reading this, don't do this.)