Preamble:
Like many others, I experienced some serious problems after installing Comodo Personal Firewall 2.4 (Free). In addition to system instability (BSOD with IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL shutdown message), critcally, I lost all LAN and Internet facilities after uninstalling, (including when trying to upgrade to v3.2). I was close to abandoning Comodo altogether.
I only recovered because I have the ability to replace a defunct OS with a working clone
(thanks to hours invested in mastering XXClone).
This I cannot readily do in the other PC in my LAN.
My PC:
Two 80GB HDs, each with several partitions, for clones, work backup etc etc.
Several versions of XP Pro SP2, including basic XP, all bootable.
Antivirus : AVG and ability to surf internet in Sandbox (Sandboxie.com - highly recommended).
I spent hours and hours researching this forum which produced some clues.
I did several experiments with one of my bootable basic XP Pro SP2 installations,
which only had a few utilities:
- Win Patrol (2007), RegSeeker (1.55), XXClone (v58), and most important UPHClean.
- Also has ERUNT for registry backup, which is invaluable - (XP System Restore is Disabled)
I offer the following method for clean uninstallation of CPF 2.4.18.184
(NOTE: This was on the Basic version of XP Pro SP2,
with all MS UpDates and no Antivirus Application)
- ERUNT (or System Restore Point)
- Turn off Comodo self protection of files and registry
(Security > Advanced > Miscellaneous > Configure) - Win Patrol - disable Comodo startup - and Comodo App Agent in XP Services
- Re-boot -
- Win Patrol - confirm no Comodo Startup nor Service ;(windows Firewall should now be ON)
- Uninstall Comodo via Start menu > Programs > Comodo > Firewall > Uninstall
- Re-Boot - (LAN & Internet should be functional - with Win Firewall ON)
- ERUNT (or System Restore Point)
Cleanup:
8) XP Explorer:
%SYSTEM%\Program Files\Comodo - delete folder (Should be Empty)
%SYSTEM%\Docs&Setts\All Users\AppData\Comodo - delete folder
%SYSTEM%\Docs&Setts%USER%\AppData\Comodo - delete folder
9) Regedit: Find Comodo, cmdagent, cmdmon, inspect, - and remove all entries.
Reboot - confirm All OK
10)RegSeeker: Clean Registry, then search for Comodo, cmdagent, cmdmon, inspect,- and remove.
(In my test Regseeker found 17 more Comodo, 4 more cmdmon and 5 more cmdagent.)
I do hope this info helps others, then my investment in time will not be entirely wasted.
I now have v3.2 running on my day-to-day system, which appears to be quite stable.
Best Wishes to the Comodo Team
Maurice