Update: Manually removing IMF v1

by Bharat Suneja

Scott Schnoll has an update regarding the recent post Intelligent Message Filter (IMF) v1 download removed from microsoft.com, and the issue of not being able to remove IMF v1 from Add/Remove Programs (if one doesn’t remember which account was used to install it or the account is no longer available) without reinstalling it. Here’s the process to manually remove IMF v1 as documented in Microsoft Exchange Server Intelligent Message Filter v2 Operations Guide [available here].

To manually remove Intelligent Message Filter v1:
1. Stop all Exchange services (Information Store, System Attendant, SMTP, and Exchange-aware antivirus services).
2. Rename the MSCFV1 folder in X:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin, where X is the drive letter where Exchange Server is installed.
3. Rename the ContentFilter.dll file in \Exchsrvr\bin\
4. Open Regedit and export the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Exchange
5. Delete the ControlFilterVersion subkey from the registry.
6. Restart the server. You should now be able to install Exchange Server 2003 SP2 without errors.

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

Richard Tubb July 11, 2007 at 12:05 am

Thankyou Bharat – this solution saved me during a problematic SBS R2 re-install today! :-)

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Anonymous July 27, 2008 at 12:36 am

Will give it a go in 3 minutes.

See what happens.

BR Jure

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Anonymous August 25, 2008 at 8:19 am

If this doesn’t work does anyone know of another solution?

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Anonymous September 20, 2008 at 3:01 am

Thanks, this worked realy wel! :)

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qlinden April 17, 2009 at 7:14 am

This Guy is my new hero, Thanx a millloin!

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Anonymous June 4, 2009 at 12:20 pm

Steps 2 and 3 could not be found but the registry entry was there and that is all it took for me to continue on with the SP2 update. Bizarre!

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Anonymous January 28, 2010 at 1:08 pm

Just a rant – in the registry, delete the VALUE "ControlFilterVersion" – it's not a SUBKEY…

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Anonymous April 6, 2010 at 3:54 pm

Actually its not ControlFilterVersion. Its ContentFilterVersion. ;)

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