Skip to content
English
Contact us
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Clean Uninstall and Reinstall of NovaBACKUP (Advanced Method)

Remove all traces of NovaBACKUP, including services, registry entries, and license files, and reinstall it.

This article explains how to remove every trace of NovaBACKUP from a computer (program files, settings, services, registry entries, and license files) and then install it again. Use it when a normal uninstall, upgrade, or installation fails, or when settings appear to be damaged. It applies to NovaBACKUP 22 and 21.x. For a standard uninstall, see Clean Uninstall of NovaBACKUP (Simple Method).

Important: This removes your backup jobs, settings, logs, and license activation. It does not delete the backups on your backup devices. Before you start, write down your license key, and the encryption key of every backup device, so you can restore from those backups after you reinstall.

Prerequisites

  • Administrator rights on the computer.
  • Your NovaBACKUP license key.
  • The encryption key of each backup device you want to use again.

Step 1: Stop NovaBACKUP

  1. Close NovaBACKUP, and the legacy interface if it is open.
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager, and open the Details tab.
  3. If any of these processes are still running, select each one and select End task: 
    NovaBACKUP.exe
BackupClient.Service.exe
ManagementServer.Agent.Service.exe
NovaBackX.exe
nsCtrl.exe
nsService.exe
engine.exe
vssnbk.exe
LogCollector.exe
DRBackup.exe
drdiag.exe

Step 2: Uninstall NovaBACKUP

  1. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps (Windows 11) or Control Panel > Programs and Features (Windows 10 and Windows Server).
  2. Select Uninstall for NovaBACKUP, and select Remove in NovaBACKUP setup.
  3. Select the Remove all logs and media indexes check box, and complete the uninstall.
  4. If Disaster Recovery Drivers is also listed (computers that had NovaBACKUP 21.x or older), uninstall it too.

If the uninstall fails or NovaBACKUP is not listed, continue with the next steps anyway.

Step 3: Remove leftover services

  1. Open a Command Prompt as administrator.
  2. Check for each NovaBACKUP service, and delete any that still exist: 
    sc query "Backup Client"
sc delete "Backup Client"
sc delete "Backup Client Agent Service"
sc delete nsService
sc delete nsMountService
sc delete nbksrv
sc delete "Disaster Recovery Imaging"

sc query reports error 1060 for a service that does not exist, and sc delete does the same. You can ignore that error.

Step 4: Delete the program and data folders

C:\Program Files\NovaStor\NovaStor NovaBACKUP\
C:\ProgramData\NovaStor\NovaStor NovaBACKUP\
C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\NovaStor
C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\NovaStor_Corporation

Tip: Instead of deleting C:\ProgramData\NovaStor\NovaStor NovaBACKUP\, rename it (for example to NovaStor NovaBACKUP.old). It holds your backup jobs and settings, so you can still look them up later.

C:\ProgramData and AppData are hidden folders. Paste the path into the File Explorer address bar, or show hidden folders: select View > Show > Hidden items (Windows 11) or select Hidden items on the View tab (Windows 10 and Windows Server).

Step 5: Delete the license and activation files

In C:\ProgramData, delete all NovaBACKUP license files with the .lic extension, and the file nsActivation.act. Uninstalling does not remove them. They are protected system files, so to see them you also have to clear Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) on the View tab of the File Explorer Options. For details, see How to Delete and Recreate the NovaBACKUP License, Activation, and Registration Files.

Step 6: Delete the registry keys

Important: Changing the registry incorrectly can damage Windows. Delete only the keys listed here.

In Registry Editor (regedit.exe), delete these keys if they exist:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\NovaStor\NovaStor NovaBACKUP
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\NovaStor\NovaStor NovaBACKUP
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Backup Client
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Backup Client Agent Service
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nsService
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Disaster Recovery Imaging

NovaBACKUP 21.x and older only: The registry file NBK_NovaBACKUP_x64_Remove.reg (also as a ZIP file) removes the known registry entries of those versions, including their Windows Installer registrations. NBK_DRDrivers_Remove.reg (ZIP) removes the old Disaster Recovery Drivers registration. Download the file, double-click it, and confirm the prompts with Yes. The files only work for the default installation folder, and they do not cover NovaBACKUP 22.

Step 7: Restart the computer

Restart Windows. This is required to finish removing the services and drivers. After the restart, run sc query "Backup Client" and sc query nsService again. Both should report error 1060.

Reinstall NovaBACKUP

  1. Temporarily turn off your antivirus software and any third-party firewall.
  2. Download the latest version from novabackup.com/downloads.
  3. Right-click the setup file, select Run as administrator, and install NovaBACKUP with the default settings. Restart if setup asks you to.
  4. Activate your license during setup, or later in NovaBACKUP under About > Edit registration. See Installing and Activating NovaBACKUP 22.
  5. Turn your antivirus software and firewall back on.
  6. Add your backup devices again with their original encryption keys, and import the existing backups so you can restore from them.

If the installation stops at the activation step with an error, see NovaBACKUP client Installer fails on activation; workaround install via command line.

If the installation still fails

Run setup again from a Command Prompt opened as administrator, with logging turned on:

Setup-NB-Server-Agent.exe /Log /ComponentArgs "Backup Client":"/l*v C:\setuplog.txt"

Use the name of the setup file you downloaded. This writes the setup log dotNetInstallerLog.txt to your %TEMP% folder and the installer log to C:\setuplog.txt. Send both to NovaBACKUP Support, together with a Log Collector file (see How to Collect and Send Logs with the NovaBACKUP Log Collector). Contact Support before you search for and delete further registry entries by hand.

Related articles

Still Need Help?

Contact NovaBACKUP Support: