Decommissioning Reference

This section contains detailed instructions for decommissioning your system. For an overview, see Decommission.

notice

UNINTENDED DATA LOSS OR LOSS OF SOFTWARE FUNCTION

● Only decommission PME systems that are no longer needed.
● Archive important PME data and files before decommissioning. You cannot recover, reinstall, or otherwise retrieve any part of PME after decommissioning.

Failure to follow these instructions can result in irreversible damage to software and databases.

Choose Destroy or Overwrite to decommission your system.

You must decommission PME on all PME Servers, Database Servers, and PME Clients.

Decommissioning does not completely restore your computers to the state they were in before PME was installed. Decommissioning does not remove third-party software used by PME (for instance, the .NET framework), even if this software was installed using the PME installer.

NOTE: Decommissioning will not remove PME data that has been exported from PME or PME information in third-party software. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Data exported to other systems using EcoStruxure Web Services (EWS), OPC DA server, ETL, ODBC, PQDIF or VIP.
  • Registration information shared with Schneider Electric.
  • Diagnostics and Usage data sent to Schneider Electric.
  • System information sent to Schneider Electric for licensing.
  • Archived configurations created with the Configuration Manager.
  • PME System Key exported from the Installer.
  • PME information configured in third-party allowlisting software.
  • Files or data copied, backed-up, exported, or otherwise saved to a file location other than the PME folder.

Destroy

warning

hazard of physical injury

● Do not destroy hard drives without the proper safety training.
● Never burn a hard drive, put a hard drive in a microwave, or pour acid on a hard drive.

Failure to follow these instructions can result in death or serious injury.

NOTE: If you do not have the proper safety training, consult your IT department to select an asset disposal company.

To destroy hard drives:

  1. Identify all computers where PME is installed. In a Distributed Database architecture, this includes all PME Servers, Database Servers, and PME Clients.
  2. Remove all hard drives from the computers identified in the previous step.
  3. Destroy each hard drive:
    1. Puncture, shatter, or sand the hard drive plates. Follow local regulations for proper disposal of the hard drive.
    2. or, provide the hard drive to an asset disposal company.

Overwrite

notice

UNINTENDED DATA LOSS OR LOSS OF SOFTWARE FUNCTION

● Only overwrite files and folders from PME.
● Back up important files from other software before overwriting PME.

Failure to follow these instructions can result in irreversible damage to software and databases.

To overwrite PME:

  1. Open the Windows Control Panel and select Programs and Features.
  2. Uninstall PME.
  3. Select and install a data destruction tool. There are many commercial and open-source data destruction tools available. Consult your IT department if you are unsure about which tool to choose.
  4. Detach PME database archives:
    1. Open SQL Server Management Studio, enter your password if required and click Connect to access your SQL Server.
    2. In the Object Explorer pane on the left, expand Databases, right-click the database archive you want to detach and click Tasks > Detach… to open the Detach Database dialog.
    3. In the Detach Database dialog, click OK.
    4. Repeat the above steps for all PME database archives.
  5. Locate your PME folder under Program Files. The PME folder contains the following subfolders:
    • \Applications
    • \config
    • \Database
    • \diagnostic
    • \Diagnostics Tool
    • \License Configuration Tool
    • \Licenses
    • \Setup
    • \SetupLogs
    • \system
    • \Uninst_PowerMonitoringExpert
    • \web
  6. Follow instructions provided with your data destruction tool to overwrite the entire PME folder located in the previous step.
  7. Locate any custom PME files in folders outside of the PME folder. This may include, but is not limited to, following file types:
    • Vista and Designer files: .cfg, .dgm, .wsn, .wsg
    • ION databases and archives: .LDF, .MDF
    • ION database backups: .bak
    • Custom report packs: .rdlc
    • PMESystem Key: .key
  8. Follow instructions provided with your data destruction tool to overwrite the files located in the previous step.
  9. Repeat the steps above on all PME Servers, Database Servers, and PME Clients.