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How to uninstall MinKNOW Software for the MinION Mk1B and the P2-Solo Devices?

How to uninstall MinKNOW Software for the MinION Mk1B and the P2-Solo Devices?

Please note: Local Administrator account privilege is required for full uninstallation and reinstallation of MinKNOW for Mk1B and P2-Solo.

You can download the latest version of the software here.


For Windows

  1. Move reads to another folder, and delete the 'Data' Folder
  2. Uninstall **MinKNOW **(please make sure to do a full uninstallation from the drop-down menu during the uninstall process) and Microsoft Visual C++ from your computer control panel.
  3. Delete any previous versions of MinKNOW installer that could be in your downloads folder (please check other folders for any previous installers).
  4. Click Start, type "%appdata%" (without quotes), and press enter. In the window that opens, please delete the "mkw" and "minknow" folders.
  5. Reboot your computer then re-download and install the MinKNOW software. During installation please select to do a 'full installation'.

For MacOS

  1. Download the MinKNOW dmg file
  2. Remove /Application/MinKNOW.app
  3. Remove /Library/LaunchDaemons/mk\_manager\_svc.plist
  4. Restart your Mac
  5. Mount MinKNOW dmg file and install MinKNOW software
  6. Start the MinKNOW software
  7. Check that /Library/LaunchDaemons/mk\_manager\_svc.plist is created. If mk\_manager\_svc.plist is not created, restart MinKNOW
  8. Start “Activity Monitor” and check that mk\_manager\_svc is running. If it is not started, restart MinKNOW. If mk\_manager\_svc is still not started, reboot your Mac
  9. If showing "MinKNOW cannot connect to host", open a terminal and type: cd /Applications/MinKNOW/Contents/Resources followed by sudo bin/mk\_manager\_svc and make sure you don't close the terminal window. Refresh MinKNOW GUI by pressing Cmd + R
  10. Plug in your MinION. Wait for 10 seconds. Press Cmd + R. Wait for 10 to 20 seconds and see if your MinION gets listed.
  11. If your MinION does not show up, again press Cmd + R and wait for the screen update. If it still does not show up, try a different USB port

For Linux

  1. Open terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T)
  2. Enter these commands one by one and press "Y" when required. For CPU MinKNOW:
sudo apt purge ont-standalone-minknow-release
sudo apt autoremove

For GPU MinKNOW:

sudo apt purge ont-standalone-minknow-gpu-release
sudo apt autoremove
  1. Follow the instructions here to install MinKNOW?from-support)
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