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      How to Disable Actifile on a Server Using PowerShell

      When troubleshooting or managing Actifile on a server, you may need to temporarily disable it or remove its components. This guide walks you through the process of disabling Actifile using PowerShell and removing the associated filter driver.

      PowerShell Script 

      To disable Actifile, run this PowerShell script as an administrator:

      Stop-Service "Actifile Updater"
      Stop-Service "Actifile Agent"
      Set-Service -Name "Actifile Updater" -StartupType Manual
      Set-Service -Name "Actifile Agent" -StartupType Manual
      fltmc unload EaseFilter
      remove-item -Path $Env:WinDir\System32\drivers\EaseFlt.sys -Force
      fltmc filters
      Disable-ActifileDownload

      Download the script

      In some cases, the Actifile Agent may take a moment to stop. If it remains active, force-terminate the process:

      Stop-Service "Actifile Updater"
      Stop-Process -Name AFAgentService -Force

      After running these commands, you can choose to uninstall Actifile or leave it installed for future scans. To re-enable Actifile for the next scan, simply restart the Actifile Updater service.

      Step-by-Step Walkthrough to Disable Actifile

      Step 1. Disable the two Actifile services in this order:

      1. Actifile Updater
      2. Actifile Agent

      You can stop them manually via Services.msc or use PowerShell:

      Stop-Service "Actifile Updater"
      Stop-Service "Actifile Agent"

      Step 2. Prevent Actifile from automatically restarting by setting both services to manual start mode:

      Set-Service -Name "Actifile Agent" -StartupType Manual
      Set-Service -Name "Actifile Updater" -StartupType Manual

      Important: It’s important to set the services to manual or disabled; otherwise, they will automatically reinstall the filter driver upon reboot.

      Step 3. Run the following commands to unload and delete the filter driver:

      fltmc unload EaseFilter
      remove-item -Path $Env:WinDir\System32\drivers\EaseFlt.sys -Force

      Step 4 (optional). Confirm that the EaseFilter driver is no longer present by running:

      fltmc filters

      Check the output to ensure no entry starting with "EaseFilter" exists.

      What If the Machine Is Unresponsive?

      If the server becomes unresponsive and cannot execute the PowerShell commands, follow these steps:

      Step 1. Restart the system in Safe Mode. This mode disables Actifile services and the minifilter driver.
      Step 2. Manually delete the filter driver:

        • Open the Command Prompt in administrator mode.

        • Navigate to the drivers folder:

           cd C:\Windows\System32\drivers

        • Delete the driver:

           del easeflt.sys

      Step 3. Reboot the system. The machine should start normally without the Actifile filter driver.

      Re-Enabling Actifile

      If you need to re-enable Actifile for a new scan, simply restart the Actifile Updater service:

      Start-Service "Actifile Updater"