Technical Tip: How to download FortiClient and FCRemove.exe from support.fortinet.com

[Anonymous]

Description

This article describes how to download the FortiClient VPN installer and the FCRemove.exe from the Fortinet website.

Scope

FortiGate, FortiClient.

Solution

Go to support.fortinet.com, then log in. Go to Support -> Firmware Download.

Select the product as FortiClient (It is mandatory to have an EMS License for the FortiClient EMS. If there is no license, the FortiClient feature remains enabled for 30 days only). 

Free 30-day VPN access

Select 'Download', then select the appropriate directory considering the device OS (i.e., MAC, Windows, etc.) and the desired FortiClient version. In this guide, the Windows directory is chosen, and the drive to the version to download.

Note: FCRemove tool is version-specific. For example, download FortiClientTools_7.0.6 to uninstall FortiClient version 7.0.6.

Select 'HTTPS' to download the file.

 

Download the FortiClient Remove tool.

• Log in to the Support Portal at support.fortinet.com and go to Download -> Firmware Images.
• Select FortiClient as a product and browse to the appropriate version (for example, FortiClient/Windows/v7.00/7.0.6/).
• Download FortiClientTools.
• Inside the archive, find the FCRemove utility.

FortiClientTools_7.0.6.0290\SupportUtils\FCRemove.exe.

Detailed Steps:

1. Download the FCRemove.exe tool from the support website (Support -> Firmware Download -> FortiClient -> Download -> Select the version -> Select  HTTPS next to the FortiClientTools). Note that 'pop-ups' must be allowed by the web browser for the download to work.
2. Unzip the file and locate the FCRemove.exe tool under the Utils folder.
3. Put the tool somewhere within the file system (Desktop, temp, etc).
4. Boot the machine in Safe Mode:

• Open the Run command prompt and enter msconfig.
• Select the Boot tab and check the Safe Boot box.
• Hit OK and restart the machine.

5. When booted into Safe mode, open the Windows command line as Administrator.

6. Run FCRemove.exe.

7. When FortiClient gets deleted, repeat the steps outlined in step 4, but this time uncheck the Safe Mode box.

8. Reboot the machine.

If a MAC machine is used, make sure to boot the machine in Safe Mode and follow the above steps.

Manual Method: Uninstall FortiClient and remove leftover files.

1. Open the Windows Add/Remove Programs tool:
   Option A: Go to Control Panel -> Programs and Features.
   Option B: Press Win + R, type 'appwiz.cpl', and press Enter.
2. From the list of installed programs, locate FortiClient and uninstall it.
3. After uninstalling, delete any remaining folders from the following locations:

C:\Program Files\Fortinet
C:\ProgramData\Fortinet
C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Fortinet or %localappdata%\Fortinet
C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Roaming\Fortinet or %appdata%\Fortinet

4. Open Registry Editor and remove any leftover registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Fortinet
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Fortinet

5. Then Reboot.

Related articles:

Technical Tip: How to uninstall a managed FortiClient in Windows Machines

Technical Tip: How to manually download Firmware of FortiGate and how to upload it on FortiGate

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