MyDoggieJessie (1/15/2013)
Gail, I sincerely appreciate your insight. One last point to clarify:Restore master, that will recreate all the user DBs that the old instance had (providing you left the files exactly where they were)
Since I am moving the databases to a new physical location, before I begin the uninstall, couldn't I update the locations in the Master DB, perform the Master DB Full backup, "then" continue with uninstalling SQL Server.
That could work. Start by backing up the user databases, run the ALTER DATABASE statements (make very sure you get them right), backup master, model, msdb and then shut the instance down.
Make very, very sure that you get the locations correct in the system catalogs and that the user DB files are there before you restore master on the reinstalled instance.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability