McAfee is a pain to be rid of completely.

I would recommend  doing a fresh install of windows ,it's the only way to rid yourself of it completely.

Yes it's time consuming but it won't trouble you again.

I only use the MSoft built in antivirus and Malwarebytes ,they don't conflict and work well.

There are instructions on the McAfee site about removing the software, and even points out a procedure if it was preinstalled on a system.  There is a comment about activating the preinstall prior to removing.  Possibly, so it can remove all traces, such as in the registry.

I just got a new license for it and did a clean install on three of my systems.  It is a learning curve and can be very confusing trying to keep track of what it is doing.  Currently, I have it set so I can see and approve of what it does with items it wants to block.

Thanks, but I did try following their instructions and activating it as well as using their removal tool and it didn't help, I still had the same issues as soon as McAfee was uninstalled. In the end I did as pl66 suggested and did a fresh install of windows and updated the drivers myself and so far everything is running well. I wish Dell would just allow people to opt out of having McAfee preinstalled, it's a really hostile program and led to a very frustrating experience.

HandsomeBWonderful

Happy to have helped , thanks for the kudo.