Performing a Clean Uninstall
SOLIDWORKS: Performing a Clean Uninstall
On the rare occasion that you need to fully remove SOLIDWORKS, you will want to carefully and precisely follow the procedure detailed in this document. This need is considered “rare” because in most situations, SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager can complete upgrades cleanly. This procedure will be useful for anyone wishing to manually scrub a machine for repurposing, or for corrupt installs not resolved with a repair, therefore requiring a complete re-install of the software and all related components.
(Please note that a complete system reformat will accomplish the same goal and may be faster, but will affect ALL installed programs, not just SOLIDWORKS).
Access Programs and Features through Windows Control Panel
Select the SOLIDWORKS application that you wish to remove and choose Uninstall. When the Installation Manager launches, you will see a Windows reboot message. Select OK to Continue the installation.
(Note: If the application you wish to uninstall does not show up in Programs and Features, see the end of this document).
Choose Product
Choose which SOLIDWORKS products to uninstall by checking the correlating box. Next to Advanced Options towards the bottom of the Installation Manager window, choose CHANGE.
Select Items to Uninstall
Under Advance Options, choose to remove: Program Files and Folders, Registry Entries, Data and File Folders, and Download Files and Folders. Select back to Summary.
Review Summary
Reboot if Necessary
When you continue the uninstall process, you will be prompted that a reboot may be necessary. Click Yes to Continue.
Complete Uninstall
SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager will alert you when the uninstall process is complete. Click OK.
(Note: If the uninstall process does not complete successfully, see the end of this document).
Remove any Registry Locations that Remain
Next, we will want to manually go through and remove (or rename and delete later) any registry locations that remain. To access Windows Registry Editor, begin typing ‘regedit’ in the Windows search on your task bar. Choose to Run as administrator.
Note: Prior to making any changes to the registry, it is a good idea to create and save a backup. Go to File – Export in the Registry Editor. Save your backup*.reg file so that you can easily find it if necessary.
Delete Entries
Navigate to and Delete (or rename to *_old and delete later) the following registry entries if they exist:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SolidWorks
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Dassault Systemes\Composer
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\eDrawings
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\srac
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SolidWorks
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Dassault Systemes\Composer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\eDrawings
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Srac
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\SolidWorks
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Dassault Systemes\Composer
Remove File Locations
Next, we will want to manually remove any file locations that remain. Navigate to and Delete the following file folders if they exist:
C:\Program Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp
C:\Program Files (x86)\SOLIDWORKS Corp
C:\Program Files (x86)\SOLIDWORKS PDM
C:\ProgramData\SOLIDWORKS
C:\ProgramData\SOLIDWORKS Electrical
C:\SOLIDWORKS Data
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\SolidWorks
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\SOLIDWORKS
***If you are scrubbing your computer to repurpose, restart your PC now. The SOLIDWORKS clean uninstall process is complete***
Uninstall Prerequisite Components
If you are planning to reinstall SOLIDWORKS and you suspect that is some corruption of pre-reqs may be causing you some issues or instability, you will want to uninstall all prerequisite components as well. They are as follows:
- Bonjour
- All Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables (this will likely be multiple versions, as old as 2005)
- All Microsoft VSTA (Visual Studio Tools for Applications)
Restart Computer
Once all prerequisite programs have been successfully removed, restart your computer.
Begin Clean Installation
You are now ready to begin your clean SOLIDWORKS installation. For assistance with installing, see SOLIDWORKS Technical Guides under SUPPORT at MLC-CAD.com
We hope you found this article clear and helpful. If you have feedback or want to request for more information, let us know!