Perform "Clean Uninstall" of AutoDesk Products (Windows)

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If a previous attempt to install or uninstall an Autodesk® product failed and now you are unable to install or reinstall an Autodesk product on the system, it is strongly recommended that you clean your system by uninstalling all Autodesk products and supporting applications (add-ins, utilities, enablers, etc.) before attempting to reinstall the software.

Before you begin

• Back up custom files and configurations: The following procedures are intended to completely remove Autodesk products and related support files from your computer, including customization files such as menus, AutoLISP, PGP files, etc. If you wish to preserve any existing customization, be sure to manually back up those files before starting  

• Restart your computer: Before you start uninstalling your Autodesk products, we recommend you restart your computer system to ensure that any pending Windows operating system updates get applied first.

For most Windows-based Autodesk products, the process of uninstallation can be handled through the Windows Control Panel.
  
1. Open the Control Panel. The process may be different, depending on your Windows version:

2. Select “Uninstall a program” (Windows 7/Windows Vista/Windows 8.1/Windows 10) or “Add or Remove Programs” (Windows XP):

 

Note:  Each Autodesk product is listed separately and must be uninstalled separately. Even if you installed all products in a suite in a single installation, each Autodesk product and related add-in, enabler, bonus pack, or other supporting application must be uninstalled separately.

Uninstall peripheral applications

You should uninstall all related peripheral applications before uninstalling the main application. For example, before you uninstall 3DS Max Design, you should first uninstall the FBX add-in for 3DS Max Design and any other related add-ins; then uninstall the main applications. This also applies to modules such as the VBA enabler, Subscription Advantage packs, and Autodesk material libraries.

Note: When uninstalling the Autodesk material libraries, remember that these libraries are shared across all Autodesk products and should not be removed unless you are removing all Autodesk products from the system.

When uninstalling the material libraries, it's best to uninstall from largest to smallest. Begin by uninstalling the medium resolution image library—if that library is installed on your system — followed by the base resolution image library, and then the Autodesk material library.

Uninstall Autodesk products

After you have uninstalled all peripheral applications, uninstall the main Autodesk products:

1. Select the product to be uninstalled and click the “Uninstall/Change” link (Windows 7/Windows 8.1/Windows10) or the “Change/Remove” button (Windows XP):

 

2. The Autodesk installer opens in maintenance mode, offering several options, including Uninstall.

3. Click Uninstall and click Next to confirm that you want to remove the product from your computer. (If you are prompted to remove shared files, click Yes to All.

4. After the Uninstall is complete, click Finish to close the installer.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 for each Autodesk product to be uninstalled

Note: The uninstall procedure for some Autodesk products may require you to restart the computer when the uninstall has completed. If this is the case, restart the computer as instructed and return to the Control Panel to continue removing any remaining Autodesk products.

Delete remaining Autodesk product files and folders

Warning: The following steps instruct you to delete folders at locations that would affect all installed Autodesk products. These steps assume you have previously uninstalled all Autodesk products and related peripherals and that it is safe to remove those folders.


1. In Windows Explorer, locate and delete the installation folder for each Autodesk product that was uninstalled in the previous procedures. For example: 
C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2015
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2016

2. Delete the following folder:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared 
 

Note: These locations may be different if your operating system is configured to store the Program Files folder on a drive other than C, or if you installed your Autodesk product to another drive and folder name.


3. Delete the following user profile folders (substitute your login name for %username%): 

- Windows 7/ Vista/Windows 8.1 / Windows 10:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Autodesk 
C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk 

- Windows XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\ Application Data\Autodesk
C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk

Windows 7: Depending on your system settings, Windows Explorer may not automatically display all the subfolders under the Users folder. If you cannot find these folders, copy and paste the above folder locations into the Windows Explorer address bar.

Delete remaining Autodesk product entries from the Windows registry

Warning: Improperly editing the Windows registry could render your operating system unusable. Use the Microsoft® Registry Editor at your own risk and only after backing up the registry. Microsoft provides critical information about the registry in the Microsoft Knowledge Base at https://support.microsoft.com/support. See: How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

 

To edit the registry

1. Log on to the workstation as a member of the local Administrators group.

2. Launch the Run dialog: 
- Windows 7 / Vista / Windows 8.1/ Windows 10: Windows key + R 
- Windows XP: Start > Run

3. In the Run dialog, enter REGEDIT in the Open edit field and click OK

 .
4. In the Registry Editor, locate and delete the following subkeys: 
-  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk
-  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Autodesk

 
5. Close the Registry Editor.


6. Restart the computer

Before reinstalling any Autodesk products

At this point, each of the previously installed Autodesk products—along with residual files, folders, and registry settings—should be gone from the system. Before you begin installing or reinstalling products, we recommend you perform the following tasks to help ensure a successful installation:

1. Reboot your computer.

2. In Windows Explorer, delete the contents of your Windows Temp folder. Do not delete the Windows Temp folder itself. You can locate the Temp folder by entering %TEMP%& in the Address bar of Windows Explorer.

3. Close all running applications.

4. Disable any virus-checking software running on your system.Virus-checking applications may block certain common activities detected as suspicious, such as accessing the registry or adding, removing, or updating DLL files. Not only can it slow down the installation process, but it can actually introduce corruption. So make sure that your virus checking software is turned off before you install, and make sure to turn it back on afterwards. Several anti-virus programs can be disabled by right-clicking the system tray icon and selecting Disable from the shortcut menu. (For more information about disabling your anti-virus software, refer to the vendor of that software). In some cases, you may need to use the task manager to end the process for the anti-virus software that is still running.

To verify that an anti-virus program is not still running in the background

1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete.
  
2. Click Task Manager.

3. On the Processes tab of the Task Manager, select the process for the anti-virus program and then click “End Process”.

Advice:

Before reinstall (or install) your AutoDesk products on your computer, it is advisable that o create a restore point. This avoids that, if something goes wrong, you need to do all this process of "clean uninstallation" and you can just restore your computer settings to the point before you start an AutoDesk product installation or reinstallation. Check here to see how create a "Restore Point".  
 
You are now ready to install your Autodesk products on your computer.