How to Complete a Clean Install and Uninstall of Autodesk products

Written by Fadi Matti on . Posted in Autodesk, Knowledge Base, Tech Tips.

Issue:

There may be circumstances where Autodesk products need to be removed from the workstation to allow for a clean installation. There may some residual files that that have been corrupted during an installation or some files may be preventing .

The following process will ensure all residual files are properly removed as well.

Solution:

Use the following procedure to uninstall Autodesk products and remove any remnants from your system. The result is a clean system on which you can reinstall.

Substitute the product name below based on the  product you are uninstalling:

Substitute the current Windows login name for %username%.

Be sure to back up any custom family or template files prior to following this procedure.

  1. Log on as a Local System Administrator and disable any Antivirus programs.
  2. Remove the specific product by going the start menu > All programmes > Uninstall tool.  Select the product that you wish to uninstall from your system.
  3. Use Windows Explorer to locate and delete the following folders as appropriate:

Windows Windows 7:
•  C:Program FilesAutodeskProduct name.
•  C:ProgramDataAutodesksoftware name of abbreviation of product name (Revit for instance is listed as RVT)
•  C:Users%username%AppDataLocalAutodeskProduct name.
•  C:Users%username%AppDataRoamingAutodeskProduct name.

Windows XP:
•  C:Program FilesAutodeskProduct name.
•  C:Documents and Settings%username%Application DataAutodesksoftware name of abbreviation of product name (Revit for instance is listed as RVT)
•  C:Documents and Settings%username%Local SettingsApplication DataAutodeskProduct name.
•  C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataAutodesksoftware name of abbreviation of product name (Revit for instance is listed as RVT). Open the system registry (Windows Start menu > Run > Regedit). Locate and delete the following registry keys as appropriate.

4. Now open the the registry editor by going to the start menu and then typing regedit into the search bar (this is the same is WIN7, WIN8 and WIN10):

Windows XP/Windows 7 32 bit:
•  HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareAutodeskProduct name.
•  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREAutodeskProduct name.
•  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREAutodeskProduct name.

Windows XP/Windows 7 64 bit:
•  HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareAutodeskProduct name.
•  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREAutodeskProduct name.
•  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREAutodeskProduct name.

Warning! Problems caused by improperly editing the Windows registry could render your computer operating system unusable. We recommend going into the file menu in Regedit and use the export feature to save off a copy. Microsoft provides a wealth of critical information that you need to know about the registry in the Microsoft Knowledge Base at http://support.microsoft.com.

Use the Microsoft® Registry Editor only at your own risk and only after backing up the registry as well as the system.dat and user.dat files as outlined for your operating system in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and in the related solution, TS66513. Additional information about the registry is also contained in the Help topics in the Microsoft Registry Editor.

  1. Restart the workstation.

Before reinstalling Autodesk  products

  1. In Windows Explorer, delete the contents of your Windows Temp folder, but do not delete the Windows Temp folder itself. You can locate the Temp folder by entering %TEMP% in the Address bar of Windows Explorer.
  2. Use the End Task feature to end any anti-virus programs.

Note: Disabling anti-virus programs from the system tray may not be sufficient. Virus checking programs may block certain activities that are seen as suspicious (for example, accessing the registry, adding/removing/updating DLL files, and so on), even though these activities are common when installing or removing programs.

Several anti-virus programs can be disabled by right-clicking the taskbar icon and selecting Disable from the shortcut menu. For more information about disabling your anti-virus software, refer to the vendor of that software.

Important! It is important that you not only disable the anti-virus software but also use the End Task feature to end the anti-virus software.

To verify that an anti-virus program is not still running in the background as a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident Program):

Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7

  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.

You are now ready to install Autodesk products on the clean system.

Do you need help?

As a valued subscription customer of Cadgroup, we invite you to contact us if you feel that you need assistance with any of the above steps. Please contact us on 1300 765 654 or email us on support@cadgroup.com.au