Uninstall Desktop Connector

Topics in this section

Overview

If you are updating your version of Desktop Connector, refer to Update Desktop Connector for more information.

Uninstall Desktop Connector

To perform a clean uninstall:

  1. Close all Autodesk software (for example, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Revit).

  2. On the Taskbar > System Tray > right-click Desktop Connector Online Icon and select Exit.

  3. Run the Reset Utility:

    • See Reset Utility for detailed instructions.
    • Important: After running the Reset Utility, verify that you see the green success message.

    Reset utility completed

  4. Uninstall Desktop Connector:

    • Go to Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Programs and Features and Uninstall Desktop Connector.

      DC-Uninstall Connector

Verify Reset Utility success

After running the Reset Utility, you can verify that it successfully cleaned up your system by checking the following locations. These locations should be automatically cleaned up by the Reset Utility.

Workspace folders

Verify the following folders have been deleted (to quickly navigate to your user profile folder type %userprofile% in the File Explorer address bar):

Local workspace

Verify the local Desktop Connector workspace has been emptied. The default workspace locations are:

For Desktop Connector v16.x and v17.x:

For Desktop Connector v15.x:

Note: If these folders still have files in them after running the Reset Utility and you did not see the green success message, you may need to run the Reset Utility again. If the issue persists, see the Manual Cleanup section below.

Important: When upgrading from v15.x to v16.x (any connector type) or from v16.x to v17.x (Fusion connector only), ensure all workspace folders are deleted before installing the new version.

Registry Keys

Verify the following registry keys have been deleted:

To check, open the Windows Registry Editor (REGEDIT) and navigate to these locations. They should not exist after running the Reset Utility.

DC-Uninstall Connector

Note: If these registry keys still exist after running the Reset Utility and you did not see the green success message, you may need to run the Reset Utility again. If the issue persists, see the Manual Cleanup section below.

Manual cleanup (last resort only)

Important: The manual cleanup steps below should only be used in extreme cases when the standard uninstall process (Exit Desktop Connector → Run Reset Utility → Uninstall) has failed. The Reset Utility is the recommended approach for uninstalling Desktop Connector.

Expand for Manual Cleanup Steps

Microsoft Uninstall Troubleshooter

Use the Microsoft Uninstall Troubleshooter only if the Reset Utility and standard uninstall through Control Panel has failed.

If Desktop Connector is not listed in Microsoft Uninstall Troubleshooter, select "Not Listed" in the tool, and use the following GUID code to force a cleanup (GUID code is unique for each version):

Manual workspace deletion

If the Reset Utility failed and you need to manually delete workspace folders:

Delete the following folders (to quickly navigate to your user profile folder type %userprofile% in file explorer address bar):

Delete the local Desktop Connector workspace:

For Desktop Connector v16.x and v17.x:

For Desktop Connector v15.x:

Note: If Windows Explorer will not let you delete the workspace, open up the command line window and navigate to the root project folder, then type: rd /s /q DC while you are in the folder preceding the workspace.

DC-Uninstall Connector

Manual Registry deletion

Important: Use the Microsoft® Registry Editor at your own risk. Remember to back up the registry, system.dat, and user.dat files as guided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and Back up System Registry.

  1. Open the Windows Registry Editor (REGEDIT).

    DC-Uninstall Connector

  2. Delete the following registry keys:

    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Autodesk Desktop Connector
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Desktop Connector

  3. Restart the computer before reinstalling Desktop Connector.

Related Concepts:

Previous page: Reset Utility