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How to Uninstall SOLIDWORKS (Clean Uninstall Guide)

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SolidWorks (officially SOLIDWORKS) is a professional 3D CAD application widely used in mechanical, civil, electrical, and product design. With 3D modeling, 2D drafting, simulation, rendering, and animation tools, a typical installation can consume 20 GB or more of disk space, especially when you add content such as Toolbox, Visualize, and Electrical libraries.

Most of the time you only think about installation, but knowing how to properly uninstall SOLIDWORKS is just as important. A clean uninstall can help when:

  • you need to free up disk space;
  • you are upgrading to a newer major version and want to start from a clean state;
  • the current installation is unstable or corrupted;
  • you are moving the license to another computer.

This guide walks through both the standard uninstall using the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager and optional “clean‑up” steps to remove leftover folders and registry entries.

Before you uninstall SOLIDWORKS

1. Deactivate your SOLIDWORKS license (recommended)

If you use a standalone (machine‑based) license and plan to install SOLIDWORKS on a different computer, deactivate the license first. Simply uninstalling does not automatically free your activation.

To deactivate from within SOLIDWORKS 2020 or newer:

  • Start SOLIDWORKS.
  • Click the ? icon (Help) in the upper‑right corner and choose Licenses > Deactivate….
  • In the Activation Wizard, select the products to deactivate (or click Select All), leave Automatically over the internet selected, enter your email address, and click Next.
  • Wait for the confirmation that deactivation succeeded, then click Finish.

On older versions, the same command may appear as Help > Deactivate Licenses… or Help > Transfer Licenses….

If this PC hosts the SolidNetWork License Manager (network license server), deactivate the server license in the License Manager before uninstalling it.

2. Back up custom files and settings

A complete uninstall can remove data stored in default locations, so back up anything you want to keep:

  • Document templates, sheet formats, weldment profiles, custom materials, design library components.
  • Toolbox/Hole Wizard folder (often C:\SOLIDWORKS Data or similar versioned folder).
  • SOLIDWORKS settings using the Copy Settings Wizard or by exporting the SOLIDWORKS registry branch.
  • Any PDM vault views or Electrical/Composer data if applicable.

3. Prepare Windows

For fewer problems during uninstall:

  • Log in using a Windows account with local administrator rights.
  • Close SOLIDWORKS, PDM, and any other Dassault Systèmes tools.
  • Temporarily pause antivirus/endpoint protection if your IT policy allows it, because some security tools can interfere with installers and uninstallers.
  • Make sure Windows has finished installing updates and reboot if required.

Uninstalling SOLIDWORKS

On Windows 10 and 11 you can uninstall SOLIDWORKS either from Settings > Apps > Installed apps or from the classic Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. Both routes ultimately start the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager, which controls the actual uninstall.

  • Firstly, click the Start button.
  • In the search bar, type Control Panel and open it.

In the Control Panel, under Programs, click Uninstall a program (or Programs and Features).

You will see a list of installed applications. Find the SOLIDWORKS version you want to remove (for example, SOLIDWORKS 2024 SP5). Select it, then right‑click and choose Uninstall or click Uninstall in the toolbar.

The SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager will launch and prepare the removal. Depending on your hardware, it can take a couple of minutes before the Uninstall Summary screen appears.

After the manager has started, you will see the Summary screen listing all detected SOLIDWORKS products (SOLIDWORKS, eDrawings, PDM, Electrical, Composer, etc.). Select all the products you want to uninstall. For a clean removal, select every SOLIDWORKS‑related entry on this page.

Under Advanced Options, click Change. In recent SOLIDWORKS releases you can choose whether the uninstall is standard, custom, or complete by enabling additional options.

In the Advanced Options dialog you will see check boxes for:

  1. Program files and folders
  2. Registry entries
  3. Data files and folders
  4. Download files and folders

These options control what the Installation Manager removes. To perform a complete uninstall, select all of them. Be aware that removing data files and folders can delete default templates, Toolbox data, and other shared content stored in the default locations, so make sure those items are backed up first.

Click Back to Summary to return to the main uninstall screen and review your selections.

Finally, click Remove Items. The uninstall process will begin and remove the selected products and data.

The uninstall may take several minutes depending on how many SOLIDWORKS products and prerequisites are installed. When the process completes, a pop‑up will confirm that the uninstall finished successfully. Click OK, and restart Windows if prompted.

At this stage, SOLIDWORKS and its main components have been removed. However, some files and folders can remain on the system, particularly shared data such as Toolbox, logs, and user‑specific settings. If you are troubleshooting a persistent install problem or want to remove SOLIDWORKS completely before a fresh installation, continue with the clean‑up steps below.

Delete remaining SOLIDWORKS folders (optional but recommended)

Even after uninstalling, SOLIDWORKS‑related folders may remain. Removing them frees disk space and helps avoid conflicts during a future reinstall. The paths below assume default installation locations; if you customized your install paths, adjust accordingly.

Delete all possible residual folders

Check these locations in File Explorer and delete the folders if they exist and you have already backed up any needed data:

  • C:\SolidWorks Data (all versions and any numbered variants such as SOLIDWORKS Data 2024)
  • C:\Program Files\Common Files\ — subfolders such as eDrawings, SolidWorks Installation Manager, SolidWorks Shared, SolidWorks Corp
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ — subfolders such as SolidWorks Installation Manager, SolidWorks Shared, eDrawings
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\SolidWorks Corp

For a more thorough clean‑up, many VAR guides also recommend checking and, if appropriate, deleting the following additional folders if they still exist after uninstalling:

  • C:\Program Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\SOLIDWORKS Corp
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\SOLIDWORKS PDM (if you had PDM installed)
  • C:\ProgramData\SOLIDWORKS and C:\ProgramData\SOLIDWORKS Electrical
  • C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\SolidWorks
  • C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\SOLIDWORKS

Deleting these folders only affects SOLIDWORKS and related add‑ins. It does not remove your part, assembly, or drawing files stored elsewhere.

Delete SOLIDWORKS registry entries (advanced users only)

The Windows Registry stores SOLIDWORKS settings, license history, and some configuration data. Removing SOLIDWORKS‑related keys can help when you need a “factory‑fresh” reinstall, but editing the registry is inherently risky.

Important: If you are not comfortable working in the Registry, it is safer to stop after the folder clean‑up or ask your IT department or SOLIDWORKS reseller for assistance. Always create a backup before making changes:

  • Open Registry Editor (Start > Run, type regedit, press Enter).
  • In File > Export, save a copy of the registry or at least the keys you plan to change.

Open the Registry Editor

In Windows:

  • Click Start and type regedit in the search bar.
  • Select Registry Editor, and if prompted by UAC, choose Yes.

Folders commonly removed for a clean SOLIDWORKS uninstall

Within the Registry Editor, many clean‑uninstall guides delete or rename (for example to SolidWorks_OLD) the following keys if they exist:

Folders

  • eDrawings
  • SolidWorks (including version‑specific subkeys such as SolidWorks 2024)
  • SW Activation
  • SolidWorks BackOffice
  • SRAC (SolidWorks Simulation / COSMOS)

Locations

  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\ (on 64‑bit systems)

Look under each of these locations for the SOLIDWORKS‑related folders listed above. Instead of deleting them outright, a safer approach is to rename them (for example, SolidWorks to SolidWorks_OLD). If everything works correctly after reinstalling, you can later delete the *_OLD keys.

Only remove keys you are certain belong to SOLIDWORKS or its components. Deleting unrelated keys can cause system instability or break other applications.

After the uninstall

Once you have:

  • uninstalled SOLIDWORKS using the Installation Manager,
  • optionally removed leftover folders, and
  • optionally cleaned the registry,

you have effectively performed a complete uninstall of SOLIDWORKS from the machine. On a future installation, the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager will recreate the required folders and registry entries automatically.

If you still see SOLIDWORKS entries in the Windows apps list after uninstalling, or if the uninstall fails part‑way through, Microsoft’s Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter or assistance from your SOLIDWORKS reseller can help clear damaged entries before you reinstall.

With these steps, you can remove SOLIDWORKS cleanly, recover disk space, and prepare your system for a trouble‑free reinstall or for handing the computer off to a new user.

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