2012: How to uninstall AutoCAD Mechanical cleanly

Issue

There are occasions when you may experience problems installing AutoCAD® Mechanical after failed installs or uninstalls of other Autodesk products. In these cases, it is recommended that you completely remove them from the system and then attempt the new installation on the cleaned system.

Solution

There are two methods you can use for uninstalling Inventor products, the automated removal using the Quick Uninstall Tool, and a Manual Uninstallation.

Quick Uninstall Tool

The Quick Uninstall Tool is installed with Inventor and can be found in Start > All Programs > Autodesk or Start > All Programs > Autodesk > Factory Design Suite 2012.

By default, other products installed with AutoCAD Mechanical will be automatically selected for removal. Be sure to uncheck any applications that you would like to keep installed.

Manual Uninstallation

To uninstall Autodesk Inventor, and remove any remnants of this product from the system follow the procedure below. The end result is a clean system on which you can install. (Please note that if you have Vault Installed, you will be required to perform a change/repair to fix the integration.)

1. Log in as Local System Administrator and disable any virus scanning programs
2. Open Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program and remove Autodesk Inventor 2012
3. Open Windows Explorer and locate then delete the following file folders as appropriate:
   
   For Microsoft Vista  & Windows 7 32-bit installations:
   C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AMECH_PP
   
   For Microsoft Vista & Windows 7 64-bit installations:
   C:\Program Files\Autodesk\ AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Autodesk\ AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AMECH_PP
   
   For Microsoft XP 32-bit installations:
   C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   
   For Microsoft XP 64-bit installations:
   C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   
   
4. Open the system registry and locate then delete the following registry keys listed below as appropriate (Start menu (Windows) > Run > Regedit).
   
   For 32-bit versions of XP, Vista and Windows 7
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R18.2
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R18.2
   
   For 64-bit versions of XP, Vista and Windows 7
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R18.2
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R18.2

Warning! Problems caused by improperly editing the Windows registry could render your computer operating system unusable. 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.