{"id":31224,"date":"2026-04-27T11:33:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T11:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/technical-manuals\/downloads-installation-and-faq\/perform-clean-uninstallation\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T12:38:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:38:01","slug":"perform-clean-uninstallation","status":"publish","type":"wiki","link":"https:\/\/protasoftware.com\/wiki\/perform-clean-uninstallation\/","title":{"rendered":"Perform Clean Uninstallation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\"Alert\"
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n Kindly stop all anti-virus \/ anti-malware program. Free anti-virus program such as AVAST, AVG, AVIRA etc, are known to interfere with the running of the program.<\/span>
\n \n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\n The installation setup can be obtained here (don’t use the previous version that you might have):
\n <\/span>Downloads<\/span><\/a>
\n <\/span>
<\/span>
\n <\/span><\/div>\n


\n <\/span><\/div>\n


\n <\/span><\/p>\n


\n A clean uninstallation removes residual files from any previous installations and, if necessary, resets some Windows registry keys. 
\n <\/span>A clean uninstall may be necessary if:<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/span>
<\/span>
\n <\/span><\/div>\n


\n <\/span><\/p>\n


    \n <\/span><\/p>\n
  1. Keep getting errors while updating your software to new version<\/span>
    <\/span><\/li>\n


    \n <\/span><\/p>\n

  2. The installation ended prematurely.<\/span>
    <\/span><\/li>\n


    \n <\/span><\/p>\n

  3. ProtaStructure, ProtaSteel or ProtaDetails cannot be launch after installation. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    PS2026 – Clean Uninstall and Reinstall Steps<\/span><\/u><\/b>
    <\/span><\/div>\n
      \n
    1. Uninstall <\/span>ProtaStructure 2026 and ProtaSteel 2026<\/span><\/b> from Control Panel > Add or remove programs<\/span><\/span>
      <\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Please make sure you have cleaned the contents of the folders given below.<\/span>
      You need to make hidden folders visible as shown in below section<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
        \n
      1. C:Program Files(x86)ProtaProtaStructure2026<\/span><\/i>
        <\/span><\/li>\n
      2. C:Users<UserName>AppDataRoamingProtaProtaStructureR9<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      3. Select the installer and right-click ><\/span> Run as Administrator.<\/span><\/b>
        <\/span><\/li>\n
      4. Restart Computer after installation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        PS2025 – Clean Uninstall and Reinstall Steps<\/span><\/u><\/b>
        <\/span><\/div>\n
          \n
        1. Uninstall <\/span>ProtaStructure 2025 and ProtaSteel 2025<\/span><\/b> from Control Panel > Add or remove programs<\/span><\/span>
          <\/span><\/li>\n
        2. Please make sure you have cleaned the contents of the folders given below.<\/span>
          You need to make hidden folders visible as shown in below section<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
            \n
          1. C:Program Files(x86)ProtaProtaStructure2025<\/span><\/i>
            <\/span><\/li>\n
          2. C:Users<UserName>AppDataRoamingProtaProtaStructureR8<\/span><\/i>
            <\/span><\/li>\n
          3. C:ProgramDataProtaProtaSteel 2025<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          4. Select the installer and right-click ><\/span> Run as Administrator.<\/span><\/b>
            <\/span><\/li>\n
          5. Restart Computer after installation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
            PS2024 – Clean Uninstall and Reinstall Steps<\/span><\/u><\/b>
            <\/span><\/div>\n
              \n
            1. Uninstall <\/span>ProtaStructure 2024 and ProtaSteel 2024<\/span><\/b> from Control Panel > Programs and Features.<\/span><\/span>
              <\/span><\/li>\n
            2. Please make sure you have cleaned the contents of the folders given below.<\/span>
              You need to make hidden folders visible as shown in below section<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
                \n
              1. C:Program Files(x86)ProtaProtaStructure2024<\/i><\/li>\n
              2. C:Users<UserName>AppDataRoamingProtaProtaStructureR7<\/i><\/li>\n
              3. C:ProgramDataProtaProtaSteel 2024<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
              4. Select the installer and right-click > Run as Administrator.<\/b><\/li>\n
              5. Restart Computer after installation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
                PS2022 – Clean Uninstall and Reinstall Steps<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/div>\n


                \n <\/span><\/p>\n


                  \n <\/span><\/p>\n
                1. Uninstall <\/span>ProtaStructure 2022 and ProtaSteel 2022<\/span><\/b> from Control Panel > Programs and Features.<\/span><\/span>
                  <\/span><\/li>\n


                  \n <\/span><\/p>\n

                2. Please make sure you have cleaned the contents of the folders given below<\/span>.
                  You need to make hidden folders visible as shown in below section<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
                    \n
                  1. C:Program Files(x86)ProtaProtaStructure2022<\/i><\/li>\n
                  2. C:Users<UserName>AppDataRoamingProtaProtaStructureR6<\/i><\/li>\n
                  3. C:ProgramDataProtaProtaSteel 2022<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                  4. Select the installer and right-click > Run as Administrator.<\/b><\/li>\n
                  5. Restart Computer after installation.<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n
                    \n PS2021 – Clean Uninstall and Reinstall Steps<\/u><\/b>\n <\/div>\n
                      \n
                    1. \n
                      \n Uninstall ProtaStructure 2021<\/b>, ProtaSteel 2021<\/b> and ProtaMeshgen<\/b> from Control Panel > Programs and Features.<\/span>
                      \n \n <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
                    2. Please make sure you have cleaned the contents of the folders given below.
                      You need to make hidden folders visible as shown in below section<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
                        \n
                      1. C:Program Files(x86)ProtaProtaStructure2021<\/i><\/li>\n
                      2. C:Users<UserName>AppDataRoamingProtaProtaStructureR5<\/i><\/li>\n
                      3. C:ProgramDataProtaProtaSteel 2021<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                      4. Select the installer and right-click ><\/span> Run as Administrator.<\/b><\/li>\n
                      5. \n
                        \n Restart Computer after installation.\n <\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                        \n
                        \n \"Warning\"<\/p>\n
                        \n You only need to perform clean uninstallation if you encounter issues. For normal uninstalls, use the Control Panel in Windows. <\/span><\/div>\n
                        Kindly consult technical consultant first if you were unsure about whether clean uninstallation would be able to resolve your issue. <\/span>
                        \n \n <\/div>\n

                        <\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

                        \n
                        \n

                        Show Hidden Folder in Windows File Explorer<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
                        \n To delete some of the folders, 
                        \n you need to make them visible from the menu<\/span><\/i><\/b>.
                        \n \n <\/div>\n
                        \n The visibility of the hidden files can be changed by going to
                        \n  Control Panel > File Explorer Options > View > Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
                        <\/b>\n <\/div>\n
                        \n \n <\/div>\n
                        \n
                        \n \n <\/div>\n
                        \n \n <\/div>\n
                        \n Alternatively, open any folder > View (tab) > tick on "Hidden Items" option.
                        \n \n <\/div>\n
                        \n
                        \n \n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
                        \n
                        \n
                        <\/i><\/b>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
                        \n \n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
                        \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
                        \n \n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                        Kindly stop all anti-virus \/ anti-malware program. Free anti-virus program such as AVAST, AVG, AVIRA etc, are known to interfere with the running of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_whitepaper_youtube_videos":"","_whitepaper_youtube_url":"","_whitepaper_youtube_thumbnail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"whitepaper_topic":[],"whitepaper_product":[],"whitepaper_type":[],"class_list":["post-31224","wiki","type-wiki","status-publish","hentry","category-downloads-installation-and-faq"],"yoast_head":"\nPerform Clean Uninstallation - Prota Software<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kindly stop all anti-virus \/ anti-malware program. 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