How do I completely uninstall Altium Designer? 1. Altium Designer Summer 09 and before release... 2 1.1 For Windows XP:... 2 1.1.1 Preparation and Backup... 2 1.1.2 Uninstall... 2 1.1.3 Cleanup... 3 1.2 For Windows 7:... 4 2. Altium Designer 10 and Later release... 4 2.1.1 Method one: Using the Altium Uninstaller:... 5 2.1.2 Method two: Manual deletion:... 5 2.2 Install AD10:... 6
1. Altium Designer Summer 09 and before release 1.1 For Windows XP: The uninstall procedure is applicable to versions Altium Designer 6 and later. For the purposes of this document, <version> represents the Altium version number, eg, Summer 09. The default installation will include the version number as part of the folder name. Similarly, <username> represents the Windows username of the Altium Designer user. 1.1.1 Preparation and Backup Ensure Altium Designer (DXP.EXE) is shut down. If necessary, backup any design files in the folder where Altium Designer was installed. Typically: C:\Program Files\Altium Designer <version>\ To preserve settings such as customization, backup this folder: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\AltiumDesigner <version>\ To preserve Auto Save Backups, make a copy of the Recovery folder: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\AltiumDesigner <version>\recovery\ To preserve updates that have been downloaded previously, it is possible to back them up so that the patches do not need to be re-downloaded in the future. This is not recommended, nor is it standard procedure. The updates can be found in the folder: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AltiumDesigner <version>\ If necessary, backup the*.alf license file if it is contained in the following folder: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AltiumDesigner<version>_Security\ 1.1.2 Uninstall From the Windows Start button, choose Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs, and choose to remove Altium Designer.
Choose to remove the parallel port driver if prompted. 1.1.3 Cleanup Now that Altium Designer has been removed, the folder where the software was installed will still remain. Examine this folder for any saved files and back them up if necessary. (The sub folder..\system\uninstall may contain a large amount of backup binary files created during updates. There is no need to back up these uninstall files.) Delete the installation folder where Altium Designer was installed. Typically: C:\Program Files\Altium Designer <version>\ C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\AltiumDesigner<version>\ C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\AltiumDesigner<version>\ C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AltiumDesigner<version>\ C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AltiumDesigner<version>_Security\ Using Regedit, delete the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AltiumDesigner<version> and all sub keys. To do this, go to the Windows Start Menu, select Run, type regedit, and then press OK. Go to Edit > Find, and search for AltiumDesigner<version> to find the correct registry key, then delete it. Users who are not experienced in editing the registry are advised to ask their IT department for help, as making mistakes can cause stability problems. Edit the paths in the computer's environment variables: In Windows Explorer, or on the desktop, right click on My Computer and select Properties. The System Properties dialog box will appear - select the Advanced tab, and then press the button labeled Environment Variables. Under System Variables, delete the variable AltiumPath. The Path can also be modified, to remove references to Altium Designer's folders. C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Temp may also contain some files that can be deleted. Return to Control Panel >Add or Remove Programs. If any Altium Designer updates were installed, remove each of them. As the files were deleted as part of the above procedure, an error message
will appear: "An error occurred while trying to remove Altium... It may have already been uninstalled." Answer *Yes* to remove this entry from the Add or Remove programs list. Finally, go to the Windows Start menu and delete any remaining icons for Altium Designer. 1.2 For Windows 7: Firstly, backup the necessary files. Then clean all of the custom configurations and some crash records. 1. Close Altium Designer. 2. In Windows 7, delete the folders: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\AltiumDesigner <version> C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\AltiumDesigner <version> If these folders cannot be found, make sure Windows Explorer is set to show hidden files & folders.(you may going to folder option by shortcut ALT + T then choose Folder Options>View>Hidden files and Folders enable Show hidden files, folders, and drives ) 3. Remove entries from the Windows registry for Altium Designer: From the Windows Start Menu, choose Run... Enter regedit, and press OK With Regedit open, go to File >> Export and create a backup before you change anything here. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AltiumDesigner<version> Right-click the folder named AltiumDesigner<version> A popup menu will appear - select Delete. 4. Close regedit. 5. Restart Altium Designer. It will now reset all preferences to default settings. 2. Altium Designer 10 and Later release On some occasions, it may be necessary to reset the configuration of Altium Designer 10. There are two methods to do this, either automatically using the Altium Designer Uninstaller, or manually deleting folders and registry entries.
2.1.1 Method one: Using the Altium Uninstaller: Close Altium Designer and follow these steps: 1. Download the "Altium Designer Uninstaller" from Altium Live: http://live.altium.com/#software 2. Run the program, AltiumUninstaller.exe, and execute 'Remove Completely'. After Removing it, Click 'Global Information', and then Clean the 'Repository Build Cache', the 'Releases and Plugins Data', and the 'Installer and Download Manage Data' One by One, by tick it and 'Clean' 3. Select your installed Altium Designer 10, and check the option to "Remove Preferences". Note: Once you click on the installed Release 10 entry the Remove Preferences button will become selectable. 2.1.2 Method two: Manual deletion: 1. Close Altium Designer. 2. Open My Computer, and on the organize drop down menu click "folder and search option". Enable "Show hidden files, folders and drives" at the view section in order to access certain file hidden to the user. 3. Navigate through the following folders and rename it: For Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Altium (Note: In this folder are the backup of the auto backup feature, so If you use it save your backup before deleting this folder). C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Altium C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Altium For Windows Vista and Windows 7: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Altium
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Altium (Note: Backup this folder by renaming C:\...\Altium to C:\...\Altium_Backup just in case you want to recover previous settings) 4. Finally, it is necessary to delete settings from the registry. (Note: It is recommended and good practice to save your registry file before editing it. This can be done in the registry editor as follows by right-clicking on the key and selecting "File» Export") (Warning: This should not be attempted by inexperienced users - if necessary, IT staff should be asked for help.) Open the registry editor clicking: Start >> Run >> *type: regedit 5. Delete/rename the key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Altium 6. Open Altium Designer. This will reset AD10 to its default configuration as if the software was reinstalled. 2.2 Install AD10: 1. Log in http://live.altium.com, Input your live account and password: 2. Click the Software Label (http://live.altium.com/#software) and then download 3. After finished download, run Altiuminstall.exe in the Administrator mode. This executable is downloaded from AltiumLive and can be saved anywhere on your hard disk. 4. Click Next.->Tick I accept, and Click Next 5. Log in by your AltiumLive User name and password 6. Choose the version you want 7. Choose the Functionality 8. Choose the install pass 9. Click the Next, and Finish the Install.