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Uninstall Visual Studio

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Note

This article applies to Visual Studio 2015. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here

For the latest documentation on Visual Studio, see Uninstall Visual Studio.

This page walks you through uninstalling Visual Studio 2015, an earlier version of our integrated suite of productivity tools for developers.

Uninstall Visual Studio by using the "standard" uninstallation method

  1. In Control Panel, on the Programs and Features page, choose the product edition that you want to uninstall, and then choose Change.

  2. In the Setup wizard, choose Uninstall, choose Yes, and then follow the remaining instructions in the wizard.

    This standard, or default method will leave some items behind that your first installation of Visual Studio originally installed (for example, the Microsoft .NET Framework, Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables, Microsoft SQL Server, etc.). We leave these installed because many other applications depend on them. However, if you want to remove them too, select their entry in Programs and Features, and then remove each individually.

  1. Locate the Visual Studio .exe file (for example, locate "vs_enterprise.exe").

    Note

    The file should be in a subfolder of "%ProgramData%\Package Cache", for example: C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{37e19555-e88d-4aed-9d42-82d0784d2b79}\vs_enterprise.exe

  2. Run the .exe file by using the /uninstall /force command-line parameters.

    For example, run vs_enterprise.exe /uninstall /force, which will remove Visual Studio and most of the core components that are left behind in a default uninstallation. However, it will not remove all of the additional content that Visual Studio add-ons and extensions can install (for example, Visual Studio updates, and other optional components).

    Tip

    Alternatively, you can use the "Total Uninstaller" tool to remove everything that Visual Studio or updates to Visual Studio might have installed. That is, any version of Visual Studio 2013 or later. To find out more, see the Visual Studio Uninstaller tool on GitHub.

Uninstall Visual Studio in silent or passive modes (that is, to uninstall from source)

  1. On the computer where Visual Studio is installed, open the Windows command prompt.

  2. Enter the following parameters:

    DVDRoot \<Installation File> </quiet|/passive> [/norestart]/uninstall

Roll back to a previous version or release of Visual Studio

  1. Uninstall Visual Studio by using any of the methods listed in this topic.

    Warning

    Uninstalling a current release of Visual Studio (or a Visual Studio Update) and then installing a previous release might not work as expected.

    The outcome depends on the which version or release of Visual Studio you have installed, which versions of its components are installed, which products are installed that might have dependencies either the Visual Studio release or its components, and finally, on which earlier Visual Studio version you plan to install or reinstall. Because of all these variables, a standard uninstall will often leave components behind that might not work with previous Visual Studio versions or releases.

    Therefore, for best results, we recommend using the Visual Studio Uninstaller tool.

  2. Install or reinstall the earlier version of Visual Studio that you want to use.

    Even if you install a previous version of Visual Studio, the Setup program might still try to use a newer version or release if one is available. For more detailed information, see the How to: Install a Specific Release of Visual Studio topic.

See also