The following article first appeared at https://www.custcenter.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4844/~/clean-uninstall-and-reinstall-instructions-for-windows-7 but is no longer available there.
Published 11/23/2009 04:42 PM | Updated 02/24/2016 11:45 AM
How do I completely uninstall my SCS application from my Windows 7 operating system?
1) Before doing a Clean Reinstall, it is important to do the following:
- All audio and video effects chains and presets will be erased, so if you need to make a back up of your presets please download our Preset Manager program. For more information about backing up presets: How to back up and restore audio presets | How to backup and restore video presets
- Safely disconnect any external USB or Firewire devices like hard-drives or dongles.
- Temporarily turn off ALL anti-virus and security services. These applications have been known to interfere with software installation and registration.
2) Start the process of removing the program(s). Go to Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features - find and remove your Sony Creative Software application(s). For example, ACID, Catalyst products, DVD Architect, Movie Studio, Sound Forge, SpectraLayers, and Vegas.
3) Once uninstalled, delete the following folders, if they're present on the machine. If not, please continue with the instructions. Do not delete these entire folders if you have other Sony applications installed. Only delete the folder for the Sony Creative Software application you are using as well as the Shared Plug-Ins folder.
- C:\Program Files\Sony\
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Sony\
- C:\Program Files\Sony Setup
4) WARNING: The next step will require you to delete Windows Registry Keys. The Registry is a very sensitive area to work in. If you are not comfortable with advanced configuration and system changes, ask an administrator to help you with this. Related Topics: How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
Next, open the Registry Editor. Select Start and type REGEDIT in the 'Start Search' box.
In the Registry Editor, locate and delete the application folder found within the following registry entries (e.g. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sony Creative Software\Vegas Pro)
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sony Creative Software
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sony Creative Software
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Wow6432Node\Sony Creative Software
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Sony Creative Software
(Depending on which product and version you have installed, you may see one or more of these entries. If you do not see all of these, that is normal. Delete those which you do find.)
Close the Registry Editor.
5) After removing all of the previous items, you may download and re-install from this link:
Sony Creative Software Updates
When finished with all reinstallation, please restart your computer. When your computer has restarted, you will have a completely clean installation.