Claude Desktop - Clean Reinstall Script

A PowerShell script to completely remove and reinstall Claude Desktop, fixing Cowork virtualization issues.

🎯 What It Does

This script performs a complete clean reinstall of Claude Desktop with special attention to fixing the Cowork feature's virtualization requirements.

Features

• ✅ Enables virtualization - Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, Windows Hypervisor Platform
• ✅ Stops/removes CoworkVMService - Cleans up the Cowork service
• ✅ Full uninstallation - Removes MSIX packages and registry entries
• ✅ Deletes AppData - Cleans up all user data folders
• ✅ Auto-downloads installer - Gets the latest Claude Desktop version
• ✅ Runs installer - Launches the installer as Administrator
• ✅ Color-coded output - Easy-to-read progress indicators

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11
• PowerShell 5.1 or higher
• Administrator privileges (script will fail without them)

One-Line Run

# Download and run directly
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kbaker827/claude-clean-reinstall/main/Reset-ClaudeDesktop.ps1 | iex

Or download and run manually:

# 1. Download the script
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kbaker827/claude-clean-reinstall/main/Reset-ClaudeDesktop.ps1" -OutFile "$env:TEMP\Reset-ClaudeDesktop.ps1"

# 2. Run as Administrator
Start-Process powershell.exe -ArgumentList "-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File $env:TEMP\Reset-ClaudeDesktop.ps1" -Verb RunAs

Step-by-Step

1. Right-click PowerShell → Run as Administrator
2. Navigate to the script folder:

   cd C:\Path\To\Script

3. Run the script:

   .\Reset-ClaudeDesktop.ps1

📋 What the Script Does

Step 1: Check Virtualization Support

Checks and enables required Windows features for Cowork:

• Microsoft-Hyper-V-All
• VirtualMachinePlatform
• HypervisorPlatform

⚠️ May require reboot if features were just enabled.

Step 2: Stop CoworkVMService

Stops and removes the CoworkVMService to prevent conflicts during reinstall.

Step 3: Uninstall Claude Desktop

Removes:

• MSIX packaged app
• Registry uninstaller entries
• Traditional installer remnants

Step 4: Clean AppData

Deletes these folders:

%APPDATA%\Claude
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Claude
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxjxfjjc

Step 5: Download Installer

Downloads the latest Claude Desktop installer from the official source:

https://storage.googleapis.com/osprey-downloads/.../Claude-Setup-x64.exe

Step 6: Run Installer

Launches the installer with Administrator privileges and waits for completion.

🖥️ Output Example

>> Checking virtualization support...
   [OK] Hyper-V: Already enabled
   [OK] Virtual Machine Platform: Already enabled
   [OK] Windows Hypervisor Platform: Already enabled

>> Stopping CoworkVMService...
   [OK] CoworkVMService not found (already clean)

>> Uninstalling Claude Desktop...
   [OK] No MSIX package found

>> Cleaning up AppData folders...
   [OK] Not found (skip): C:\Users\...\AppData\Roaming\Claude
   [OK] Deleted: C:\Users\...\AppData\Local\Claude
   [OK] Not found (skip): C:\Users\...\AppData\Local\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxjxfjjc

>> Downloading latest Claude Desktop installer...
   [OK] Downloaded to: C:\Users\...\AppData\Local\Temp\ClaudeSetup.exe

>> Running installer...
   The installer window will open. Follow the prompts.
   [OK] Installer completed

============================================================
 Done! Launch Claude Desktop and check the Cowork tab.
 If Cowork still fails, check Event Viewer:
   Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application
============================================================

⚠️ Troubleshooting

"This script requires administrator privileges"

You must run PowerShell as Administrator. Right-click PowerShell → "Run as Administrator"

"Could not enable [feature] - blocked by Group Policy"

Your IT department may have disabled virtualization features. Contact your IT admin to enable:

• Hyper-V
• Virtual Machine Platform
• Windows Hypervisor Platform

Download fails

If the auto-download fails, the script will provide a manual download link:

• Go to https://claude.com/download
• Download and run the installer manually

Cowork still doesn't work after reinstall

1. Check Event Viewer:

   Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application
   

2. Look for errors related to "CoworkVMService" or "Claude"
3. Check Windows Features are enabled:

   Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online | Where-Object { $_.FeatureName -like "*Hyper*" -or $_.FeatureName -like "*Virtual*" }

Reboot loop

If the script keeps asking to reboot:

1. Reboot your computer
2. Run the script again
3. The second run should complete without requiring another reboot

🔧 Manual Steps (If Script Fails)

Enable Virtualization Manually

# Run as Administrator
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Hyper-V-All /all /norestart
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:HypervisorPlatform /all /norestart

Then reboot and re-run the script.

Uninstall Claude Manually

1. Windows Settings → Apps → Installed Apps
2. Find "Claude" → Uninstall
3. Delete folders:

   %APPDATA%\Claude
   %LOCALAPPDATA%\Claude
   %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxjxfjjc
   

📝 Requirements

• Windows 10 version 2004+ or Windows 11
• PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell 7+
• Administrator privileges
• Internet connection (for downloading installer)

🔒 Safety

• ✅ Backs up nothing - but you can manually backup %APPDATA%\Claude before running
• ✅ Non-destructive - Only removes Claude-related files
• ✅ Reversible - You can always reinstall Claude normally

📄 Files

File	Description
Reset-ClaudeDesktop.ps1	Main PowerShell script
README.md	This documentation

🤝 Contributing

Found an issue or have an improvement? Open an issue or PR!

📄 License

MIT License - Free to use and distribute.

🔗 Links

• Repository: https://github.com/kbaker827/claude-clean-reinstall
• Claude Desktop: https://claude.com/download
• Anthropic Support: https://support.anthropic.com

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Fix Claude Desktop and Cowork issues with one script! 🚀