Why does Docker Desktop uninstall hang?

Question

I'm trying to uninstall Docker Desktop (it doesn't launch) so that i can reinstall it again, I have tried updating it , It keeps telling me that i have the latest Docker Desktop

Swoosh

This issue still exists in 2023 June ! – Halfdan

Answer 1

• Win + R
• services.msc
• Stop Docker Desktop Service
• Uninstall Docker

See: https://github.com/docker/for-win/issues/7489#issuecomment-757835075

Duisburg

Answer 2

I Found the solution, and of course it involves the Windows Registry.

There was a key in Windows Registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall called “Docker Desktop.”

I deleted it and all of its sub-keys and the Docker installation then went to completion.

Agitate

In my case the uninstall process broke after this – Bowshot

In my case i could not uninstall it from appwiz after that. – Fractionate

I guess, SHDR and @Bowshot - you must first uninstall the app from windows uninstaller and then delete the above key in registry. Restart the windows and reinstall the docker. – Agitate

Careful, this made things much worse for me: if the problem is uninstalling, deleting that registry key now made the uninstallation process not even able to recognize the current folders. – Progressionist

@FélixAdriyelGagnon-Grenier - looks like you did some other mistake as this (my answer) way most were able to resolve the issue.. – Agitate

@ManojKumar Yes, people who were installing docker may find this useful, however, the current question is about UNinstalling docker. Your solution prevents the uninstallation to proceed as the process cannot find information about what to uninstall. By the way, we're now three different people who said our uninstallation was bricked after trying this. – Progressionist

Answer 3

Delete the contents of C:\Program Files\Docker and download a fresh Docker installer

Mudlark

I tried that but Windows thinks the installation is already up to date, so it does nothing. If there's a manual way to uninstall, I need to find it. – Yammer

@Yammer It works. After it shows that try uninstalling again. Then you can use Docker installer, if required. – Dasher

Had to do this in conjunction with the registry change suggested by @manoj kumar – Fungible

Answer 4

Before you uninstall ensure you stop Docker Desktop Service on windows Service manager. The steps are as follows:

• Hit the Windows Key then type Services
• Select Run as administrator
• Look for Docker Desktop Service -> Right click -> Stop
• Proceed with normal uninstall of the Docker Desktop from the programs and features list.

Happy Uninstall

Claret

Answer 5

Open cmd prompt and run this command:

"C:\Program Files\Docker\Docker\Docker Desktop Installer.exe" uninstall

Attainture

This is the solution that worked for me, except that the uninstaller was unable to delete the directory "C:\Program Files\Docker\Docker" because that was the directory that cmd.exe was currently in. To get around that, I think it's better to navigate to "C:\Program Files" then run "Docker\Docker\Docker Desktop Installer.exe" uninstall – Huntsville

I edited the answer and simplified it even further. Thanks for your suggestion. – Attainture

Answer 6

Closed the window, downloaded a new version from the official website, then installed again. When asked if I wanted to replace the old version with the new one, I answered "Yes" and everything went fine.

Operant

Answer 7

Unregistering the docker-desktop wsl disto/image worked for me.

Try listing out all the existing wsl distros using:

wsl --list --all --verbose

You might find something like below:

  NAME                   STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu                 Stopped         1
  docker-desktop-data    Stopped         2
  docker-desktop         Uninstalling    2

Try to unregister the docker-desktop Distro using

wsl --unregister docker-desktop

Then try to open/uninstall Docker Desktop and it should work.

Listing out the wsl distro's will result in something like below:

  NAME                   STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu                 Stopped         1
  docker-desktop-data    Running         2
  docker-desktop         Running         2

Respite

Answer 8

The uninstaller requires Hyper-V to be installed, when having used that.
One has to uninstall Docker Desktop first and then can uninstall Hyper-V.

Pervasive

Answer 9

None of these solved it for me. Turns out it can fail to uninstall if you use a RAMDisk for your temp folder.

Apparently the same issue affects updates too.

Prosper

Answer 10

Features -> UnCheck -> Hyper V - Reset -> UnInstall docker.

It worked for me.

Foil

Answer 11

Try to restart your PC. Then try to uninstall again.

Municipalize

Answer 12

I had the same problem on my working laptop and I had to manually delete all the regestry keys (win + r, then type in regedit) and the whole folder in C:\Program Files. After that I had no issues and Docker Desktop completely disappeared in Apps

Hotbed

Delete all C:\Program Files is a little too much ? Why don't find the exact folder that is not fine instead of breaking lot of program for docker fix ? Another answer talk about C:\Program Files\Docker and a second one talk about regedit too, so it's seems to be a duplicate ? – Ethiopian