How to uninstall WinDirStat on Windows

WinDirStat keeps almost nothing of its own: its window layout and scan options go in one registry key, and it never changes the drives it scans. There is little to back up before removing it. This guide covers WinDirStat installed machine-wide from the Windows Installer package listed in the WinDirStat.WinDirStat winget manifest.

Quit WinDirStat first

Close the WinDirStat window, including a scan still running. It has no tray icon, service or startup entry; check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for any WinDirStat.exe still listed.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

Go to Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find WinDirStat, and choose Uninstall, or run:

winget uninstall --id WinDirStat.WinDirStat

This is a machine-wide install, so Windows asks for administrator access.

Where the data lives

Location	What it holds	What to do
`%ProgramFiles%\WinDirStat`	Program files	Removed by the uninstaller
`HKCU\Software\WinDirStat`	Window layout and scan options, written once you open the app	Safe to remove if you do not plan to reinstall
Start Menu shortcut	Shortcut	Removed by the uninstaller

Check the result

Get-Process WinDirStat -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id WinDirStat.WinDirStat
Test-Path "$env:ProgramFiles\WinDirStat"
Test-Path "HKCU:\Software\WinDirStat"

No output from Get-Process only means this query observed no matching process; a suppressed error leaves the running state unknown.
A completed winget list query with no match means the package record is gone.
Test-Path "$env:ProgramFiles\WinDirStat" returning False means the program folder is gone.
Test-Path "HKCU:\Software\WinDirStat" returning True means your saved options are still there, which is expected unless you removed them yourself.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same Windows Installer uninstall that Settings › Apps uses; it does not touch HKCU\Software\WinDirStat.

What Mole lists

For WinDirStat installed machine-wide:

The program folder, the Start Menu shortcut and a row grouping Windows' own records of when you opened the program are selected by default.
HKCU\Software\WinDirStat is listed but not selected, and backed up to a .reg file before removal.

What this test covered

Tested on September 28, 2026 with WinDirStat 2.8.0 installed from the arm64 Windows Installer package in its winget manifest, machine scope. The app was opened to its drive picker but no scan was run. Every listed row was ticked and removed in this test.