How to Perform a Clean Install of Grand Theft Auto V on PC

Last Updated: May 2, 2024

Question: How can I perform a clean install of Grand Theft Auto V on PC?

Answer: A clean install ensures that there are no file conflicts or problems with permissions. Depending on the version, you will need to uninstall the game, delete any files or folders remaining in the installation directory as well as some other locations, and reinstall the game.

Please see the steps below:

Non-Steam Version:

1. Use Add/Remove Programs to uninstall Grand Theft Auto V

2. Go to the location you installed Grand Theft Auto V (Default C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto V\ )

3. Delete any additional files/folders in this location

Steam Version:

1. Load Steam and right click on Grand Theft Auto V

2. Select Uninstall > Delete

3. Go to the location Steam installed Grand Theft Auto V (Default C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Grand Theft Auto V\ )

4. Delete any additional files/folders in this location

Epic Games Launcher Version:

1. Open the Epic Games Launcher 

2. Click Library on the left sidebar 

3. Find and click the three dots next to Grand Theft Auto V 

4. Click Uninstall 

5. Navigate to the C:\Program Files\Epic Games\GTA folder on your computer and delete any files and folders there 

Social Club Files:

1. Go to the location of your Social Club temporary files (Default C:\Users\<user.name>\Documents\Rockstar Games\Social Club )

2. Delete all files/folders in this location

   • Doing this will require you to re-enter your Rockstar Games account credentials

Additional Files/Content:

The following locations store game saves, settings and recorded videos created via the Rockstar Video Editor.

The AppData folder is set as hidden in Windows operating system by default.  Be sure to enable viewing hidden files before attempting to remove the directories listed below.

Please note that if these are not backed up, you’ll be unable to recover them once deleted.

• Delete all the files/folders in this location C:\Users\<user.name>\Documents\Rockstar Games\GTAV 

• Delete all the files/folders in this location C:\Users\<user.name>\AppData\Local\Rockstar Games\GTAV

Reinstall:

• After following the above steps, perform a clean installation of the game.