How to Uninstall ReShade [Complete Guide]

Everyone wants better graphics on their games; sometimes, even past the highest option the game developers give you.

When that is the case, you have to search elsewhere for the increased graphics, which probably led to ReShade. 

ReShade is an open-source post-processing injector for PC games and video software. It can inject ambient occlusion, depth-of-field effects, color correction, SMAA antialiasing, chromatic aberration, film grain, and more into your games to make the gaming experience more immersive and cinematic.

Boiled down, ReShade is a “reshade mod” that lets you manipulate in-game shaders for API from SweetFX for OpenGL, Microsoft DirectX, and Vulkan games.

However, while ReShade can help your games look better, there are several reasons to uninstall it: either it has stopped functioning correctly, or you find that the frame rate has taken a hit (after all, all these fancy graphical effects require a powerful graphics card), or you simply no longer wish to have it attached to your games. 

Unfortunately, the ReShade program can be quite difficult to uninstall because it is open-source. This guide will help you quickly and painlessly uninstall ReShade from your games if you are not technically inclined. 

Two ways to Uninstall ReShade

There are several options for uninstalling ReShade, and while they are all fairly similar, you may find one works for you while another does not. I have created easy step-by-step guides to help you below. 

If you do not feel comfortable going through the process of uninstalling the files from your File Explorer, you can uninstall ReShade from the official installer. However, this method only works if you still have the ReShade_Setup.exe file on your computer. 

1. How to uninstall ReShade via Official Reshade Setup Tool

I recommend using this method over manually uninstalling ReShade if you are able because it will ensure you do not accidentally delete any game files. Remember, you will need the ReShade_Setup.exe file on your computer to use this method. 

1. Navigate to where the ReShade_Setup.exe file is located on your computer.
2. Double click on the file to open the file (or right-click and select Open from the pop-up menu.) 
3. A menu will open up with all your applications available for you to select.
4. If you cannot find the game you are looking for, click “Browse…” at the bottom of the menu window. 
5. Select the rendering API you used when installing ReShade onto the game.
6. A small pop-up will open, stating that a previous ReShade installation was found. 
7. It will ask if you want to update or uninstall ReShade.
8. Click uninstall, and the application will remove the program files for you.

2. How to Uninstall Reshade Manually From Game Directories

First, you can uninstall ReShade by going to a game’s directory and deleting the ReShade files. I recommend using this method if you have ReShade on many different games and only want to remove it from one game. 

1. Navigate to the game’s directory on your computer.
2. You can typically find a game’s directory by going to This PC > Windows(C:).
3. Look through the game directory until you find the right folder: ReShade-shaders.
4. Delete that folder.
5. Continue looking through the directory until you find the dxgi files named dxgi.dll and dxgi.log.
6. Delete those files
7. Empty your recycling bin and reboot your laptop. 

While dxgi.dll is the most common file for ReShade, it depends entirely on what graphics API you download when setting up ReShade. If you cannot find dxgi.dll, check for the dll files and ini files instead.

If you’re still experiencing problems, locate and move the following files to the bin folder: 

• d3d8.dll
• d3d8.ini
• d3d9.dll
• d3d9.ini
• d3d10.dll
• d3d10.ini
• d3d11.dll
• d3d11.ini
• dxgi.ini
• opengl32.dll (if you use the OpenGL API)
• Preset.ini
• ReShade.ini

Conclusion

Reshade is an effective solution for breathing extra life into your favorite games. It supports everything from old games like Zelda – Ocarina of Time, Euro Truck Simulator, and StarCraft II to online games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and newer games like GTA5.

You download ReShade and see a full list of compatible games and screenshots here.

But as we all know, when you get into modding games, things tend to wrong even if you’re a techie guy or gal. So you might end up wanting to uninstall ReShade for some reason.

Uninstalling ReShade can be difficult, but if you follow one of the easy methods above, you should hopefully not run into any issues. If you found this guide helpful, consider checking out our other helpful tech guides! Until next time, happy gaming!

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FAQ

Q: My game is still experiencing issues even after uninstalling ReShade; what should I do?

A: If your games still have issues after uninstalling ReShade, you may need to reinstall your drivers’ files. These can be found on either Nvidia’s or AMD’s websites, and you will need to follow their instructions. 

Q: I uninstalled ReShade from a Steam Game and think it screwed up the files. How do I check the files?

A: Sometimes, important game files can be accidentally deleted if you manually uninstall ReShade from a Steam game. If you need to check your local steam library game files, follow the process below. 

1. Open Steam and navigate to the Library Tab.
2. Right-click the game you uninstalled ReShade from.
3. Click on Properties from the little menu that pops up. 
4. Navigate to the Local Files tab and select “Verify Integrity of software files.”
5. Steam will check your game’s files. This process will take between 5 minutes to an hour. 

Q: My game is still not working after trying everything else. What should I do?

A: If you uninstalled ReShade and your game is still not working after checking the local files for Steam games and updating your drivers, you will need to uninstall your game. This will place a fresh game version onto your computer with unaffected files. Make sure you have a way to reassess your game account before doing this.