Riot Client is an important component of Riot Games to play, update, and launch Riot Games such as Valorant, and League of Legends.
Now while trying to uninstall Valorant or Riot Client, gamers are getting the error “Windows cannot find C:\Riot Games\Riot Games\Riotclientservices.exe” along with the message “Make sure you type the name correctly and then try again”
If you are the victim of “Windows cannot find RiotClientServices.exe”, then you are not alone. Users all over the world are having the same problem.
Due to various technical issues and error codes in Valorant users refrain from playing the Riot Games and that is the reason they want to uninstall the game. But again, uninstalling the Riot Client is not an easy task.
In this guide, I have come up with you to provide the best solutions to fix “Windows cannot find riotclientservices.exe” so that you would be able to uninstall the game and free up a whooping of around 3Tb of space.
Causes of Error Windows Cannot Find RiotClientServices.exe
The error is really frustrating to you while trying to uninstall the Valorant, but to fix, you first need to know the actual root cause of the issue so that you can take effective action to resolve the error.
Here are the major causes of the error Windows cannot find RiotClientServices.exe
- Corrupted game files
- Incomplete installation
- Corrupted system files and many more
Fix Windows Cannot Find the RiotClientServices.exe Error
By following the solutions described below, you will be able to uninstall the Riot Client along with the Valorant. So without delay, here are the solutions to uninstall the Riot Client.
Repair Corrupted System Files
The basic step to uninstall the Valorant is to make sure the system files are working properly and if there are any corrupted files, first repair them and then proceed with the uninstallation steps.
To repair your system files:
- Click on the Start menu and type cmd
- Choose the option Run as administrator
- Now in the command prompt, type in the following commands one by one:
Sfc /scannow
Dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
Once both the commands are completed, restart your PC and then try to uninstall the Valorant.
Uninstall Using Add Remove Wizard
After fixing the corrupted system files, we can now proceed further to uninstall the Valorant and Riot Client.
Before proceeding, make sure Valorant or Riot client is not running in your system. So check the system tray icon in the taskbar as well as check your task manager and if it’s running, select it and choose the option end task.
Now, we use the Add or Remove wizard to uninstall the Riot Client. To do so:
- Right-click on the Start menu and choose the option Run
- In the Run command type in NCPA.CPL and hit enter key
- This will open the add or remove wizard. Find Riot Client and select the option to uninstall
This will uninstall the Valorant and help you fix the error “Windows cannot find the Riotclientservices.exe” error
Note-Make sure you first uninstall Riot Vanguard, then Riot Client and then Valorant.
Uninstall Using Command Prompt
If add or remove doesn’t help you fix Windows cannot find Riotclientservices.exe, Riot Client’s anti-cheat software Vanguard might be running in the background and hence you are not able to uninstall the Riot Client. You need to completely delete the Vanguard first and then proceed uninstalling the Riot Client in your PC. To remove the vanguard:
- Close Riot Client, Valorant as well as Vanguard (Check in system tray icon also and if it’s running right click and choose the option Exit)
- Click on the Start menu and type CMD
- Choose the option Run as administrator
- In command prompt, type the following commands one by one and hit enter key
Sc delete VGC
SC delete VGK
- These commands will delete the Vanguard registries
- Restart your PC (MUST)
- Now, go to the location C:\Program Files
- Find a folder with the name Riot Vanguard and delete it
After deleting the Riot Vanguard from your system, proceed to uninstall the Riot Client using the above method, and this will uninstall the Riot Client and fix the issue of Windows cannot find the Riotclientservices.exe.
Manually Delete Riot Games
Uninstalling Riot Client is a difficult task and that is the reason you are here. So, in this method, we are going to manually delete the problematic folder that is stopping you to uninstall Riot Client.
- Close all the Riot related process from task manager as well as from the system tray icon
Make sure to close all the Riot processes such as Riot Client, Vanguard, Valorant or League of Legends Client
- Now, right-click on the Start menu and select the option Run
- In Run Window, type-in %localappdata% and hit the enter key
- Find Riot Games folder here and delete it
- If you are not able to delete, Riot processes are running in your PC, so make sure to close them and try again
- After deleting the Riot Games folder, proceed with the steps as mentioned-above
This time, you will be able to uninstall the Riot Client from your system.
Using Third-Party Software
For many users, the first method doesn’t work out because they have tried different methods that break the sequence of uninstalling the Riot client. So for all those users, this method will surely work for them, and they will be able to fix the issue of Windows cannot find Riotclientservices.exe while uninstalling the Riot Client.
- Open the official website of Valorant to download the installer.
- Download the installer by clicking on the option “Play for free”
- Sign in to your existing account and download it
- Once downloaded, launch it to install the Valorant as well as Riot Client in your system
- Launch Riot Client and choose the option update to update/install the Valorant
- Now, close Riot client as well as Valorant if running in your system
- Click on the up arrow on the system tray also and if it’s running right click and choose the option “Exit”
- Open task manager to verify Riot Client or Valorant is not running in your system.
- Download Revo Uninstaller to uninstall the Riot client from its official website.
- Download the portable version, which is free to use.
- Once downloaded, unzip the file and launch the “RevoUport” by right-clicking and choosing the option “Run as administrator”
- Revo uninstaller will show you all the installed apps in your system
- Find Valorant, Riot Vanguard, and Riot Client
- Uninstall all three apps one by one as per the sequence shown below
- After uninstallation is complete, select the “Moderate” option to remove the traces of the game.
- This will completely uninstall the RiotClientServices.exe as well as Valorant from your system.
Conclusion: Windows cannot find RiotClientServices.exe Error Fix
In this article, I have provided you the proven fixes to uninstall the Valorant as well as Valorant and in turn helps you fix the issue of “Windows cannot find the RiotClientServices.exe. Make sure you type the name correctly“. If you have any queries or questions, feel free to comment below, and I will be more than happy to assist you.
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FAQ: Windows Cannot Find RiotClientServices.exe
Below are the answers to the queries people found searching on different website. So I tried to give the appropriate answer so all those queries so that you will the required information on a single webpage.
How to uninstall Riot Client?
Riot Client is a Client of Riot Games that is required to play games such as Valorant, League of Legends. Uninstall the Riot Client is not an easy task, and that is the reason people keep finding the solution. To uninstall Riot Client, you first need to uninstall the Valorant or League of Legends from your system.
After uninstall these games, delete Riot Games folder in your local files. Once Riot Games folder is deleted, you will be able to uninstall Riot Client using the add or remove program.
However, if it doesn’t, you need to follow a detailed guide to uninstall the Riot Client from your PC.
How to uninstall Valorant on Riot Client?
To uninstall Valorant, firstly make sure that any Riot Client processes are not running in your system. To make sure, open task manager and in the Processes tab find Riot related processes (such as Riot Client, Valorant). Check in the system tray also.
Now, delete the Riot’s anti-cheat software Riot Vanguard.
Once deleted, uninstall the Valorant using the Settings menu or using add or remove programs.
Why is Riot Client not uninstalling?
Major reason why Riot Client is not uninstalling is that, no matter what you do, Riot Client is running in the background which makes the application is in use and hence you are not able to uninstall the Riot Client.
To uninstall Riot Client you need to proceed with a set of instructions else you will not be able to uninstall the Riot Client.
You first need to close all the Riot services running in your PC, then delete the Riot Games folder, delete Vanguard and then proceed uninstalling the Riot Client.
How to stop Riot Client from running in the background?
To Stop Riot Client from running in the background, you need to stop all the Riot Client services. To do so:
Close the Riot Client by clicking on the “X” icon present in the top right corner.
Click on the system tray icon and right-click on the Riot Client and choose the option Exit.
Disable it from Startup apps also by opening the Task Manager and click on the Startup tab.
Here find Riot Client, right-click on it and choose the option Disable
Stop Riot Client’s VGC service by opening the command prompt and type services.msc
Here find VGC, right-click on it and choose the option Properties
Here in Startup type choose Disable and if its running click on the option Stop
This will you will be able to stop Riot Client from running in the background.
I am an engineer by profession and a blogger by passion.
Founder of FixGamingError.com as well as TheLotusGeek.com
I have more than 10 years of expertise in the field of gaming as well as in Windows Support.
