Windows 10: Delete User and System Environment Variables in Windows

How to: Delete User and System Environment Variables in Windows

How to Delete User and System Environment Variables in Windows


Environment variables are a set of dynamic named values that can affect the way running processes will behave on a computer. The variables can be used both in scripts and on the command line. Environment variables makes it easy when certain standard directories and parameters need to be referenced but where the actual locations or names can vary from computer to computer.

The variable (ex: "%UserProfile%") is used as a type of shortcut of the value (ex: "C:\Users\<username>").

There are two types of environment variables: user environment variables (set only for current user) and system environment variables (set for all users).

This tutorial will show you how to delete user and system environment variables in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.


CONTENTS:

• Option One: Delete User Environment Variables in Environment Variables
• Option Two: Delete User Environment Variables in PowerShell
• Option Three: Delete User Environment Variables in Registry Editor
• Option Four: Delete System Environment Variables in Environment Variables
• Option Five: Delete System Environment Variables in PowerShell
• Option Six: Delete System Environment Variables in Registry Editor

OPTION ONE [/i] Delete User Environment Variables in Environment Variables
1 Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the User Accounts icon.

2 Click/tap on the Change my environment variables link on the left side, and close the User Accounts control panel window if you like. (see screenshot below)



3 Select a variable you want to delete listed in the top User variables for <current user name> section, and click/tap on the Delete button. (see screenshot below)

4 When finished deleting user variables for your account, click/tap on OK to apply.









OPTION TWO [/i] Delete User Environment Variables in PowerShell
1 Open Windows PowerShell.

2 Type the command below into PowerShell, press Enter, and make note of the user variable name (ex: "Downloads") you want to delete. (see screenshot below)
Get-ChildItem Env:




3 Type the command below into PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("[variable name]",$null,"User")

Substitute [variable name] in the command above with the actual variable name (ex: "Downloads") you want to delete.

4 You can now close Windows PowerShell if you like.









OPTION THREE [/i] Delete User Environment Variables in Registry Editor
1 Press Win+R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.

2 Navigate to the key below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Environment




3 In the right pane of the Environment key in Registry Editor, right click or press and hold on the value name (ex: "Downloads") of the variable you want to delete for your account, and click/tap on Delete. (see screenshot above)

4 Click/tap on Yes to confirm. (see screenshot below)



5 When finished deleting user variables for your account, you can close Registry Editor if you like.





OPTION FOUR [/i] Delete System Environment Variables in Environment Variables
You must be signed in as an administrator to do this option.


1 Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the System icon.

2 Click/tap on the Advanced system settings link on the left side, and close the System control panel window if you like. (see screenshot below)



3 Click/tap on the Environment Variables button. (see screenshot below)



4 Select a variable you want to delete listed in the bottom System variables section, and click/tap on the Delete button. When finished deleting system variables, click/tap on OK to apply. (see screenshot below)



5 Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)








OPTION FIVE [/i] Delete System Environment Variables in PowerShell
You must be signed in as an administrator to do this option.


1 Open an elevated Windows PowerShell.

2. Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and make note of the system variable name (ex: "Downloads") you want to delete. (see screenshot below)
Get-ChildItem Env:




3 Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("[variable name]",$null,"Machine")

Substitute [variable name] in the command above with the actual variable name (ex: "Downloads") you want to delete.

4 You can now close the elevated Windows PowerShell if you like.









OPTION SIX [/i] Delete System Environment Variables in Registry Editor
You must be signed in as an administrator to do this option.


1 Press Win+R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.

2 Navigate to the key below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment




3 In the right pane of the Environment key in Registry Editor, right click or press and hold on the value name (ex: "Downloads") of the variable you want to delete, and click/tap on Delete. (see screenshot above)

4 Click/tap on Yes to confirm. (see screenshot below)



5 When finished deleting system variables, you can close Registry Editor if you like.

That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• Complete List of Environment Variables in Windows 10
• How to Create Environment Variables Shortcut in Windows
• How to Set New User and System Environment Variables in Windows
• How to Edit User and System Environment Variables in Windows

:)

 

System environment variable won't stick


Running Win10 Home on an Acer Spin 3, 64bit, i7cpu. I try to add a path to the system environment variables by:

1. Control Panel > System > Advanced system settings > Advanced tab > Environment variables

2. The "Environment Variables" window opens.
3. In the "System Variables" pane I select "Path" and click the EDIT button.
4. A list of the current system paths is displayed.
5. I click the NEW button, browse to the path I want to add which is "C:\Python36-32" and click OK. The path "C:\Python36-32" is added to the list of current system paths.
6. I click OK and am returned to the "Environment Variables" window.
7. I click the "X" at the top right to close the "Environment Variables" window.

Now if I click the "Environment Variables" button again (end of step-1) and repeat steps 2-4, the new path I added in step-5 is gone. IOW, adding a new path won't stick.

What am I doing wrong?

 

User Environment Variable

Hello,

Try modifying environment variables via registry:

https://www.kapilarya.com/change-user-and-system-environment-variables-windows-10

Let us know if this helps!

 

User environment variables recovery

Hi Haoran,

The system environment block represents environment variables for all users of the particular computer. A user's environment block represents the environment variables the system maintains for that particular user, including the set of system environment
variables.

That being said, there might have been a conflict with your user environment variables after renaming your PC.

To have your user environment variables issue addressed, we highly recommend posting it to our
TechNet Forum which caters IT professionals who are actively answering these types of concerns. Click
here to post your issue.

If you have other concerns, don't hesitate to get back to us.

 

Delete User Environment Variables in Environment Variables

You can also easily delete variables from the command prompt:

setx VariableName ""

set VariableName=

reg delete HKCU\Environment /v VariableName

reg delete "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment" /v VariableName /f


* set: changes made by set are only until you close the command prompt

* setx: after deleting a variable with setx you may have to close and reopen the command prompt for changes to be noticed

* reg delete: you have to close and open another cmd for changes to be noticed

 

Edit Environment Variables of Standard User Account

In Windows 10, how can I set user-level (not system wide) environment variables for a standard user account? To clarify: I'm not talking about editing system environment variables. Also, just running the System app in Control Panel as admin won't work because
that would set the environment variables for that admin user.

When I go to Control Panel -> User Accounts, then click the "Change my environment variables" link in the left-hand action pane, nothing happens.

If I go to the search box on the task bar and type "environment", then click "Edit environment variables for your account", nothing happens.

Currently I have JAVA_HOME set to an incorrect value in my user account, which is a standard user not an admin. If I edit environment variables as admin, it does not show up in the system environment variables nor in the user environment variables (since
the Administrator account is a different user).