To completely uninstall and then reinstall Skype for Windows:

1. Close Skype and make sure that Skype is no longer running.
2. Save your personal information (if required). Your contacts, purchases and account information are stored on our servers, but other personal files such as chat messages, voicemail and snapshots taken during video calls, are only saved on your computer. To keep this personal information, you need to make a copy of it.
   • Vista and 7: Click Start, type run and press Enter.
     XP: Click Start and then Run...
   • Type %appdata%\skype and click OK.
   • Copy the Pictures folder and the folder with your Skype name to another location, such as your desktop.
3. Uninstall Skype.
   • Vista and 7: Click Start, type run and press Enter.
     XP: Click Start and then Run...
   • Type appwiz.cpl and click OK.
   • Select Skype from the list, right-click and select Remove or Uninstall.
4. Delete the Skype application folder.
   • Vista and 7: Click Start, type run and press Enter.
     XP: Click Start and then Run...
   • Type %appdata% and click OK.
   • Delete the Skype folder.
5. Ensure that the Skype program folder has been deleted.
   • Go to C:\Program Files
   • Delete the Skype folder and the SkypePM folder (if present).
6. Delete any Skype entries from the Registry.
   • Vista and 7: Click Start, type run and press Enter.
     XP: Click Start and then Run...
   • Type regedit and click OK.
   • In the Edit menu, click Find.
   • Search for the keyword Skype.
   • Use right-click to delete all the search results (there can be up to 50).
7. Download and install the latest version of Skype.
8. Restore your personal information (if required and previously saved).
   • Ensure Skype is not running
   • Vista and 7: Click Start, type run and click press Enter.
     XP: Click Start and then Run...
   • Type %appdata%\skype and click OK.
   • Copy the two folders you previously saved into this folder.

Reinstalling Skype can cause your firewall settings to become out of date. This can affect the quality of your audio calls. Because of this, you may also need to update your firewall settings.