Uninstalling Valorant does not remove Riot Vanguard. That surprises a lot of players, because Vanguard’s kernel driver, vgk.sys, keeps loading at every Windows boot even after the game itself is long gone from the hard drive. If you’ve deleted Valorant, checked Task Manager, and still see Vanguard-related services running, you’re not imagining it. Riot’s own player base gives a sense of scale here: Tracker Network recorded roughly 14.1 million monthly tracked Valorant players on PC as of February 2026, and every one of them has Vanguard installed as a separate program from the game itself. This tutorial walks through the full removal process Riot documents plus the manual cleanup steps needed when the standard uninstaller leaves files, services, and registry entries behind. By the end you’ll have a repeatable script that verifies vgk.sys is gone for good, plus a GUI-only method for readers who’d rather avoid the command line entirely.

Why Uninstalling Valorant Doesn’t Remove Vanguard’s Kernel Driver

Vanguard and Valorant are two separate installed programs on Windows, even though most players treat them as one thing. Valorant is the game client. Riot Vanguard is a kernel-mode anti-cheat system that runs as its own Windows service, independent of whether Valorant is open. Riot built it this way on purpose: the driver loads at system startup so it can catch cheat software that launches before the game does. That design choice is also why deleting the Valorant folder or running the in-game uninstaller doesn’t touch Vanguard at all.

Two Windows services matter here: vgc (the user-mode Vanguard client component) and vgk (the kernel driver tied to vgk.sys). As long as Riot Vanguard shows up in “Add or remove programs,” these services stay registered and vgk.sys loads on every boot, whether or not you ever launch Valorant again. Riot’s own support documentation confirms this behavior directly.

“Type and press Enter for both of these commands, in succession: sc delete vgc sc delete vgk”

Riot Games Support, Official support documentation (support.riotgames.com)

That single line from Riot’s own advanced troubleshooting guide is the core of what this tutorial expands on: uninstalling Valorant is step one, uninstalling Vanguard is step two, and deleting its services and leftover files is step three. Skip any of the three and vgk.sys keeps running.

Is Riot Vanguard Safe to Remove? What the Driver Actually Does

Before ripping Vanguard out, it helps to know what it’s doing on your machine in the first place, since that context explains why removal takes more than one click. Vanguard runs at the kernel level, the same privilege tier as core Windows drivers, specifically so it can detect cheat software that loads before Valorant starts. Riot has been consistent on this point since Vanguard’s 2020 launch: the driver doesn’t scan files or communicate over the network unless a Valorant match is actually running. When you’re not in a game, vgk.sys sits loaded in memory but largely idle, watching for the kind of low-level tampering that user-mode anti-cheat can’t catch.

That’s also the tradeoff players push back on. A kernel driver that boots with Windows and stays resident has more system access than almost any other piece of consumer software you’ll install, and it’s fair to want it gone the moment you stop playing. The good news for anyone weighing this decision: no specific CVE tied to vgk.sys has surfaced in security research through 2025 and into 2026, and Riot has maintained the same public uninstall path (Add or remove programs, plus the manual sc delete fallback) for years without deprecating it. Removing Vanguard is safe, reversible, and doesn’t touch anything outside its own two services and one install folder.

One practical side effect worth knowing about: because Vanguard runs so early and so persistently, it does sometimes conflict with other kernel-level software, things like virtualization tools, hardware debuggers, or custom driver stacks used for development work. If you’ve noticed one of those tools misbehaving only while Vanguard is installed, that’s a known interaction pattern, not a bug specific to your setup, and it resolves itself once Vanguard is fully removed.

Prerequisites and What You’ll Need

This removal works on Windows 10 and Windows 11 (build 22H2 or later recommended, since that’s what Vanguard currently targets for compatibility). You’ll need an administrator account, about 20 minutes, and a willingness to open Command Prompt. Nothing here requires third-party software.

RequirementDetails
Operating systemWindows 10 (21H2+) or Windows 11 (22H2+)
Account typeLocal administrator (required for service deletion)
Tools neededCommand Prompt, PowerShell, Registry Editor (all built into Windows)
Time estimate15-20 minutes, plus one reboot
Vanguard services affectedvgc (user-mode client), vgk (kernel driver, vgk.sys)
Backup recommendedNone required, but note your Valorant account name if reinstalling later

One more thing worth confirming before you start: close every Riot-related process, including the Riot Client, Valorant, and any Riot background updater. If Command Prompt tells you a service is still “in use” when you try to delete it later, this is almost always why.

It also helps to know what you’re not going to lose. Removing Vanguard doesn’t touch your Riot account, your Valorant rank, your cosmetics inventory, or any purchase history, since all of that lives on Riot’s servers, not on your local machine. The only local data at risk is match replay files if you’ve saved any, which live in the Valorant install folder and get removed along with the game in Step 1, not with Vanguard in the later steps.

Step 1: Uninstall Valorant Through Windows Settings

Start with the game itself. Open Settings, go to Apps, then Installed apps, search for Valorant, click the three-dot menu, and select Uninstall. This removes the game client, its assets, and roughly 30GB of install data, but it leaves Riot Vanguard and the Riot Client completely untouched. That’s expected. Don’t worry if Vanguard still shows up in your installed apps list afterward. That’s the next target.

If you plan to keep other Riot titles installed (League of Legends also uses Vanguard as of recent updates), stop here and skip ahead to the troubleshooting section instead of removing Vanguard, since other games may depend on it.

Step 2: Check Which Vanguard Services Are Still Active

Before touching anything else, confirm what’s actually running. Open Command Prompt as Administrator (right-click the Start button, choose “Terminal (Admin)” or search “cmd,” right-click, “Run as administrator”) and query both services.

sc query vgc
sc query vgk

If Vanguard is still installed, the output looks like this for each service:

SERVICE_NAME: vgk
        TYPE               : 1  KERNEL_DRIVER
        STATE              : 4  RUNNING
                                (STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, ACCEPTS_SHUTDOWN)
        WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)
        SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)
        CHECKPOINT         : 0x0
        WAIT_HINT          : 0x0

STATE 4 RUNNING confirms vgk.sys is actively loaded, right now, in kernel mode, regardless of whether Valorant is installed. This is the exact behavior that surprises most players: the driver doesn’t check whether the game exists before it loads.

Prefer a GUI? Check Services Without the Command Line

If you’d rather not type commands, Windows Services manager shows the same information visually. Press Windows key + R, type services.msc, and press Enter. Scroll to find two entries: “Riot Vanguard” and a second entry sometimes labeled “vgk” directly. The Status column shows “Running” if the driver is active. Right-click either entry and you’ll see Stop is available, but Start Type and full removal still require the uninstall steps below. Services manager can only stop a service temporarily, not delete it. Use it as a quick visual check, then switch to Command Prompt for the actual removal.

Step 3: Uninstall Riot Vanguard From Add or Remove Programs

With confirmation that Vanguard is still active, remove it the standard way first, since it’s cleaner than the manual method and works for most people.

  1. Press the Windows key and type “Add or remove programs,” then press Enter.
  2. Scroll or search until you find “Riot Vanguard” in the list.
  3. Click it, then click Uninstall.
  4. Confirm in the pop-up window, and again in the User Account Control prompt.

“Scroll till you come across Riot Vanguard, click on it, and then click Uninstall.”

Riot Games Support, Official support documentation (support.riotgames.com)

For most players this finishes the job in under a minute and removes vgc, vgk, and the install folder in one pass. Run sc query vgk again to check. If you get “The specified service does not exist as an installed service,” you’re done and can skip to the verification step. If the uninstaller hangs, errors out, or Vanguard reappears in the list after a reboot, move to the manual method below.

Step 4: Manually Delete the vgc and vgk Services (Advanced Method)

This is the method Riot’s own advanced support article recommends when the graphical uninstaller fails, and it’s the most reliable way to guarantee the driver stops loading. Open Command Prompt as Administrator again and run these two commands in order.

sc stop vgc
sc stop vgk
sc delete vgc
sc delete vgk

A successful stop returns STATE: 1 STOPPED. A successful delete returns “[SC] DeleteService SUCCESS.” If vgk refuses to stop because it’s a protected kernel driver on your build of Windows, skip the stop command and run sc delete vgk directly. Deletion doesn’t require the service to be stopped first. It just marks the service for removal on next reboot.

Step 5: Reboot and Confirm the Driver Is Unloaded

Reboot before touching any files. Windows won’t release a loaded kernel driver’s file lock until the next boot cycle, and deleting files or folders while vgk.sys is still technically loaded in memory can throw access-denied errors.

“Reboot your computer. This step MUST be done before proceeding to uninstall Riot Vanguard.”

Riot Games Support, Official support documentation (support.riotgames.com)

After Windows restarts, open Command Prompt as Administrator one more time and verify both services are gone.

sc query vgc
sc query vgk

Expected output for a clean removal:

[SC] EnumQueryServicesStatus:OpenService FAILED 1060:

The specified service does not exist as an installed service.

Seeing that error for both vgc and vgk means the kernel driver is no longer registered anywhere in Windows and won’t load at your next boot.

Step 6: Delete Leftover Vanguard Files and Folders

The services are gone, but the install folder usually survives both the graphical and manual uninstall paths. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard\ in File Explorer, or run this from Command Prompt.

rmdir /s /q "C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard"

“Right-click the Riot Vanguard folder and Delete any remaining files”

Riot Games Support, Official support documentation (support.riotgames.com)

If Windows says the folder is in use, that almost always means a reboot got skipped somewhere in the process, or a Riot process is still running in the background. Check Task Manager for anything named “Riot” or “Vanguard” and end those tasks first.

Step 7: Clean Registry Keys Vanguard Leaves Behind

Deleting a Windows service with sc delete removes its registry entry automatically in most cases, but it’s worth confirming, especially if you saw errors in the previous steps. Open Registry Editor (search “regedit,” run as administrator) and check these two paths.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vgk
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vgc

If either key still exists after you’ve confirmed the services are gone via sc query, right-click the key and delete it manually. You can also do this from an elevated Command Prompt without opening the Registry Editor GUI at all.

reg delete "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vgk" /f
reg delete "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vgc" /f

Back up the registry before editing it directly if you’re not comfortable with this step. A bad edit to the wrong key can cause boot problems. This step is optional for most users since sc delete already handles it.

Step 8: Clear ProgramData, Logs, and Scheduled Tasks

Vanguard also writes logs and configuration data outside its main Program Files folder. Check C:\ProgramData\Riot Games\ for a leftover Vanguard subfolder and delete it if the main uninstall didn’t clear it. It’s small, usually a few megabytes of logs, but it’s worth clearing if you want a genuinely clean system.

Also check Task Scheduler for any Riot-related on-demand tasks that persisted. Open Task Scheduler, browse to Task Scheduler Library, and look for entries containing “Riot” or “Vanguard.” Right-click and delete anything you find.

schtasks /query /fo LIST | findstr /i "riot vanguard"

An empty result here means no scheduled tasks reference Riot software, which is what you want to see.

What Happens After the Next Windows Update

A question that comes up a lot: does a major Windows update bring Vanguard back on its own? No. Windows Update has no relationship with Riot’s services and won’t reinstall software Riot provides. If you see vgc or vgk running again after an update, the far more likely explanation is that the Riot Client was still installed and silently repaired Vanguard the next time it checked in, which it can do automatically in the background even if you never manually opened it. That’s one more reason Step 8’s Task Scheduler check matters: an active Riot Client scheduled task is what triggers the surprise reinstall, not the Windows update itself.

Step 9: Run a Full System Verification Pass

Rather than checking each piece separately, run this quick PowerShell block (as Administrator) to confirm every trace is gone in one pass.

Get-Service -Name vgc, vgk -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Test-Path "C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard"
Test-Path "C:\ProgramData\Riot Games\Vanguard"
Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vgk" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

A clean removal returns nothing for Get-Service, False for both Test-Path checks, and nothing for the registry query. If any of those return a result, go back to the matching step above and repeat it.

Step 10: Build a Complete Removal Script for Repeat Use

If you manage more than one PC, or you just want a single script to run instead of ten manual steps, here’s a complete PowerShell script that combines everything above into one working project. Save it as remove-vanguard.ps1 and run it from an elevated PowerShell prompt.

#Requires -RunAsAdministrator

Write-Host "Stopping Vanguard services..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Stop-Service -Name vgc -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Stop-Service -Name vgk -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Write-Host "Deleting Vanguard services..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
sc.exe delete vgc
sc.exe delete vgk

Write-Host "Removing Vanguard install folder..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
$vgPath = "C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard"
if (Test-Path $vgPath) {
    Remove-Item -Path $vgPath -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}

Write-Host "Removing ProgramData residue..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
$vgData = "C:\ProgramData\Riot Games\Vanguard"
if (Test-Path $vgData) {
    Remove-Item -Path $vgData -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}

Write-Host "Cleaning registry keys..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Remove-Item -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vgk" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vgc" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Write-Host "Done. Reboot now, then re-run this script to verify." -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Verification:" -ForegroundColor Yellow
Get-Service -Name vgc, vgk -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Test-Path $vgPath

Run it once, reboot, then run it a second time. The second pass should return nothing for the service check and False for the path check, confirming Vanguard and vgk.sys are fully gone from the system.

Common Pitfalls When Removing Vanguard

Most Vanguard removal problems trace back to one of a handful of repeat offenders. Here’s what actually trips people up, based on the failure points Riot’s own support documentation and community troubleshooting threads keep circling back to.

  • Skipping the reboot between service deletion and file deletion. Windows keeps a lock on driver files until the next boot, so trying to delete the folder immediately after sc delete vgk usually throws an access-denied error.
  • Uninstalling Vanguard while another Riot game still needs it. League of Legends and other Riot titles have adopted Vanguard too, so removing it can break those games until you reinstall.
  • Running Command Prompt without administrator rights. Every sc and reg delete command in this guide fails silently or with an access error if the terminal isn’t elevated.
  • Assuming the graphical uninstaller always works. It fails often enough that Riot maintains a separate manual method in its own support documentation, which is why Step 4 exists.
  • Editing the wrong registry key. Double-check the exact path before deleting anything under CurrentControlSet\Services. Deleting an unrelated service key can cause driver or hardware issues unrelated to Vanguard.
  • Forgetting background Riot processes. The Riot Client updater can relaunch and hold a lock on files mid-cleanup if you don’t fully close it first.

Troubleshooting: Vanguard Won’t Uninstall or Keeps Coming Back

When the standard uninstall path fails, it’s rarely a mystery once you know where to look. The table below covers the nine most common failure patterns readers report, matched against the specific step in this tutorial that resolves each one.

SymptomLikely causeFix
“Access is denied” on sc deleteCommand Prompt not running as AdministratorClose and reopen as Administrator, retry the command
Uninstaller hangs at 0%A Riot process is holding a file lockEnd all Riot/Vanguard tasks in Task Manager, retry
Vanguard folder won’t deletevgk.sys still loaded in memory, no reboot yetReboot, then retry the delete command
Vanguard reinstalls itself automaticallyRiot Client auto-repair triggered by a leftover shortcutUninstall the Riot Client too, not just Valorant
sc query still shows the service after deleteDeletion is pending until next rebootReboot, then re-run sc query to confirm
Blue screen referencing vgk.sysCorrupted or partially removed driver fileBoot into Safe Mode, run the manual sc delete commands, reboot normally
Other Riot games stop launchingVanguard removed while still required by another titleReinstall Vanguard via the Riot Client, or use per-game exceptions if available
Registry key reappears after deletionA scheduled task or leftover installer re-registered the serviceCheck Task Scheduler for Riot entries and remove them, then delete the key again
PowerShell script errors on Remove-ItemScript not run with administrator privilegesRight-click PowerShell, “Run as Administrator,” re-run the script

If none of these match what you’re seeing, check whether antivirus software is quarantining the Vanguard uninstaller itself. Some security tools flag kernel-driver installers and uninstallers as suspicious by default, which can interrupt the removal mid-process.

Advanced Tips: Automating Removal Across Multiple PCs

If you’re clearing Vanguard off a household’s worth of gaming PCs, or a shared machine at a LAN center, the PowerShell script from Step 10 can run unattended via a scheduled task or a remote management tool like PDQ Deploy or Intune. Package it with a silent exit code check so you know which machines still need a manual pass.

if (Get-Service -Name vgk -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
    Write-Host "FAILED: vgk still present" -ForegroundColor Red
    exit 1
} else {
    Write-Host "SUCCESS: vgk removed" -ForegroundColor Green
    exit 0
}

Append that block to the end of the removal script and check the exit code from your deployment tool’s logs. A non-zero exit means that machine needs the reboot-and-retry cycle repeated manually.

One more advanced option: if you frequently install and remove Vanguard for testing, keep a copy of the Vanguard installer cached locally rather than relying on the Riot Client to re-download it every time. The installer is small (well under 50MB), and having it on hand cuts reinstall time significantly compared to pulling it fresh from Riot’s servers.

If you’re testing removal across a fleet of machines with different Windows builds, log the output of sc query vgk before and after each run to a text file rather than eyeballing the console. It’s a small habit, but it turns a one-off cleanup into an auditable process, which matters if you’re documenting this for a shared or managed environment rather than just your own PC.

Why Riot Requires Vanguard in the First Place

It’s worth stepping back to explain the competitive-integrity reasoning behind Vanguard, since it explains why Riot has never offered a “Valorant without Vanguard” option despite years of player requests. Cheat developers who target competitive shooters build tools that hook into the game at the lowest possible level, sometimes running before the operating system finishes loading the game process. A user-mode anti-cheat, the kind that only activates once you launch the game, simply can’t see that kind of tampering happen. Kernel-mode drivers like Vanguard can, because they load at the same privilege level the cheats are trying to exploit.

That tradeoff, more system access in exchange for catching harder-to-detect cheats, is the same bet Riot made with Vanguard back in 2020 and hasn’t reversed since. It’s also why removing Vanguard makes Valorant unplayable rather than just less protected: the Riot Client won’t treat a machine as trusted unless the driver reports in at startup. For competitive integrity, that’s the whole point. For anyone who’s simply done with the game, it’s exactly why a full uninstall needs every step in this tutorial rather than just deleting the Valorant folder.

Vanguard vs Other Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat Drivers

Vanguard isn’t the only kernel-mode anti-cheat system that persists after a game uninstall. Here’s how its removal process compares to the other major ones players run into.

Anti-cheat systemUsed byLoads at boot?Removal method
Riot Vanguard (vgk.sys)Valorant, League of LegendsYes, always, independent of the gameUninstall via Add/remove programs, or sc delete vgc/vgk
Easy Anti-Cheat (EasyAntiCheat.sys)Fortnite, Apex Legends, many othersOnly while the specific game is runningRemoved automatically with the game uninstall in most cases
BattlEye (BEDaisy.sys)PUBG, Rainbow Six Siege, othersOnly while the specific game is runningRemoved automatically with the game uninstall in most cases
Vanguard by 5v5 Games (unrelated, similarly named)Different smaller titlesVaries by implementationCheck the specific game’s support documentation

The key difference is persistence. Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye typically load only when their associated game launches and get cleaned up when that game is uninstalled. Riot Vanguard is deliberately built to run continuously at boot, which is exactly why it needs its own separate uninstall process instead of coming along for free when you remove Valorant.

Recent Valorant Patches and Why Vanguard Hasn’t Changed

Riot ships Valorant updates on a steady cadence, and it’s worth knowing that none of the recent patches have altered how Vanguard installs, uninstalls, or loads at boot. Patch 13.01, released July 14, 2026, focused on rank-manipulation fixes and adjustments to Iso, Yoru, and Outlaw. Patch 13.02, which landed August 18-19, 2026, changed Phoenix’s ultimate ability and added new maps to Retakes. Neither patch note mentions any change to the Vanguard driver model, the vgc/vgk service structure, or the uninstall process this tutorial covers. That consistency matters for anyone bookmarking this guide: the sc delete method and file paths documented here have held steady across multiple content seasons and should keep working the same way through future patches unless Riot announces otherwise.

If you’re removing Vanguard specifically because of a bug introduced in a recent patch, rather than because you’re done with the game, check Riot’s official patch notes page first. A Vanguard-adjacent bug is more often fixed in the next patch than solved by uninstalling and reinstalling the driver.

Reinstalling Vanguard Cleanly If You Come Back to Valorant

If you decide to reinstall Valorant later, you don’t need to manually reinstall Vanguard first. Download and install Valorant through the Riot Client as normal, and the client will detect that Vanguard is missing and reinstall it automatically as part of the game setup. This is also why a partial Vanguard removal (services deleted but the Riot Client still present) sometimes causes it to silently reinstall itself when you weren’t expecting it: the Riot Client checks for Vanguard on every launch and repairs it if missing.

If you want Valorant gone permanently and don’t want Vanguard reinstalling itself unexpectedly, uninstall the Riot Client as well, not just Valorant and Vanguard individually. That removes the auto-repair trigger completely.

Moving to a New PC? Skip the Cleanup on the Old One

A quick note for anyone removing Vanguard because they’re retiring an old gaming PC rather than quitting Valorant: if the machine is headed for a full wipe or a fresh Windows install, you can skip this entire tutorial. A clean install of Windows removes every service, registry key, and file this guide walks through, no manual steps needed. Reserve the removal process for machines that are staying in service but no longer need Vanguard running, whether that’s because you’re done with Valorant specifically or you’re standardizing a shared PC to run without kernel-level anti-cheat software at all.

If you’re setting up Valorant fresh on a new machine instead, you don’t need to do anything with Vanguard ahead of time. The Riot Client installs it automatically as part of the standard Valorant setup flow, the same way it handles reinstalling Vanguard on a machine where you removed it previously.

For more on esports platforms and anti-cheat systems, visit our esports section.

Quick-Reference Checklist

If you’ve already read through the full tutorial and just want a checklist to follow while you work, here’s every step condensed into one pass. Check each box mentally as you go, and don’t skip the reboot between steps 5 and 6, since that’s where most incomplete removals go wrong.

  • Uninstall Valorant from Settings > Apps > Installed apps
  • Run sc query vgc and sc query vgk to confirm Vanguard is still active
  • Try the standard uninstall via Add or remove programs first
  • If that fails, run sc stop vgc, sc stop vgk, sc delete vgc, sc delete vgk
  • Reboot before deleting any files
  • Delete the C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard folder
  • Check and clear the vgk and vgc registry keys if they persist
  • Clear ProgramData residue and any leftover Task Scheduler entries
  • Run the PowerShell verification block to confirm a clean removal
  • Save and reuse the full removal script for future cleanups

Frequently Asked Questions

Does uninstalling Valorant also remove Riot Vanguard?

No. Valorant and Riot Vanguard are separate installed programs. Removing Valorant deletes the game client but leaves the vgc and vgk services, along with the Vanguard install folder, in place. You have to uninstall Riot Vanguard separately.

Is it safe to delete vgk.sys manually?

Yes, when you delete it through the proper channel: the sc delete vgk command after stopping the service, followed by a reboot. Manually deleting the .sys file itself without first removing the service registration can leave orphaned registry entries, so use the sc.exe method described in this guide instead.

Will removing Vanguard affect other Riot games like League of Legends?

It can. League of Legends has adopted Vanguard as well, so if you play both games, removing Vanguard will require it to reinstall the next time you launch League. If you only play League and not Valorant, keep Vanguard installed.

Why does vgk.sys run even when I’m not playing Valorant?

Riot designed Vanguard to load at system startup specifically to catch cheat software that launches before the game does. The tradeoff for that level of protection is that the driver runs continuously in the background, not just during a match.

What’s the difference between the vgc and vgk services?

vgc is the Vanguard user-mode client component, and vgk is the kernel-mode driver tied to the vgk.sys file. Both need to be stopped and deleted for a complete removal. Deleting only one leaves the other running.

Why won’t Riot Vanguard uninstall through Add or Remove Programs?

This usually happens when a Riot background process still has a file lock, or when a previous partial uninstall left the service in an inconsistent state. Close all Riot processes in Task Manager first, and if that doesn’t fix it, use the manual sc delete method in Step 4.

Do I need to reboot after every step?

Only one reboot is required, right after deleting the vgc and vgk services and before deleting the Vanguard folder or registry keys. Rebooting releases the file locks Windows holds on an active kernel driver.

Can I reinstall Vanguard without reinstalling Valorant?

Not directly. Vanguard installs as part of the Valorant (or League of Legends) setup process through the Riot Client. There’s no standalone Vanguard installer distributed separately from a Riot game.

Does removing Vanguard fix Valorant performance or FPS issues?

Not usually on its own, since Vanguard’s background footprint is small when you’re not in a match. If you’re chasing FPS problems, check GPU drivers and in-game graphics settings first. Removing and reinstalling Vanguard is more useful for fixing driver conflicts or corrupted installs than for raw performance gains.

Is there an official Riot tool that automates the whole removal process?

No. Riot’s support documentation lists the Add or remove programs method and the manual sc delete commands, but there’s no single official script or executable that runs the full cleanup end to end. That’s the gap the PowerShell script in Step 10 of this guide is built to fill.