The Official Method for removing Link

While cleaning out some of my Evernote data, I came across this entry from the BlackBerry knowledge base: BlackBerry 10 devices not being detected via USB

Uninstall BlackBerry Link/BlackBerry Desktop Software 10
Search for any files or folders named "BlackBerry","Research In Motion", "RIM" and "XCPCSync.OEM" and if present then delete them:
C:\Users\..%USER%..\AppData\Local
C:\Users\..%USER%..\AppData\LocalLow
C:\Users\..%USER%..\AppData\Roaming
C:\Program Files (x86)\
C:\ProgramData\
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files
Check the following paths for these drivers and if present then delete them:
Path: C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository
rimusbnt.inf_amd64_neutral_532a9f65bccbfee8
rimvndis.inf_amd64_neutral_4b3e7f5e20216f4b
blackberryncm.inf_amd64_neutral_23f3337b6f80b2db
rimserial.inf_amd64_neutral_8089aa44baeaf242
Path: C:\Windows\System32\drivers
rimvndis6_AMD64.sys
RimUsb_AMD64.sys
RimSerial_AMD64.sys
blackberryncm6_AMD64.sys
Open the Registry using regedit.exe, search for the following registry keys and if present then delete them:
Note: Changes made to the Windows registry happen immediately, and no backup is automatically made. It is highly recommended to create a registry backup before making any changes.
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Research In Motion
HKCU\Software\BlackBerry
HKCU\Software\Reseach In Motion
HKCR\XCPC* (Note: delete anything that starts with this key name)
Enter the following commands in the Windows Run dialog box and hit enter, this will leverage the 32 bit version of registry editor:
C:\Windows\syswow64\regedit -m
Locate this registry key: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Sha redDLLs
Locate and delete these registry key values if present:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\USB Drivers\RimUsb.sys
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\USB Drivers\RimUsb_AMD.sys
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\XCPCSync.OEM\SyncSKD.209.604\XCPCSync.dll
Turn off any firewalls and anti-virus programs if they are enabled on the PC
Restart the server, before the windows logo appears press F8
When prompted to a DOS like screen with the options to enter "Safe Mode"
Scroll to the bottom and select "Disable Driver Signature Enforcement"
The PC will boot as normal. Login with admin credentials
Download the latest version of BlackBerry Link by downloading the BlackBerry Blend bundle
Install the BlackBerry Blend bundle (Blend install optional)
Plug in the device and wait for the drivers to install
BlackBerry Link should now detect the device

The only way I could remove all of the drivers was to use the Windows utility pnputil. From a command prompt as an administrator, enter the command:

pnputil -e > C:\drivers.txt

Then open the text file that it generates and find all of the BlackBerry/Research in Motion related drivers, making note of the Published Name.

Then delete those drivers by running the command for each driver:

pnputil /delete-driver oemnumber.inf

Hopefully this will help anyone with issues getting Link to connect and needing to ensure a complete removal without using third-party software.

I use a Windows program called Revo Uninstaller and given the correct search parameters you can automatically delete all these registry entries safely and effectively. Nice find though! Using Revo Uninstaller, and then reinstalling Link, Blend and the drivers has worked for me on 3 different machines with Windows 10 without fail.

Originally Posted by brookie229

I use a Windows program called Revo Uninstaller and given the correct search parameters you can automatically delete all these registry entries safely and effectively. Nice find though! Using Revo Uninstaller, and then reinstalling Link, Blend and the drivers has worked for me on 3 different machines with Windows 10 without fail.

I have a relatively clean installation of Windows 10 that runs Link with no issues, so long as I use admin permissions. I can reimage my system in 15 minutes if anything ever goes wrong, so I don't ever need to manually uninstall anything, but this is great info.

Posted with my trusty Z10

Revo can do a pretty good job, but I've run into many instances where a third-party tool will miss something or delete files or data that it shouldn't.

I'm also quite used to installing and removing drivers using command line since most of my Windows servers are GUI-less so it just comes as second nature to just use pnputil for removing things.