Why does the update installer fail with "Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory" and mentions an appdata folder?

I am unable to update my MATLAB installation. The update installer fails with this error:

matlabroot (from -d): [C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2016b]

Products dir: C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2016b\appdata\products

Components dir: C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2016b\appdata\components

fs.js:904

return binding.readdir(pathModule._makeLong(path), options.encoding);

^

Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, scandir 'C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2016b\appdata\products'

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

The update installer fails because the appdata folder is missing in your MATLAB installation.

These files are needed for MATLAB to run properly, and the update installer cannot recreate these.

Since your MATLAB installation is corrupted, you will have to perform a clean re-installation.

1. How to do a clean uninstall

- Windows System: <https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/131519 How do I perform a clean installation of MATLAB on a Windows system? >

- On MacOS: How do I uninstall MATLAB on a Mac OS X machine?

- On Linux: How do I uninstall MATLAB products on a UNIX or Linux machine?

2. Reinstall MATLAB

How do I install MATLAB?