The clean install worked just fine!
@wedgevic these are the instructions i followed
1. Open your computer's Control Panel.
2. Open the Programs and Features options.
3. Select Corsair Utility Engine in the list, and then select Uninstall.
4. Press Window Key + R to open the Run command.
5. Type %appdata% and press Enter.
6. Delete any Corsair folders in the window that pops up.
7. Return to the Run window and type %localappdata%.
8. Delete any Corsair folders in the window that pops up.
9. Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\.
10. Delete any Corsair folders in that folder.
11. Type Regedit in the Run window and then click OK.
12. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Corsair\Corsair Utility Engine and delete the folder. (i deleted the main corsair folder here with a different subfolder name)
13. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Corsair\Corsair Utility Engine and delete the folder. (same as above)
14. Restart your computer.
finally install a new iCUE.
this worked for me!
thanks to David from corsair support