Because the files have only been downloaded and not installed, you can safely delete them without worrying about harming other programs or files that contain your company’s important data. Double-click the “C:” drive icon.

Scroll down the list and double-click the “Windows” folder. Open the “Download” folder. Right click the Windows Update files you want to delete and choose “Delete” from the menu. Answer “Yes” when the deletion confirmation dialog box appears to move the files to the Recycle Bin. Open the Recycle Bin on the desktop and right-click the Windows Update files you just deleted.

Select “Delete” form the menu and click “Yes” to confirm you want to permanently remove the files form your computer if you are sure you no longer need them.

Charlotte Mission is an avid reader and writer. This works on all supported versions of Windows, including Windows 7, Windows 8. You can re-run a check for updates once all files have been deleted. Please note that Windows Update will download all updates anew when you clear the update cache.

This can lead to Gigabyte large downloads. You may purge the Windows Update cache from the command line as well. While you can type the following commands on an elevated command prompt manually, you may create a small batch file as well toautomate the process.

We have uploaded a batch file to our own server which you may run to execute the commands automatically. You need to right-click on the file and select “run as administrator” as it requires administrative privileges. You can download the file with a click on the following link: clear-windows-update-cache. I always thought that Disk Cleanup removed old Windows Update files, among other things.

Am I wrong? This was very informative but I have a different problem. Windows has presented me with a list of updates that are needed but I only want to download and install the Windows Defender security update files.

How do I pick and choose which of the presented files to download and install? Can you provide any additional help? Hi Martin, what happen if i deleted the downloaded file? It simply removes the cached update files but does not impact the system in any other way. It does not remove installed updates. Hope they go away soon… or learn to be polite. For particularly pernicious cases, I have a script to do all of it.

It also clears out catroot: net stop wuauserv net stop bits net stop cryptSvc net stop msiserver. Easier just to rename the SoftwareDistribution file. The OS will rebuild it again on the next reboot. Okay, tech-challenged senior here…am running Win7, do I need to do this? Is it really something I should try?

Or is this for Win10 only? Is this something I even really need? I have very little idea what these comments are even about. There are some exceptions: a if you run into update issues as described in the article, b if you want to clear up space after all updates are installed properly and leftover files are still in the folder. This works in all recent versions of Windows, not only in Windows Great, thanks, Martin.

But thanks again. I had MG! Thank you!!!!! Amazing results: Began with only MB available storage on my C drive before emptying the SoftwareDistribution folder, which contained Win 10 ver repeatedly failing to complete installation over the past month I tried and tried, not enough space. Immediately after: 5. After restarting: 5. Manufacturers are now no longer allowed to pre-install Win 10 on low storage 32 GB devices. Glad I found this aricle, saved me!

I follow the process you shared and it delete the patch but when i click on check for updates under windows update in windows R2 wsus client or any other wsus client all the patch which i deleted came again. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Please click on the following link to open the newsletter signup page: Ghacks Newsletter Sign up.

Ghacks is a technology news blog that was founded in by Martin Brinkmann. It has since then become one of the most popular tech news sites on the Internet with five authors and regular contributions from freelance writers. Search for:.

Martin Brinkmann. Windows , Windows Updates. How to delete downloaded Windows Update files. Find out how to delete downloaded cached Windows Update files on all supported versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Related content Linux is performing better than Windows 11 according to this benchmark test.

Microsoft releases two new builds to the Windows 11 Insider Preview Beta channel. Quick Tip: restore system desktop icons on Windows 10 and 11 PCs. Microsoft is testing a new “Open With” prompt in latest Windows 11 build. Comments Mark Hazard said on November 16, at pm. Bob said on June 8, at pm.

Where do windows update files download to free

 
See How to Change Windows Update Settings for more on this and how to change how updates are downloaded and installed.

Where do windows update files download to free. How to delete downloaded Windows Update files

Windows Vista hides update files so that offline updates can’t be re-used for non genuine copies of Windows Vista. Good luck. These folders contained rollback information and files incase you wanted to undo the changes that the hotfix applied. So I need the Vista equivalent location of these rollback files simply so I can delete them and recover some space on the system partition. Office Office Exchange Server. Not an IT pro? Resources for IT Professionals. Sign in. United States English.

Ask a question. Quick access. Search related threads. Remove From My Forums. Answered by:. Archived Forums. Windows Vista Setup. For deployment issues, please use the Windows Vista Deployment and Imaging forum. Sign in to vote. Apologies if this isn’t posted in the correct forum. I was wondering if anyone knew where the Windows Update files are located in Vista?

Tuesday, September 11, AM. Wednesday, November 7, PM. Hi, Windows Vista hides update files so that offline updates can’t be re-used for non genuine copies of Windows Vista. Tuesday, September 11, PM. I think you may have misunderstood. Wednesday, September 12, AM. Wednesday, September 12, PM.

How to Check for and Install Windows Updates.

 
 
› en-us › windows › forum › all › location-of-wind. By default, Windows will store any update downloads on to your main drive, this is where Windows is installed, in the C:\Windows\. Windows updates are most easily installed using the Windows Update service. While you could certainly download updates manually from.