Windows xp softwaredistribution cleanup

Select the drive you want to clean up, and then select ok. Ive never had a problem deleting the contents of this folder, but i just realized that the disk cleanup wizard, even if i set it to delete windows update files, doesnt touch it. Delete windows update folder softwaredistribution script. Jun 28, 2018 ive found this to be a very useful script to use, when we were migrating over to office 2016 we had quiet a lot of installation issues, all were resolved by deleting the softwaredistribution folder, to begin with we were doing this manually by stopping the windows update service, then i decided to make a script to do it for me. Running disk cleanup windows xp comes with a disk cleanup utility that can be accessed by clicking on start, all programs, accessories, then system tools, and then disk cleanup, which will present you with a number of options for reclaiming disk space. When deep cleaning windows to recover disk space, performing a softwaredistribution folder cleanup is one task that may help. Weve tested this on windows server 2k3, windows server 2k8, windows server 2k8 r2, windows vista x32, windows vista x64, windows 7 x32 and windows 7 x64. I do a cleanup after each major update and occasionally clean the softwaredistribution folder when it gets stuck and everything works like a charm. Jun 28, 2019 in the search box on the taskbar, type disk cleanup, and select disk cleanup from the list of results.

How to clear the softwaredistribution folder on windows 10. From the windows installer cleanup utility window, locate the application in the list and click the remove button. From the start button menu, choose all programsaccessoriessystem toolsdisk cleanup. Just the windows update cleanup part is slow took about 2025 minutes to get through it today. In windows 7 and windows 810, there is a new folder under c. May 19, 2008 open windows explorer and delete all contents in the folder c. Upon the release of windows xp service pack 2 sp2 in august, 2004, several members of the msmvp community led especially by mvp jim byrd wanted the opportunity to develop and gather their best recommendatons for sp2s deployment, plus solutions to unique problems that might arise. Disk cleanup does not delete windows update files solved.

This is a step by step tutorial that covers the cleanup process from start to finish using no third party or. Reduce the size of the component store in an offline. Effective use of disk cleanup utilities will produce exponentially greater amounts of impact on disk management than worrying about the minimal content in the softwaredistribution folder. Scroll down and stop the automatic updates service. As the user mentioned the automatic updates service and not windows update, that suggests to me that he is using windows xp, not windows 7. All the files in the softwaredistribution should be deleted. It always amazes me how people tweak the registry because the internet said so and then complain that ms messed their pc. I tryed running the cleanup utility as administrator again with a restart after, but it still wouldnt actually remove anything. Softwaredistribution\downl oads on the other hand is the place where the new windowsupdates are downloaded and extracted into, and then from there they get installed to the system. Rename or delete the software distribution folder in. Jan 29, 2020 for help with windows update issues in windows 10, see troubleshoot problems updating windows 10 instead.

I have included a screenshot of the current status. Rebooting will start the two services we stopped, but if you dont want. In this video i provide a tutorial on how to cleanup a computer running windows xp. Trying to figure out how to cleanup a drive that is full on a wsus client. Function cleanup dummies by woody leonhard when your computer is running low on space, vistas disk cleanup will locate a wide variety of files that you can delete, but if you dont know which files are safe to delete, you might delete a file that will cause you more problems than just limited space. Never used to be like that and im pretty sure its something recent. Install windows, then leave it the fsck alone, with the exception of running the disk cleanup wizard from time to. Its a part of the move to a component based architecture, where the winsxs folder contains multiple versions of a component such as windows media player or iis, and the appropriate versions are hardlinked into the system. To delete the content inside the softwaredistribution folder, do the following. Theres never a good reason to manipulate or delete files andor folders in there, unless you really have an issue with windows update.

Click file save as, and choose a location to save the file. Windowssoftwaredistributiondownloads is it safe to. If you need help freeing up drive space, see tips to free up drive space on your pc. Click the save as type dropdown menu, and select all files. May 16, 2009 by andreas stenhall may 16, 2009 sbs 2003, sbs 2008, windows 7, windows server 2003, windows server 2008, windows vista, windows xp 7 comments when disk space is running out on a system disk, may it be on a server or a client, there are certain things to clean out. Type the following command to stop the windows update service and press enter. Softwaredistribution folder delete in windows when deep cleaning windows to recover disk space, performing a softwaredistribution folder cleanup is one task that may help. Softwaredistribution \downl oads on the other hand is the place where the new windowsupdates are downloaded and extracted into, and then from there they get installed to the system. Basic windows xp file cleanup the following are the basic instructions for cleaning some common areas of windows.

A common cause of errors is inadequate drive space. If you only want to remove cached updates, do not delete it, and utilize one of the methods below. In doing so, you will automatically delete the content of update. Lorsque windows telecharge ses mises a jour, il stocke les fichiers dinstallations dans le repertoire c. First of, never ever delete the softwaredistribution folder. I have no had issues doing so either, however, i am now wondering, if we have wsus set up for servers to pull. Script wsus reset and delete softwaredistribution folder.

I noticed that every day files get added to the cdrive under c. I offered to set aside room on aumha forums where this evolving information could be stored. This article explains how windows uses the softwaredistribution folder and covers cleaning the folder to help free up disk space. Demystifying the winsxs directory in windows xp, vista and. This applies to current versions of microsoft windows, i. Legacy and new windows xp versions and windows software. If you decide to delete the contents of your windows \ softwaredistribution \download folder, then i suggest you at least back up that folder by copying it to another partitionfolder or to cd to be on the safe side. To delete system files run the steps as provided in delete files using disk cleanup. In the disk cleanup dialog box, click the more options tab. Reduce the size of vistas winsxs folder andrew berry. My c drive is full and i have gone through the cleanup process several times. Windows xp remove unnecessary files to save space ars. This can help speed up performance as well as reduce the time it takes to run virus and spyware scans and to defrag the computer. Jan 27, 2009 if you are having trouble uninstalling an application using windows xp, the windows installer cleanup utility may be able to help.

We recently had to change the name of our wsus server, actually rebuilt it and used a different naming convention. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to. Using the windows installer cleanup utility in windows xp. Jan 25, 2016 some files seem to be located in the c. On windows 10, the softwaredistribution folder is an essential component for windows update, which temporarily stores files needed to install new updates to keep your device secure and with the latest fixes and. Once the application has been removed, click the exit button to close the utility. Sep 30, 2007 demystifying the winsxs directory in windows xp, vista and server 20032008 a coworker recently received his every two year work laptop refresh and was in the middle of loading his new laptop with vista. I have winxp setup on a 5 gb partition with all my apps setup on another partition.

With the newer versions of windows, i subscribe to the windows tweaking guide. Windows 10 is supposed to be an always up to date os. If you need to free up more space, you can also delete system files. It also stores older versions of all dll and component files and can grow to be quite large. On windows vista, there is a folder called winsxs, which stands for windows side by side. Search for command prompt, rightclick the result, and select run as administrator. How to clear the softwaredistribution folder on windows. If windows update isnt working, it could be caused by a problem with the softwaredistribution folder, and here well show you how to fix it.

Oct 12, 2011 windows 7 forums is the largest help and support community, providing friendly help and advice for microsoft windows 7 computers such as dell, hp, acer, asus or a custom build. How to delet windowssoftware distributiondownloads files. I recently i noticed my windows partition was filling up with stuff in the c. Under files to delete, select the file types to get rid of. The client is a server and the drive is dedicated to wsus updates and is set to 2gb, now only 75mb is available on drive and question is how i can make more space on this drive since it only contains wsus updates. Some of those old backups arent needed anymore, and the disk cleanup wizard can be used to cleanup those old files on windows 2008 r2 and later. Rename or delete the software distribution folder in windows. Jul 30, 2012 wsus reset and delete softwaredistrib ution folder this script has been tested however, use at your own risk.

Is it safe to delete files under microsoft community. Often times in our environment, c drives run into space issues and the c. Softwaredistribution folder delete in windows tek eye. Disk cleanup of software distribution downloads folder. Windows xp systems have typically been around longer than windows 7 systems and so they will have larger softwaredistribution folders 3 sps instead of 1 for windows 7. You run disk cleanup in windows xp by adhering to these steps. Mar 02, 2017 windows wouldnt boot anymore so i had to copy the boot files to the windows partition again using bcdboot c. Ive done a few clean installs of threshold 2 since november and it wasnt slow like that until the past week or so ive done 2 clean installs over the past week and theyve both. You can click on the more options to see additional options for reclaiming disk space. The option to cleanup updates helps reduce the size of the component store. Demystifying the winsxs directory in windows xp, vista and server 20032008 a coworker recently received his every two year work laptop refresh and was in the middle of loading his new laptop with vista.