Getting Rid of Old Windows Updates

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 29, 2018)

3

Roger has automatic updates turned on for his Windows system. In looking around on that system he sees a lot of old update files there were previously downloaded and installed. He wonders if it is necessary to keep all those update files on his computer.

If you have automatic updating turned on (as most people do), you can end up with quite a few updates on your system. (For more about how the updating works, see Understanding Windows Update.) Actually, those old update files can add quite a bit to the clutter on a system. It is a good idea to get rid of them periodically, so it is fortunate that Windows provides an easy way to get rid of them:

  1. Display the Control Panel.
  2. Click the System and Security link.
  3. Click the Free Up Disk Space link. (It is under the Administrative Tools heading.) Windows starts the Disk Cleanup Wizard.
  4. Click the Clean Up System Files button. Windows displays the Disk Cleanup for OS (C:) dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    5. Figure 1. The Disk Cleanup dialog box.

  5. Scroll through the options presented and make sure that the Windows Update Cleanup option has a check mark next to it.
  6. If you are using Windows 8, make sure that the Windows Upgrade Log Files option has a check mark next to it.
  7. Choose to clean up other areas of your hard drive, if you desire.
  8. Click on OK.

At this point Windows may take a bit of time to get rid of everything you requested, but when it is done, you may have a good deal more space available on your drive.

 This tip (132) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing Shapes in Microsoft Graph

Microsoft Graph allows you to define the shapes you use to represent data series. Here's how to do it.

Discover More

Compiling a List of Students in a Course

Need to pull just a limited amount of information from a large list? Here are a few approaches you might be able to use ...

Discover More

Word 2013 Indexes and Special Tables (Table of Contents)

One of the finishing touches used in some types of documents are an index or a special table, such as a table of ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Copying Data with XCopy

XCopy is a file and directory copy utility built into Windows. If you have a lot of file management to do that can't ...

Discover More

Permanently Deleting a File

If you have a file that you're sure you want to permanently delete (instead of having it go to the Recycle Bin) it's an ...

Discover More

Finding Large Files

Large files can quickly take up valuable space on your hard drive. In this tip you discover how to easily search for ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 2 + 2?

2018-10-30 06:02:05

Ray

This update (29 Oct 2018) does not apply to Windows 10 - fails at step 2.

After 'Search for disk cleanup' the seven options do not include 'Windows Update Cleanup' or anything like that.
System > Update & Security does not have a link to 'Disk Cleanup.

I eventually found:
Search for Disk cleanup > started Disk Cleanup > Selected drive C > OK > Disk cleanup display (No Windows update cleanup and no More Options tab) > Clicked 'Cleanup System Files' > Selected System (C) > OK > Window now has 10 options including Windows Update Clean-up (2.94GB) and the More Options tab.

Could there be any problem with cleanup system files in Windows 10?

2018-10-29 17:16:47

Tony W

Carolyn,

With the window open, look down to the left, you should see a button that says "Clean up system files", click it. After a minute you should see a whole lot more options that will include the "Windows Update Cleanup" that you are looking for.

2018-10-29 16:09:00

Carolyn Foushee

I am running Windows 10 and there is no "Windows Update Cleanup" or the two categories under that which are in your example. My Disk Cleanup begins with "Downloaded Program Files."

What do I do now?

Newest Tips
Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2024 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.