C:\Windows\Panther Keeps Installing Itself

My understanding is that this folder/directory/program is installed when: "...that folder is created by Windows Update, when you upgrade Windows 10 or get a major update."

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...c-3fab599a5282

I have windows update virtually crippled. I am still on 1709 win 10 pro and I have not installed any KB updates in quite some time. I have run Disk Cleanup for files and then for system files and each time it nukes Panther but the next day it comes back. I am not entirely sure what "Panther" does but if it has anything to do with facilitating Windows update I want it banished for good. What do you all make of C:\Windows\Panther? Thanks.

The Panther logs are important for troubleshooting.
The log files are created when upgrades are successful and unsuccessful.
The files can be used for troubleshooting failure to upgrade.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...sion-of-window

dalchina said:

You think there's just one? No, there's a whole leap of Panthers! (leap is apparently the collective noun- appropriate for a member of the leopard family).



Contain amongst other things logs, and a trace (etl file).

The one you mention is about 96Mb in my case, the others are trivial.
Possibly related to rolling back - which could mean from a failed installation, or perhaps 'Go back to Previous' - I don't know.

A couple of notes here:
https://www.howtogeek.com/307509/wha...e-arrows-mean/

(Like you I'm on 1709, but updates are enabled and working normally).

Trivia:
Tip of the Day: The Panther Folder Mystery Tip of the Day
Mildly amusing:
Why is the Panther folder called Panther?

>You think there's just one?

Hehe

>The one you mention is about 96Mb in my case

Mine is currently 11.1KB after nuking it yesterday : )

>(Like you I'm on 1709, but updates are enabled and working normally).

You do that using MiniTool (WUMT) IIRC. I gotta take another look at that one day. I am using Windows Update Blocker and it is compassionless though I suppose there is away to allow monthly rollups and security updates but with this recent October massacre that MS released I am fearful of upsetting the apple cart and allowing anything in. Probably not the smartest way to go about this but it is what it is.

Thanks for the amusing links: "A panther is predatorial. Microsoft wants to devour its competition." -or your computer : )

zbook said:

The Panther logs are important for troubleshooting.
The log files are created when upgrades are successful and unsuccessful.
The files can be used for troubleshooting failure to upgrade.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...sion-of-window

Thanks for the knowledge.Perhaps I should not have been so cavalier about nuking them :)

Some of them are important for fixing the operating system with restore points or rollbacks.
If you have backup images then you should be ok

Some end users are low on free drive space.
These are examples of deleting Panther log files when you know the pro/con of the deletion:

28. Delete $SysReset folder

The $SysReset folder is a hidden folder that is created in the root directory of the C drive when you perform either a reset or refresh of Windows 10. The $SysReset folder was 57.4 MB in size for me, but can vary per system.

What is $SysReset folder and how to delete $SysReset folder in Windows 10


15. Delete Windows.old and $Windows.~BT folders

When you refresh Windows 10 or upgrade to Windows 10, a copy of the previous installation is saved to the Windows.old folder in the root directory of the Windows 10 drive as a backup. This backup will allow you to be able to go back to the previous build of Windows for up to a 10 days after upgrading to Windows 10 if you should want to.

The Windows.old and $Windows.~BT folders take up several gigabytes of drive space. If you don't plan on going back to the previous version of Windows, then deleting these folders can free up the space they take.

If you delete the Windows.old and $Windows.~BT folders, you will no longer be able to go back to the previous version of Windows.

How to Delete Windows.old Folder in Windows 10


Free Up Drive Space in Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials

With the failed upgrade, one of the troubleshooting steps is to plan an upgrade to see the error codes and to view the logs for fixable problems.
When this is done it regenerates some of the panther logs.
Viewing the logs can be tedious.
Many of the error messages and codes are ambiguous.
So it can take time to figure out the problem.
Sometimes the problem cannot be fixed.
If the upgrade failure cannot be fixed then you can still upgrade by performing a clean install, reset remove files, reset save files or custom install.
The troubleshooting takes time the other methods can be done immediately if files are backed up and it is find and reinstall applications and drivers.

dalchina said:

...in my case, the others are trivial.
Possibly related to rolling back - which could mean from a failed installation, or perhaps 'Go back to Previous' - I don't know.

The one in your AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsInstallationMediaCreationTool was created by running the Windows 8.1 Media Creation Tool - at least, mine was.

As a side note, you can no longer download the Windows 8.1 media creation tool from Microsoft, instead the page that used to download it now offers direct downloads of the ISO.