Storage - Temporary files = C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download ?

rdwray said:

Thanks....

You are very welcome!

Paul Black said:

Hello @rdwray,

This will explain what you asked => Cleanup of Software Distribution Folder
I would personally delete the contents of the folder rather than the folder itself. You should not have a problem uninstalling WU's after deleting the folder.
I hope this helps.

Thanks Paul Black, all help appreciated. I have only been using Windows since 3.0, but they keep changing things that are hidden from the user and it doesn't take much to crash a PC. This printer update that they keep sending out is an example of not taking the time to understand what they are producing before sending it out. I also received an update for Intel processor and I have an AMD - really confusing.

- - - Updated - - -

Here is something I just found out. I had a bunch of drivers from AMD and HP, that Windows would not let me install, hidden using wushowhide.diagcab and when I deleted the SoftwareDistribution folder, the updates were made active again.

MeAndMyComputer said:

Opening post #1
2. Can I safely delete "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download" folder?
In Paul Black’s post #11
How to rename or delete Software Distribution folder in Windows 10
Rename or delete Software Distribution folder in Windows 10
Is it safe to delete Software Distribution folder is included.

I don’t think I would consider deleting "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download" folder?” but from what I saw it's worth investigating.

In post #12, you mention
"Thanks Paul Black, but I know about what you listed, but was wondering about the SoftwareDistribution folder."
But please verify, have you gone through
Rename or delete Software Distribution folder in Windows 10

Also in post #1
Attachment 324162

Open it and clean it out. Compare results.

Have you opened the Temporary files 5.05 GB and selected what to remove?
It wouldn’t surprise me if there is a good amount of Windows Update Cleanup to be removed.
Wouldn’t that help you on disk space for your 128GB SSD?

MeAndMyComputer said:

Have you opened the Temporary files 5.05 GB and selected what to remove?
It wouldn’t surprise me if there is a good amount of Windows Update Cleanup to be removed.
Wouldn’t that help you on disk space for your 128GB SSD?

I have used the following:

Code:

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Cleanmgr /sageset:65535 & Cleanmgr /sagerun:11

I did not use this because you cannot uninstall updates afterwards:

Code:

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /SPSuperseded

Few things.... someone gave a command line to delete the software distribution folder.


don't do this, ever.

secondly

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup removes supersceded files from previous updates without making the current kb patch the install base, usually this will mean uninstalling the current patch will dump you back to the original .0 RTM release of a given build, where as reset base prevents the uninstallation of the patch at all.

as another note on Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup, it doesn't clean up software distribution\downloads.

Third,
The windows updates (software distribution) folder is not immediately available to disk cleanup or the storage screen.

and fourth, assuming it hasn't been realised already, yes, that used space on the Temporary files item corresponds to software distribution, as looking under the temp items should display "Updates" at the bottom of the window which specifically refers to the update download cache.