Can I Delete CBS Files?

vanp said:

Please see attachment. I used to delete these text files every week during my cleanup routine. Now, I guess because of CU, I don't have authority to do that. I get a message that I must get authority from SYSTEM.

First, assuming I can do this somehow, which of these items can I safely delete? Any log file is garbage as far as I'm concerned, and I'll delete everything here if I can.

Second, I saw somewhere that I could disable Windows Modules Installer, delete the stuff, then re-enable WMI. However, it's already not running, and there doesn't seem to be any problem because of it.

So, what can I delete, and what's the best way to get ability/authority to do that? I've looked through the screens about getting authority from another entity. If that's what I have to do, somebody will need to guide me through that process, step-by-step.

Thanks to anybody who can help.

P.S. This is the 2nd time I've uploaded an attachment in this forum. I see the first one is still there. Should I delete these things (I assume this can be done) once my problem is resolved?

It's your machine, and you can do as you see fit.....but all log files are not garbage. Persistently deleting any an all logs files you encounter on a daily basis will likely cause an error or a BSOD at some point. Windows 10 is not Windows 8 or 7 or XP. Many of those log files are there for a system purpose and will be deleted by the system when no longer needed.

In the case of the CBS files and folders, there may be uncommitted changes the system needs to do after a restart, and deleting all things CBS may corrupt your data store.

In short, over-cleaning in your sense may be dangerous. Please take caution.

vanp said:

Thanks, f14tomcat and Bree, for responding.

f14tomcat, I'm not deleting everything I see, but I have been deleting the CBS and DISM log files (along with other stuff, not all of it Windows) every week for maybe a few months. There's been no problem, and things get re-created when they're needed. Also, notice that one of the files is over 26MB. If this thing self-maintains and disappears or at least gets a lot smaller, OK, but I'll delete these things if I can. Given that I've been doing this for a while without problem, does it seem safe to continue? Also, are you saying that Windows/some component thereof, will, under some condition, actually try to read these files looking for some information?

Being there are thousands of individual system log files, it's impossible to define under what condition and circumstances Windows may look for a certain one. I based most of my reply on the one comment you made, which I took 99% literally. "Any log file is garbage as far as I'm concerned, and I'll delete everything here if I can."

It is simply not necessary to be that squeaky clean. The example of space used in that one file, 26MB, is not exorbitant. Many system log files will overwrite themselves over time. You don't say in your system specs how large your drive is, or whether it's a SSD or HDD, so it's hard to say what the impact of a 26MB file would have on your system; I suspect not much.

I don't know if you periodically run Disk Cleanup or not. It's part of the regular Windows maintenance, but can be manually run. It's designed to delete and cleanup system files no longer needed, including log files.....safely.

Open and Use Disk Cleanup in Windows 10 Windows 10 Performance Maintenance Tutorials