Looking for:
– C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download deleting
Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It only takes a minute to sign up. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. One of our Windows servers has a fairly small C-partition, which is approaching full. I think this folder is used as a temporary storage for Windows Update, but as all the pending Windows updates have now been installed, is it OK to delete the contents of this folder?
As Zab said, stop the Update Service while you clean up the folder. Harry reports problem with people who deleted the directories, as opposed to people who deleted files in directory.
If I were you I’d run the Microsoft Disk Cleanup wizard and see if it proposes deleting this directory. If it doesn’t do that, then I wouldn’t touch it. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Start collaborating and sharing organizational knowledge. Create a free Team Why Teams?
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Automatically delete win download files in Windows 10 If you are facing issues with Windows Update you might try to use Windows Disk Cleanup in extended mode before moving forward with our tutorial. This might already fix incomplete or corrupted Windows Update files in the SoftwareDistribution folder by deleting them.
The method shown below to delete the SoftwareDistribution folder manually is generally safe as Windows Update will download all update files again when needed. To be sure that the issue you try to fix is related to the Windows SoftwareDistribution folder, you might want to temporarily rename it beforehand as shown below. This will preserve the files inside. If you decide deleting the SoftwareDistribution folder, you will lose the Windows Update history which might be usuful to trace down problematic updates.
Also Windows Update will need a bit longer afterwards until available updates are shown and downloaded because the WUAgent must check and re-create the Datastore information. Before you can clear the SoftwareDistribution folder, you will have to stop both the Windows Update Service wuauserv and the Background Intelligent Transfer Service bits. Run the command net stop wuauserv to stop the Windows Update Service and net stop bits for the Background Intelligent Transfer Service.
Run the command net start wuauserv to re-launch the Windows Update Service and net start bits for the Background Intelligent Transfer Service. Renaming the SoftwareDistribution folder allows to quickly check if Windows Update files there are really causing the issue you are trying to resolve.
Run the following command to rename SoftwareDistribution folder into SoftwareDistribution.
Clearing SoftwareDistribution folder for updates..How to Delete the SoftwareDistribution Folder in Windows 10 & 11 – MajorGeeks
And, the Datastore folder includes the system update history files. Why leave them out? For clicks? Facebook Twitter Linkedin Reddit.
Is It Safe to Delete Software Distribution Folder Windows 11? – Recommended Posts
Mar 18, · We are looking for a way to to clear the SoftwareDistribution folder under the Windows folder to re-download updates. We have always done this in the past to get a fresh copy of updates to get them working again. Since the the new Windows 10 updates the folder is still stuck in use. Nov 12, · The SoftwareDistribution folder usually located in C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution is used by Windows Update to preload downloaded updates and hotfixes before installing ted Reading Time: 4 mins. Oct 18, · The answer is Yes. The Software Distribution folder is a vital component for Windows Update, which temporarily stores files needed to install new updates. It’s safe to clear the content of the said folder because Windows 10 will always re-download and re-created all the necessary file and components, if removed.