Whenever you update your system, Windows will automatically cache all the Windows update installation files. Though this may look odd, this helps in a lot of situations where you are forced to re-apply the Windows updates. Using the cached files, Windows can reapply the updates without actually downloading them again. As good as it is, the Windows update cache folder can grow in size and consume all the useful hard drive space. Of course, this totally depends on the number of updates and their sizes. Clearing the Windows update cache can help you regain that lost hard drive space. Let’s first know what is the cache file on windows 10 and how to clear cache to free up disk space and optimize windows performance.
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What is Cache Files?
The cache is a non-permanent file (or files) that may be needed again in the future. And is therefore kept hidden away until that time comes. Simple, right? Cache files are important because they boost your system performance, but the downside is that they take up valuable space and that can be a problem if you have an SSD with limited capacity. Remove or delete Windows 10 update files will free the system drive space and speed up your PC too. When you update your Windows, update files will be cached on your system drive. You should manually Windows 10 update files or using some third-party applications.
How to clear cache To Free Space
To Delete the Cache file on windows 10 first you need to temporarily turn off the Windows Update service.
Stop Windows Update Service
To do this Press the Windows key + R on Run box Type cmd and press Enter.
When the Command Prompt opens, type the command below to stop the Windows Update service.
net stop wuauserv
Or you can Search services in the start menu and right-click on it and run it as administrator.
In the services menu, find Windows Update right click on it and stop.
Delete Cache folder and files
Now Open the Windows Explorer and navigate to the following folder
C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download
press Ctrl + A to select all files and delete them.
You might be prompted for administrator permissions. simply click on the “Continue” button to complete the procedure. These are no longer needed, once the updates are installed in your PC, so you can safely remove them.
Advanced Cache Cleanup
If you want to gain some more space, you can also delete the files inside the “DeliveryOptimization” folder. Before you can do that, you need to disable the Windows Delivery Optimization feature. To do that, search for “Check for Updates” in the Start menu and open it.
In the “Update and Security” window, click on the “Advanced Options” link in the Windows Update page. Once the Advanced Options window has been opened, click on the “Choose how updates are delivered” link. This action will take you to the Delivery Optimization settings window. Here, toggle the button to turn off the Windows Delivery Optimization feature.
Now Open This pc and navigate to C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DeliveryOptimization
Now, delete all the files if any in the folder to claim some more free space. Once you have followed the steps given above, please restart the windows update service in the services menu.
open the command prompt and type net start wuauserv , it will restart the Windows Update service.
Delete Windows 10 Update Files
Type “appwiz.cpl” on the Windows Run to open Program and Features. Now on the programs and feature page select view installed updates. Select and right click the update you want to uninstall it, then click Uninstall.
Note: Some Windows updates are not removable, you can simply uninstall it with Windows Programs and Features section.