Solved Windows 8 updates taking up too much disk space

jan18

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I just did a clean install of windows 8 without all the Dell software being installed on my Dell Inspiron 7720 17R SE Laptop.
When the installation was finished I had 179GB of free space showing on the 200GB drive C: partion.
I just finished downloading and installing 111 recommended Windows updates and I now have only 164GB of free space showing on drive C:
I dread to think how much more space will be taken up when I upgrade to 8.1

Surely Windows updates shouldn’t take up 15GB of space...

Any ideas as to how I can recover some of this space.

Thanks

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 17R SE
    Memory
    8GB
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Avast
Unfortunately they do, but it may be a mix of other leftover temporary files using up that space too, try CCleaner or Clary's Utilities.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    Memory
    6 GB RAM (DDR3)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
Or try Disk Cleanup -> System files button I have 8.1.1 Pro on a 20 gb disk with all updates.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MSI MS7360
    CPU
    Intel E8400 (Wolfdale)
    Motherboard
    MS 7360 P35 V1.0
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Geforce GT610
    Sound Card
    Realtek Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 19" Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    3 x 500 GB Hitachi and Seagate Drives
    PSU
    Corsair 500W
    Case
    Generic
    Cooling
    2 case fans, Artic CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech G19
    Mouse
    MS Comfort 4500
    Internet Speed
    19 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MS Defender
Or try Disk Cleanup -> System files button I have 8.1.1 Pro on a 20 gb disk with all updates.
Seconded, there should be an option to clean up Windows Updates, since copies are always left in case you want to uninstall specific updates (you can always manually download them later on to have the option to uninstall)

Restore points mights also be another thing to consider deleting, you don't need that many present on your system, one taken before a big update when the system was stable might be enough.

Another thing to check is your paging file (it can take a lot space on your HD). With modern systems and normal users you can change it to a smaller size or even get rid of it you have enough RAM.

These should be configured from Control Panel / System / Advanced Settings
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (x64)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Unfortunately they do, but it may be a mix of other leftover temporary files using up that space too, try CCleaner or Clary's Utilities.
Hi, Thank you for your suggestion which I will try after Disk Cleanup has finished doing it's stuff.

Thanks

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 17R SE
    Memory
    8GB
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Avast
Or try Disk Cleanup -> System files button I have 8.1.1 Pro on a 20 gb disk with all updates.

Hi banger, I am just in the process of running Disk Cleanup now when I got your response. It should make a difference the time it is taking. Though I seem to remember the last time I ran this I ended up with C: drive showing even more space being taken up.

Thanks for the suggestion...hope it works.

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 17R SE
    Memory
    8GB
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Avast
Or try Disk Cleanup -> System files button I have 8.1.1 Pro on a 20 gb disk with all updates.
Seconded, there should be an option to clean up Windows Updates, since copies are always left in case you want to uninstall specific updates (you can always manually download them later on to have the option to uninstall)

Restore points mights also be another thing to consider deleting, you don't need that many present on your system, one taken before a big update when the system was stable might be enough.

Another thing to check is your paging file (it can take a lot space on your HD). With modern systems and normal users you can change it to a smaller size or even get rid of it you have enough RAM.

These should be configured from Control Panel / System / Advanced Settings

Thanks for the confirmation of bangers suggestion which is running now.
I have only just installed a clean copy of Windows 8 and MS Office when I noticed Windows had already started downloading updates so have not had chance to set a restore point yet.

Regards

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 17R SE
    Memory
    8GB
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Avast
I've just done a clean W8.1 install on a Dell (I did a trial run with Windows 8.1 Enterprise... liked it so much I went and bought the full version).

This shows my HDD fully updated, programs installed and some 6gb of user files added and its only taking 23.6bg of space up.

I wanted as clean an install as possible and so I made a .txt file of the procedure at the time so that I could repeat the process if needed. I also took a disc image of the system in the basic installed and update state so that I can do a super fast "clean install" in future if needed.

This is how I did it... obviously some aspects are Dell specific to my laptop. It just a text file listing all the steps.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
Hi all, after 3 hours of running Disk Cleanup and CCleaner I have gained 3GB of free space...Great.
I still think it excessive that Windows 8 + Updates + Microsoft Office should use up 33GB of space.

Thanks to all who helped.

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 17R SE
    Memory
    8GB
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Avast
Hi Mooly, Thanks for taking the time to provide all the detail. I found the first bit of your text interesting...reducing the C: partition before installing Windows. I had read somewhere in the past that the more space you give Windows the more it will use during install.
I am going to try your suggestion next time I do an install and see what happens.

Thanks for your help.

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 17R SE
    Memory
    8GB
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Avast
You're welcome :)

I found that installing W8.1 onto the full 300gb unallocated drive wouldn't allow me to shrink down as much as I wanted afterwards. Apparently there are unmovable files created during the install and the physical location of these was the limiting factor. I was advised to do a disk clean and defrag and that that might have resolved the issue but I never got to try that. I just redid it from the start. Also, installing onto unallocated space (rather than an existing clean but formatted partition) allows the Windows installer to create the small system reserved partition which otherwise doesn't seem to occur.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
  1. There is a folder under: C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download where all Windows updates files were downloaded and installed. If you open this folder, you'll see a lot of files and folders.
    Make sure that Windows Updates is not running then go ahead and delete all the files/folders.
    Here's mine looks like after cleanup this folder:

    a.png
  2. As said above. During the updates, multiple restore points were created so Windows can restore to the earlier state if an updates fails then it will roll back.
    Win+X -> System -> System Protection ->Configure then click on Delete. Click OK to go back to the previous screen then Create a new restore point by clicking on Create button.
  3. Download: TFC Temporary file removal tool and right click to run as Admin. This program will clean up all the temp files. During execution, it also kills some of the processes in order to clean up the temp files occupied by those processes. When finished, just sign out then sign back in.
  4. Make sure you empty the Recycle Bin, otherwise you will not see any changes.

In addition, you can download a free version of WinDirStat - Windows Directory Statistics . This program will give you a graphical display of disk storage occupied by folders so you can identify where all the spaces go.

Hope this help !!!
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
270mb in my folder on my test Enterprise x86 install. I'll check the Dell later for interest.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
You're welcome :)

I found that installing W8.1 onto the full 300gb unallocated drive wouldn't allow me to shrink down as much as I wanted afterwards. Apparently there are unmovable files created during the install and the physical location of these was the limiting factor. I was advised to do a disk clean and defrag and that that might have resolved the issue but I never got to try that. I just redid it from the start. Also, installing onto unallocated space (rather than an existing clean but formatted partition) allows the Windows installer to create the small system reserved partition which otherwise doesn't seem to occur.

Hi again, I just checked to see how far I could shrink my 200GB C: drive and could only go down to 107GB due to the unmovable files you mention.
I am definitely going to try the smaller partition route to installing Windows 8 and then expanding it. I have a backup image I can use to restore everything quickly if I don't like it.

Thanks again

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 17R SE
    Memory
    8GB
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Avast
  1. There is a folder under: C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download where all Windows updates files were downloaded and installed. If you open this folder, you'll see a lot of files and folders.
    Make sure that Windows Updates is not running then go ahead and delete all the files/folders.
    Here's mine looks like after cleanup this folder:

    View attachment 47007
  2. As said above. During the updates, multiple restore points were created so Windows can restore to the earlier state if an updates fails then it will roll back.
    Win+X -> System -> System Protection ->Configure then click on Delete. Click OK to go back to the previous screen then Create a new restore point by clicking on Create button.
  3. Download: TFC Temporary file removal tool and right click to run as Admin. This program will clean up all the temp files. During execution, it also kills some of the processes in order to clean up the temp files occupied by those processes. When finished, just sign out then sign back in.
  4. Make sure you empty the Recycle Bin, otherwise you will not see any changes.

In addition, you can download a free version of WinDirStat - Windows Directory Statistics . This program will give you a graphical display of disk storage occupied by folders so you can identify where all the spaces go.

Hope this help !!!

Hi topgundcp, Thanks for your very interesting post...
Before I try out the suggestions made by Mooly I will check out the areas you mention and see what is there...though I have already run Disk Cleanup which should have removed unnecessary files.
Will get back with what I find.

Thanks

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 17R SE
    Memory
    8GB
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Avast
Hi topgundcp, I just followed your suggestions about deleting Windows Updates and found I had 185 folders containing 95000 + files still on my system...and this is after I spent 3 hours yesterday waiting for Windows Disk Cleanup to do its thing.
I downloaded TFC and it cleared out 1.582.00mb of tempory files.
All this has reclaimed another 5GB of space on my C: drive....Very impressive.


Checked as far as I can to see that all is working as it should and found nothing unexpected but will give it more time to see if anything crops up.


Looks like a great solution you found for me topgundcp....Thanks

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 17R SE
    Memory
    8GB
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Avast
Apparently disk cleanup will not delete these files. FYI, I have been doing this with Vista, Win 7 and Win 8 and nothing was affected except you'd have a cleaner system. Since you have a lot of updates (110 ? wow), you must have an earlier DVD/ISO version of Windows 8, normally MS will reproduce the DVD/ISO bi-weekly or monthly to include all the latest updates.

Step 2 in my previous post will also free up some more space, you don't need all the restore points, delete them all except the most recent one then create another one to reflect your current system state.
Hi again, I just checked to see how far I could shrink my 200GB C: drive and could only go down to 107GB due to the unmovable files you mention.
I am definitely going to try the smaller partition route to installing Windows 8 and then expanding it. I have a backup image I can use to restore everything quickly if I don't like it.
I might have been the one who recomended to Mooly on how to shrink the partition couple of weeks ago. You should not have to re-install it.
  1. Make sure your Windows is good and healthy, open the elevated command prompt and run 2 commands as shown below:
    - dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
    - sfc /scannow
  2. Temporarily set to use no pagefile.sys
  3. Temporarily Disable Hibernation
  4. Delete All restore points
  5. Reboot your PC then run defrag to consolidate all the free space
  6. Open Disk Management then shrink.

NOTE: to get a nice round number, for example: if you want your partition to be exactly 100GB, then set the number to be:
100x1024=102,400
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
You are quite welcome.

I followed your instruction regarding deleting and re-creating restore points and noticed that it was removing restore points that must be hidden by the system as I had not yet created any myself and System Restore showed that there were none before I started.

System restore points are stored under a hidden folder C:\System Volume Information . If you turn on to show "Hidden Files" & Turn off "Hide hidden system files" from the Folder Options then you'll see the folder. However, that's all you can see, Windows will not allow you to open the folder.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
Apparently disk cleanup will not delete these files. FYI, I have been doing this with Vista, Win 7 and Win 8 and nothing was affected except you'd have a cleaner system. Since you have a lot of updates (110 ? wow), you must have an earlier DVD/ISO version of Windows 8, normally MS will reproduce the DVD/ISO bi-weekly or monthly to include all the latest updates.

Step 2 in my previous post will also free up some more space, you don't need all the restore points, delete them all except the most recent one then create another one to reflect your current system state.
Hi again, I just checked to see how far I could shrink my 200GB C: drive and could only go down to 107GB due to the unmovable files you mention.
I am definitely going to try the smaller partition route to installing Windows 8 and then expanding it. I have a backup image I can use to restore everything quickly if I don't like it.
I might have been the one who recomended to Mooly on how to shrink the partition couple of weeks ago. You should not have to re-install it.
  1. Make sure your Windows is good and healthy, open the elevated command prompt and run 2 commands as shown below:
    - dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
    - sfc /scannow
  2. Temporarily set to use no pagefile.sys
  3. Temporarily Disable Hibernation
  4. Delete All restore points
  5. Reboot your PC then run defrag to consolidate all the free space
  6. Open Disk Management then shrink.

NOTE: to get a nice round number, for example: if you want your partition to be exactly 100GB, then set the number to be:
100x1024=102,400

It is reassuring to know that you have not experienced any problems...

I have looked all over my installation and can't find anything wrong...I notice lot of files and folders have gone and my PC is a lot snappier to load new programs etc.

No idea how old the disk is and it does not say on the disk or the cover.

I followed your instruction regarding deleting and re-creating restore points and noticed that it was removing restore points that must be hidden by the system as I had not yet created any myself and System Restore showed that there were none before I started.

All is good so far...I am very grateful for your help...

Jan

PS. Just spotted your update...I am so happy with how well my PC is running now that I am putting Mooly's suggestion on hold for now. I will try it next time but for now I am very happy and think I should leave well alone and not push my luck any further.

Thanks

Jan
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 17R SE
    Memory
    8GB
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Avast
270mb in my folder on my test Enterprise x86 install. I'll check the Dell later for interest.

Just under 14mb on the Dell, little more than a couple of photos.

Jan... that's great to hear that you have got it all sorted.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 x64 pro and W8.1 x86
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3750/Acer 9301
    CPU
    Intel i5/AMD Turion 64
    Memory
    4Gb/2Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel i5 internal/NVidia GEFORCE GO 6100
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    250Gb SSD and 120Gb
    Mouse
    HP Z4000
    Internet Speed
    76 down, 20 up
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
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