If you download any program or file from a browser or other program, by default, unless you change the download folder, all items are downloaded to the Downloads program. Apps that you download from the Windows Store in Windows 10 or 8.1 are downloaded to a different folder.
In general, application data folders are located in the shared folder Windows Apps.
To find it, go along the path Local disk C:/ProgramFiles/.
In the general list, you most likely will not see this folder, because. she is hidden. To do this, at the top of the screen, click on the tab View, and check the box next to the item Hidden Items. After that, the folder should appear for you.
In addition, in most cases it is not possible to enter the folder immediately due to security settings. Therefore, it is necessary to edit them a little.
To do this, when the window appears You do not have permissions to access this folder click on the button Proceed, and when a window appears, you are denied access to this folder, click on the link tab "Security".
In the window that opens, select the tab Security and click on the button Additionally.
Now in the window that opens Additional Security Options for WindowsApps click on the button Proceed.
In the window that appears in the field Enter the names of the objects to select you need to enter the name of the account you want to grant access to, i.e. the one in which you are now, most often this is the name of the computer owner, “Administrators”, “Admin”, or the make and model of the computer and click on the Check Names button. In this case, if the name is found, it will be displayed in your underlined form and you just have to click on the button OK. If the name was entered incorrectly, then you will get an error that the name was not found and the operation will not work.
If everything is in order, in the window also click OK, as well as OK click in the window Properties. After that, again go to the properties of this folder, in the tab Security, press again Additionally. In section Permission elements Double click on your account name.
Now, in the window that opens, check the box next to the item Full access And Apply these permissions to objects and containers only inside that container and press OK.
In the window Advanced WindowsApps Security Options and then in the window WindowsApps properties also press OK.
Now you can try to open this folder again. In some cases, you may get a window again You do not have permission to access this folder then just click on the button Proceed, the second error should not appear this time.
Now you will see a list of folders in which the standard Windows 10 applications are installed.
Lack of free space to download system updates is not a new problem. Most of us have access to the Internet and, of course, we all download different files. We have installed games and other programs that can take up a lot of hard drive space. The biggest problem occurs when downloading updates to the Windows system drive, usually the C drive, because there is no or little free space on the drive, updates stop downloading. Windows will not prompt you to change the download location for updates.
In this guide, we'll look at how to move the Windows 10 update download folder to a different drive. Before you start, you should know that you will need administrator rights to do this.
Change the location of the download folder for Windows 10 updates.
By default, Windows Update uses the . That is, all downloaded files are in the folder Software Distribution and later installed by the system.
Step 1. Since our goal is to force the system to download updates to another drive, create a new folder on the drive for this D. You can name this folder whatever you like, for example, let's name the new folder windows update. Let's assume that the path to it is
Step 2 Then using the keys Ctrl + Alt + Delete , open " Task Manager".
Step 3 In the manager, switch to the tab "Services" and then find and right click on the service wuauserver and stop her. (see picture)
Step 4 Now rename to
Step 5
To create a symbolic link, open a command prompt. From the start menu, start typing cmd in the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and run it as an administrator. Then type the following command and press Enter:
mklink /j c:\windows\softwaredistribution d:\WindowsUpdate
Now you can copy all the files from to the new download folder. This ensures that the download will continue; otherwise it will start from the beginning.
Step 6 Restart Windows Update Service
After that, you need to start the Windows Update service - wuauserver. You can use the Task Manager to launch it as we did above, or run the following command in CMD:
Step 7 Check if Windows Update is running:
Open Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update → Check for Updates. If the system starts / continues downloading updates and does not cause an error, you did everything right.
We recommend using a disk to download system updates that has enough free space. While you can choose an SD card (NTFS format) or an external drive, we only recommend doing so if it remains connected to your PC at all times.
Everyone, I hope the information is useful!
Microsoft regularly releases updates for Windows 10 – for example, the November Update, Anniversary Update, Windows 10 for Designers (Creators Update) and the most recent Fall Creators Update. Sometimes it can be difficult to keep track of new releases, so the company presented a special tool designed to safely and timely download updates - Update Assistant Windows (Windows 10 Update Assistant).
This program not only automatically downloads and launches the installation of the latest version of Windows, but also ensures that personal files and programs installed on your computer do not suffer as a result of the update.
The tool will appeal to those Windows 10 users who do not want to wait for a feature update to appear in Windows Update, because this can take quite a long time - up to several months. And with Update Assistant, you can immediately update your operating system to the latest version.
However, people who first start using this tool usually have a huge number of very different questions: Does Update Assistant download a full Windows 10 ISO image? How much does a Windows 10 ISO image weigh and how much disk space does Windows 10 take up after installation? Where does Windows Update Assistant save downloaded files?
Windows Update Assistant downloads a whole set of installation files for Windows 10, so the size of the downloaded files may vary depending on the type of operating system (32- (x86) or 64-bit). On average, the installation file weighs 3-4 GB.
To get started with Update Assistant, launch the program and click the Update Now button. The program will check the computer settings, and if the compatibility settings match, the process of downloading the Windows 10 installation files will begin.
Before booting, a "Windows10Upgrade" folder containing several files will be automatically created on the C:\ drive. It is in this folder that Update Assistant will download installation files with the extension ".ESD."
As the file is downloaded, its size will increase. When the full ESD file has been downloaded (that is, the download percentage reaches approximately 80%), this file will be extracted to the following folder: C:\$GetCurrent\Media.
At the end of the download, this folder will contain a complete set of Windows 10 installation files. They can also be used to install this system on any other computer, only in this case it should be borne in mind that Update Assistant deletes the Media folder shortly after copying the files to the specified location destination.
Therefore, if you want to backup the installation files, you should copy the "C:\$GetCurrent\Media" folder as soon as it appears. By making a copy of this folder, you will receive a complete set of installation files for the latest version of Windows 10, with which you can update the operating system on any other computer.
Updating the system - a necessity or an excess? Well-oiled Swiss watch mechanism or chaotic data flow? Sometimes there are situations when it is necessary to remove updates that, in theory, should stabilize the operation of Windows 10 or other systems. The reasons can be different, whether it is an incorrectly installed upgrade or unwillingness to make changes to save space on the hard drive.
How to remove the latest installed updates in Windows 10
It often happens that a freshly installed OS update harms the performance of your computer. Problems can occur for a number of reasons:
- the update may have installed with errors;
- the update does not support the drivers that are installed for the correct operation of your PC;
- when installing updates, problems occurred that led to critical errors and disruption of the operating system;
- the update is outdated, not installed;
- the update was installed two or more times;
- Errors occurred while downloading updates;
- there were errors on the hard drive on which the update is being installed, etc.
Photo gallery: Errors when installing Windows 10 updates
Windows Update database corruption errors Duplicate Windows 10 update in Update History Updates failed due to hard drive failure
Removing updates through the "Control Panel"
- Open the "Control Panel". To do this, right-click on the Windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen and select "Control Panel".
Right-click on the Start menu and open the Control Panel
- In the window that opens, among the set of elements for managing your OS, we find the item "Programs and Features".
In the "Control Panel" select the item "Programs and Features"
- At the top left we find the link "View installed updates".
In the column on the left, select "View installed updates"
- Click on the update you need. The default is sorting by date, which means that the desired update will be among the top ones if several upgrades were installed at once, or the top one when only one was installed. It must be removed if it is because of it that problems arose. We left-click on the element, thereby activating the "Delete" button.
Select the required update from the list and delete it by clicking on the appropriate button
- Confirm the deletion and restart the computer. Some updates may not require a reboot.
Removing updates via Windows Update
- Open the Start menu and select the Settings item.
Select the "Settings" item by opening the "Start" menu
- In the window that opens, select the Update and Security environment.
Click on "Update and Security"
- On the Windows Update tab, click on Update History.
In "Windows Update" we look through the "Update History"
- Click the "Uninstall Updates" button. Select the upgrade you are interested in and delete it by clicking on the appropriate button.
Click "Uninstall updates" and remove incorrect upgrades
Uninstall updates via command line
Instead of [update number], enter the numbers from the second column of the list displayed on the command line. The first command will remove the update and reboot the computer, the second will do the same, only the reboot will occur if necessary.
All updates are removed in the same way. You only need to choose which particular upgrade incorrectly affects the operation of the OS.
How to delete Windows 10 updates folder
The magic folder is named WinSxS and all updates are downloaded to it. After a long lifetime of the operating system, this directory is increasingly overgrown with data that is in no hurry to be deleted. No wonder sophisticated people say: Windows takes up exactly as much space as it is given.
Do not flatter yourself, believing that the problem can be solved with a single click on the Delete key. A simple, rough deletion of the updates folder in any version of Windows can lead to a deterioration in the operation of the OS, slowing down, freezing, refusing other updates, and other “joys”. This directory should be cleared by operating system tools. This safe operation will release the maximum amount of memory.
There are several ways to optimize the updates folder:
- Disk Cleanup utility;
- using the command line.
Let's consider both methods in order.
The second method is even faster, but it does not clean the entire system or other disk and deals exclusively with OS updates.
How to cancel a Windows 10 update
Unfortunately or fortunately, canceling Windows 10 updates is not so easy. In simple settings, you will not find an option to refuse to receive new upgrades. Such a function is not included in the Top Ten, because the developers promise lifetime support for this system, which means they guarantee its stability. However, threats, new viruses and similar "surprises" appear daily - accordingly, your OS must be updated in parallel with them. Therefore, it is not recommended to disable system updates, although this can be done by a workaround.
- Right-click on the "This PC" icon on the desktop and select "Manage".
Through the context menu of the "This PC" icon, go to "Management"
- Select the "Services and Applications" tab. In it we enter the "Services".
Open the "Services" of the computer through the "Services and Applications" tab
- Scroll through the list to the required service "Windows Update" and start it with a double click.
Open Windows Update properties by double-clicking
- In the window that opens, change the filter in the "Startup type" column to "Disabled", confirm the changes with the OK button and restart the computer.
Change the "Startup Type" of the service to "Disabled", save the changes and restart the computer
Video: How to cancel a Windows 10 update
How to delete Windows 10 update cache
Another option for cleaning and optimizing your system is to clear cached information files. An overflowing update cache can affect system performance, constantly search for new updates, etc.
Video: How to Clear the Windows 10 Update Cache
Programs for uninstalling Windows 10 updates
Windows Update MiniTool is a free and easy-to-manage program that will help you customize your Windows 10 update environment to your liking.
Windows Update MiniTool - a program for working with Windows updates
This utility looks for current updates, can remove old ones, reinstall upgrades, and much more. Also, this software product allows you to opt out of updates.
Revo Uninstaller is a powerful program similar to the Windows Add/Remove Programs service.
Revo Uninstaller is a program for working with software and OS updates
This is a functional application manager that allows you to track how and when the operating system or any individual application was updated. Among the advantages is the ability to remove updates and applications in a list, and not one at a time, which significantly reduces the cleaning time of your device. The disadvantages include a complex interface and a common list for programs and updates, which is divided in the Windows service.
Why is the update not being removed?
The update cannot be removed only because of an error or a series of errors that occurred during the installation or operation of the update patch. The Windows system is not perfect: every now and then there are problems due to the load on the OS, inaccuracies in the network, viruses, hardware failures. So, critical errors during the installation of an update can be located in the registry, in which the update data is recorded, or in the hard disk sector where the update files are stored.
How to remove non-removable updates
There are no standard methods for removing "unremovable" items. The occurrence of such a situation means that there are critical errors on your device that prevent the operating system from working correctly. It is necessary to take a whole range of measures to solve this problem:
- scan your computer for virus programs with several defender programs;
- carry out complex diagnostics of the hard drive with specialized programs;
- run a utility to clean the registry;
- defragment hard drives;
- start the Windows Recovery service from the installation disk.
If all these measures did not lead to the desired result, contact the specialists or reinstall the operating system. The last measure, albeit a drastic one, will definitely solve the problem.
Updating the system is not a big deal. However, to keep your computer performing at its best, you need to make sure that all updates are installed on time and correctly.
Updating a Windows 10 system can lead to both performance improvements and bugs. In the second case, you need to remove problematic updates. You can erase stuck, uninstalled, installed, and anniversary updates, as well as clear their cache. After you uninstall, do not forget to disable automatic download of updates.
Is it possible to delete
You can remove updates, as such an opportunity is provided by the developers of Windows. Removal can be done with standard applications, so this should not cause any problems. You can erase both already installed updates that are currently involved, and old or just downloaded, not yet installed, updates.
How to uninstall Windows 10 updates
Updates that have already been installed on your computer can be removed using system tools, without third-party programs, just like all other types of updates. But there are several ways to do this: using the control panel, configuring computer settings, and executing commands. Remember, you will need administrator rights to work with updates, so perform all actions from an account that has these rights.
Using system settings
- Expand the system settings, for example, using the Windows search bar.
Open the program "Settings"
Go to the "Updates and Security" block
- Select the "Update Center" section.
Go to the "Update Center" section
- While in the settings of the update center, open the update history.
Expanding the update log
- Use the Uninstall Updates button to access general information about installed upgrades.
Click on the "Uninstall Updates" button
- Highlight the update that harms your system and use the Uninstall button.
Select the update and click the "Delete" button
- Note that most updates will require a system restart to uninstall, so be sure to save any unsaved projects ahead of time so you don't lose them.
Press the "Yes" button
Using the control panel
This method allows you to erase updates using the same list as described in the previous method, but the transition to it will be done differently:
- Open the computer control panel, for example, through the Windows search bar.
Open the control panel through the Windows search bar
- Change the appearance of the panel by selecting the "Large Icons" category and go to the "Programs and Features" section.
Go to the "Programs and Features" section
- Go to view installed updates.
Go to view installed updates
- Select the update that interferes with your system and click on the "Uninstall" button.
Click on the "Delete" button
- Confirm the action and wait for the system to uninstall the update. Note that most updates will require a restart to uninstall, so be sure to save any unsaved projects ahead of time so you don't lose them.
Confirm that the update needs to be removed
Through the execution of commands
- Expand the command prompt by resorting to using administrator rights.
Open command prompt as administrator
- Use the wmic qfe list brief /format:table command to view a list of installed updates and their unique numbers that will be needed for removal. Unique numbers start with KB.
We execute the command wmic qfe list brief / format: table
- Use the wusa /uninstall /kb:update_unique_digits command to uninstall the required update. Note that the letters KB and numbers are separated by colons, not written consecutively.
We execute the command wusa / uninstall / kb: unique_update_numbers
- Confirm the action.
We agree to the removal
- Choose whether you want to reboot now or if you want to do it later. The update will not be completely removed until the computer is restarted.
Choose whether to restart the computer now or later
Video: uninstall updates
Through a third party program
This is an additional method that you should resort to only if the previous ones do not help solve the problem in your case, since this is the longest, albeit simple, option.
- First you need to create a third-party recovery media with the ERD Commander program, which can be downloaded for free from the developer's official website. But before that, you need to prepare this media: insert the USB flash drive into the port, wait until it is recognized by the system, and, being in Explorer, right-click on it, select "Format".
Select the "Format" function
- Format the flash drive to FAT32 or NTFS so that nothing extra is left on it.
Choose a format format
- Now write the downloaded image of ERD Commander to it, to do this, click on the image with the right mouse button, select "Mount" and specify on which media you want to mount the image.
Select "Mount"
- Turn off the computer without removing the flash drive. Start it up, and as soon as the first signs appear that the computer has started to turn on, press the Delete key several times to enter the BIOS. The key may be different from Delete, which one to use instead depends on your motherboard model. But when the system starts to boot, you will see a prompt that will tell you which key you can use to enter the BIOS.
Enter the BIOS by pressing the Delete key
- While in the BIOS settings, go to the Boot or "Download" section in the Russian version.
Go to the Boot section
- You must change the boot order so that the computer starts from the media you created, and not from the hard drive, so in the menu that opens, put the name of the flash drive in the first place instead of the hard drive.
We put the flash drive in the first place
- Save the changes and exit the BIOS, the system will start to boot again, but not Windows will start, but ERD Commander.
Save changes and exit BIOS
- Select your operating system version.
Choose your OS version
- We select the option "Run various MSDaRT recovery tools", and then the function "Remove fixes".
Select the option "Run various MSDaRT recovery tools"
- Select the update you want to remove.
- After uninstalling, you will receive a report on which updates have been removed. Done, you can return to working with the system by re-changing the boot order in the BIOS so that it starts from the hard disk.
Update successfully uninstalled
Removing the anniversary update
The Anniversary Update is a global update that usually has a round version, such as "Update v2.0". You can delete such an update, but on the condition that 10 days have not passed since the installation of the global update:
- Go to the computer settings, for example, using the Windows search bar.
Opening computer settings
- Go to the "Updates and security" block.
Select the "Update and security" section
- Select the "Recovery" block.
Go to the "Recovery" block
- Roll back to an earlier build. This process may take some time, during which you should not turn off the computer or interrupt the procedure in any other way.
We start the system rollback to the previous build
How to remove downloaded, uninstalled, frozen
All downloaded updates are in the computer memory in the form of regular files that you can copy to transfer to another computer, or delete. Among these files are hung and uninstalled updates. These files are sometimes referred to as "Update Cache".
- Open the standard Windows Explorer.
Open File Explorer
- Go to the Download folder, which is located along the path Main drive:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution.
We go along the path Primary_disk:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download
- While in the Downlaod folder, remove unnecessary updates based on their unique number, volume, and download date.
We remove unnecessary updates by deleting folders with them
Disabling the download of a specific update using a third-party program
If you have deleted a certain update, then after a while it will be downloaded and installed again, as the system will understand, after checking the database, that it is not enough on the computer, and will install it. To avoid this, we will use the official program from Microsoft - Show or Hide Updates, which can be downloaded from their official website.
- After launching the application, search for uninstalled updates by clicking on the "Next" button.
Click the Next button
- Select the Hide updates mode to switch to hiding updates.
We mark updates that should not be installed independently
Disable installation of all updates
By default, updates are downloaded and installed automatically; to avoid this, you need to change the system settings. Please note that you may need the latest updates to work with some programs, so it is not always recommended to disable self-installation.
standard method
- Launch the Run window by pressing the Win+R key combination on your keyboard.
Launch the Run program by pressing Win + R
- Use the service.msc command to navigate to the list of services.
Run the service.msc command
- Find the update center in the general list and double-click on it with the left mouse button.
Select the Windows Update service
- The properties of the service will open, in which you need to click the "Stop" button to disable the search for updates until the next reboot of the computer, and set the startup type to "Disabled" so that the update center will never start and, accordingly, could not search for and install updates.
Disable the service and change the startup type to "Disabled"
Using a third party program
If for some reason the standard method does not suit you, you can use the third-party Win Updates Disabler program, the portable version of which is distributed free of charge and does not require installation.
What to do if updates are not removed
If you are unable to uninstall updates, then try the following methods:
- carry out the removal process through the command line running as administrator, or a third-party program. These two methods are described in detail above in the paragraph "Removing installed updates";
- roll back the system to a restore point created when the update was not yet installed, or go through the system restore process. For the first method, you will need a restore point created by you or the system in automatic mode, for the second method - a system image recorded on third-party media. You can also perform a Windows reset, which will return the system to its original settings. Please note that in some cases, all data stored on the computer may be lost, so save them in advance to a third-party reliable medium so as not to lose them;
- if the above methods did not help, then reinstall the system and turn off automatic updates in order to control independently which updates to install and which not.
System rollback
You can roll back to a restore point to remove the update by doing the following:
- Through the search line of Windows, find the "Recovery" section.
Select restore points and roll back the system
Clearing the log history
Clearing the update history can lead to system failure, so we recommend that you perform this operation only as a last resort. There are frequent cases when, after cleaning, users crashed Windows or had other problems with the system. Create a system restore point in advance and save all important files on third-party media so as not to lose them. If you still decide to clear the history, then open a command prompt with administrator rights and run the following commands one by one:
- net stop wuauserver
- del %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore\Logs\edb.log
- net start wuauserver
Done, the log should be clear, you may need to restart your computer.
Installed and uninstalled updates can be removed using standard methods or using a third-party program. After uninstalling the update, do not forget to prohibit installing it again, otherwise the system will restore it every time it notices it is missing.
