How to Remove Windows Update Cache on Windows 10

Do you want to download fresh Windows Update files?

Are you looking for a way to free up space and fix Windows Update?

In case you haven’t heard of Delivery Optimization, it’s a feature that allows your PC to download and upload Windows Update files to PCs in the same network or over the internet. You may find it useful to disable Delivery Optimization in case you have a metered connection.

In a previous tutorial, I have shown you how to recover the Windows Update service just in case you face this issue because you are going to need to stop the Windows Update service.

This time, you will learn how to delete the Windows Update cache to make Windows download new files directly from Microsoft.

This can be useful in case of a blue screen or a problem regarding Windows updates. If you want to repair your Windows corrupt files you can follow this tutorial.

In this tutorial, you will learn 2 methods to remove Windows Update cache on Windows 10.

The first method is manual using the File Explorer, the second is using the Command Prompt. Using the Disk Cleanup tool will help us get rid of the rest of the cache.

Let’s dive in!

Clear Windows Update Cache on Windows 10

1. Clean the Windows Update Cache Using File Explorer

Stop Windows Update Service

We are going to stop the Windows Update service first, for this to happen we need to run the command services.msc in the Run prompt (Windows+R).

remove delete clear windows update cache files 1 run services msc

Right-click on “Windows Update” and choose “Stop“.

remove delete clear windows update cache files 2 stop windows update service

Delete Files inside SoftwareDistribution\Download

Open a new Run prompt and paste the following and press Enter:

C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download

remove delete clear windows update cache files 3 windows softwaredistribution download run

We need to delete everything in here, so press Ctrl+A, then Shift+Del.

A confirmation box will pop up, click “Yes“. If things didn’t go well we will use the Command Prompt with higher privileges.

remove delete clear windows update cache files 4 delete softwaredistribution download

2. Remove Windows Update Cache Using Command Prompt

Launch the Command Prompt as administrator from the Start menu.

remove delete clear windows update cache files 5 start cmd administrator command prompt

Execute the following commands:

net stop wuauserv
cd %Windir%\SoftwareDistribution
del /f /s /q Download
net start wuauserv

remove delete clear windows update cache files 6 cd delete softwaredistribution command prompt

3. Clean Windows Update Cache Using Disk Cleanup

Now to clean up the left-overs we will run the Disk Cleanup tool, to do this open the Explorer using Windows+E keyboard shortcut and go to “This PC“”.

Right-click on your C: drive and choose “Properties“.