The Windows 10 storage interface indicates that updates are consuming 10.8GB of space.
The Windows 10 storage interface indicates that updates are consuming 10.8GB of space.
The storage panel indicates that 10.8GB is occupied by updates. This isn't a major concern unless my C drive is just 120GB, which it isn't because my machine is older and the M.2 NVMe drives were costly back then. I searched for explanations but found little useful advice—every guide seemed to focus on updates after upgrading from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10. I assembled this computer about six years ago and have never used Windows 7 or 8, so no old files remain. I also ran the Windows update and it confirmed I'm fully current, likely holding onto old updates for backup. I've used disc cleanup and CCleaner, but neither let me delete these items. If anyone knows why updates are consuming so much space, any details would be helpful.
Check if Windows is up to date or if the update is saved but hasn't been applied. Restart your device and observe the changes.
Launch the start menu, type "Disk Cleanup" and choose it. Point to your C: drive and press the "Clean up system files" button. Tick all options, click OK, and let the process begin. See what space it claims before confirming. I wonder how much room you’ll have afterward.
All boxes are marked, yet the cleanup for updates isn’t listed. Even after testing each option, the update files remain unaffected.
I checked the details myself on my machine to understand where OP came from. It turns out Disk Cleanup doesn’t alter the update size shown in Windows 10 Settings, especially at the bottom level. Here’s what I did: I checked Disk Clean-Up against the temporary files setting in Settings. It listed a bigger range—119MB for updates—but also included the Downloads folder. After running Disk Clean-Up with the System Files option selected, the update size stayed at 119MB while the temporary files dropped to 126KB once Downloads was excluded. So it removed the same temporary files, just not the updates. From this, I can confirm Disk Clean-Up doesn’t actually clear update space. OP was right about that.
These files are Windows update temporary files and should disappear naturally over time. You can force removal by deleting them yourself. After looking deeper, I found their location in the usual Windows Update downloads folder. My version matched exactly what Settings showed.
For a cleaner approach, simply delete everything there if possible, but be aware you’ll need to stop the service afterward. For more info, check this link: https://www.ghacks.net/2017/11/16/how-to...ate-files/.
Additionally, there’s another method using a batch file that can automate the process by double-clicking it.
Edit: This forum has some image issues and I didn’t realize PowerShell commands weren’t working properly—I didn’t recognize certain CMD instructions.
I appreciate the help, this was the answer I needed. I understood Windows Update prefers recent installations, but files over 10GB seemed too much. @TheBean I had previously run Windows Update and installed some updates. Once it reported using around 11.7GB, I restarted my PC which lowered it to 10.8. After that I rechecked for updates and said I was up to date, then tried restarting again but it wouldn’t drop below 10.8, so I posted this.