Windows update file location (applicable to all versions)

Lionsure 2020-09-13 Original by the website

The Windows operating system automatically updates the system by default. Before updating, it downloads the files to be updated from the windows official website and saves them to a folder dedicated to storing system update files. After all files are downloaded, the update starts. Every pdate, the size of file to be downloaded may be different. When there are many files, there are gigabytes, and when there are few files, it is tens of MB. Windows update files are so many, where does Windows update download files?

Although Windows is constantly being upgraded, the file folder that is used to store the updatefiles for each version has never changed, including the latest Windows 10, previous Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, XP, and service versions of Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 (R2), Windows Server 2008 (R2), Windows Server 2003, etc.

 

Windows update file location(Where are Windows update files stored):

C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download

Generally speaking, all files in the "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution" folder are related to Windows update. There are six folders and one file, namely: AuthCabs, DataStore, Download, ScanFile, SelfUpdate, and WuRedir folders and ReportingEvents file.

 If there is a problem during the windows update, first check the existence of these six folders and the ReportingEvents file, and then check the network and other problems.

When the windows update is completed, it will automatically clean up the files downloaded before the update and the temporary files generated during the update process, so there is no need to manually delete these files. During the update process, due to a large number of temporary files, sometimes it may consume a lot of space on the C drive(system disk). If the C drive has less space, it may fill up during the update process and prompt that the C drive is insufficient. If the update can continue, you don't need to worry about it, because the space occupied by temporary files will be released after the update is completed and restart; if the update cannot continue, you can use the system cleanup tool(Right-click "System Disk(C Disk) → Properties → General → Disk Cleanup, or Start → All Programs → Accessories → System Tools → Disk Cleanup) to delete some Junk files, or move some non-system files to other disks, you must be familiar with them before you move them, so as not to move the wrong files and windows cannot run normally.