C windows softwaredistribution download windows 10. How to Cleanup the SoftwareDistribution Folder to Fix Windows Update

I’m on Windows 10 on 4 devices. Either call it “Windows 10 Central” or else publish articles covering Windows 8. XP, Vista and even Windows for some topics. What about 3. Why leave them out? Windows 10 is the current OS. There are plenty of guides on the net regarding the previous editions. I personally would rather not have my time wasted with obsolete articles. To avoid all kind if issues, I dual boot Windows, boot the new one, delete the SoftwareDiatribution folder for the broken one from there!!

Quick question, does this also fix Windows store downloads???? Try WSReset. Since this issue can cause W10 to stop downloading updates from MS, something which for many people would be desirable, could someone add the info on how to adjust this folder to block Windows Updates?

It could possibly be used via a script to switch updates on or off. The first update you do will hit the MS servers, and after reboot it will hit the local update server again when it picks up policy to update the registry key.

Could have used this article a week ago. My Nuvision tablet wasn’t updating so just reinstalled Windows. Same here with my SP3. Oh well is kind of nice to have a fresh install. There is an Update troubleshooter, that should take care of any Update issues instead of this hacking under the hood. Windows Central Newsletter. Get the best of Windows Central in in your inbox, every day! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands.

Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors. Thank you for signing up to Windows Central. You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. This might already fix incomplete or corrupted Windows Update files in the SoftwareDistribution folder by deleting them. The method shown below to delete the SoftwareDistribution folder manually is generally safe as Windows Update will download all update files again when needed.

To be sure that the issue you try to fix is related to the Windows SoftwareDistribution folder, you might want to temporarily rename it beforehand as shown below.

This will preserve the files inside. If you decide deleting the SoftwareDistribution folder, you will lose the Windows Update history which might be usuful to trace down problematic updates.

Also Windows Update will need a bit longer afterwards until available updates are shown and downloaded because the WUAgent must check and re-create the Datastore information. Before you can clear the SoftwareDistribution folder, you will have to stop both the Windows Update Service wuauserv and the Background Intelligent Transfer Service bits. Run the command net stop wuauserv to stop the Windows Update Service and net stop bits for the Background Intelligent Transfer Service. This is ok.

Improve this answer. Community Bot 1. How know all pending updates are installed? Powershell script like community. ZaB ZaB 2, 1 1 gold badge 14 14 silver badges 8 8 bronze badges. Disk cleanup didn’t list these files as ones that could be deleted, but so far it seems to have been OK to delete them.

Some people reported problems with Windows Update after deleting these files, while others didn’t. It depends apparently on what you do. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown.

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C windows softwaredistribution download windows 10.C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download deleting

We are looking for a way to to clear the SoftwareDistribution folder under the Windows folder to re-download updates. We have always done this in the past to get a fresh copy of updates to get them working again. Since the the new Windows 10 updates the folder is still stuck in use. We used to stop the bits, wuausa, and cryptographic services to be able to remove or rename the folder, but not anymore.

Now you can select a few options. One is “Windows update clean up”. Select it and click o. Then you’ll be able to remove all the contents within the SoftwareDistribution folder; after that, restart the 2 aforementioned services by executing the following commands in an administrative command prompt.

NOTE: you can change the “00” to a different value if you want to wait 10, or so seconds for reboot Microsoft Windows [Version All rights reserved. Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact tnmff microsoft. Office Office Exchange Server.

Not an IT pro? Resources for IT Professionals. Sign in. United States English. Ask a question. Quick access. Search related threads. Remove From My Forums. Asked by:. Archived Forums. Windows 10 General. Sign in to vote. Hello all, We are looking for a way to to clear the SoftwareDistribution folder under the Windows folder to re-download updates.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Friday, March 16, PM. Hi there, you can use the Disk Cleanup Tool for that. The SoftwareDistribution folder is maintained by the WUAgent Windows Update Agent , therefore you have to stop the Windows Update Service and the Background Intelligent Transfer Service by executing the following commands in an administrative command prompt net stop wuauserv net stop bits Then you’ll be able to remove all the contents within the SoftwareDistribution folder; after that, restart the 2 aforementioned services by executing the following commands in an administrative command prompt net start wuauserv net start bits Bye.

Save as batch file.. Thanks for the answer, but like I stated in my initial description – we have already tried this, but since the new Windows 10 updates, this method doesn’t work. It still works on my machine, with the latest updates, do you have UAC disabled? Edited by themanindbox Friday, March 16, PM. No need create Software distribution folder. Delete Download folder contents is enough..

Download folder is in Software distribution folder. Are you able to run these commands: 1. Open an elevated command prompt 2. Saturday, March 17, PM.

Hi Smith, Any message or error code when you attempt to remove or rename SoftwareDistribution folder? Try this: 1. Monday, March 19, AM. I made an account just to thank you! Thursday, September 5, AM.

C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download deleting – Microsoft Community

 
Win10 Pro x64 Version OS Build 2. Can I safely delete “C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download” folder? The SoftwareDistribution folder usually located in C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution is used by Windows Update to preload downloaded updates. The answer is Yes. The Software Distribution folder is a vital component for Windows Update, which temporarily stores files needed to install.

One moment, please

 
 
I stopped the Windows Update within the services window because my the Download folder within C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Downloads? On your PC, there’s a folder in C:\Windows called SoftwareDistribution that stores temporary files during Windows Updates. Under typical situations. Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command. Open File Explorer and browse the following path: C:\Windows\.