If Task Scheduler is not open, start the Task Scheduler. Run the StartComponentCleanup task in Task Scheduler to clean up and compress components If you choose to run this task, the task will have a 1 hour timeout and may not completely clean up all files. When run automatically, the task will wait at least 30 days after an updated component has been installed before uninstalling the previous versions of the component. This task is set to run automatically when triggered by the operating system. The StartComponentCleanup task was created in Windows 8 to regularly clean up components automatically when the system is not in use. In Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016, you have a number of ways to start the cleanup of the component store, which use a combination of package deletion and component compression to clean up the WinSxS folder: Task Scheduler To learn about finding the size of your WinSxS folder, see Determine the actual size of the WinSxS folder.ĭeleting files from the WinSxS folder or deleting the entire WinSxS folder may severely damage your system so that your PC might not boot and make it impossible to update. You can also reduce the size of a Windows image using some of the same techniques, as discussed in Reduce the Size of the Component Store in an Offline Windows Image. After a period of time, these older components are automatically removed from the installation. Previous versions of some components are kept on the system for a period of time, allowing you to rollback if necessary. Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 automatically reduce the size of the WinSxS folder by using methods similar to the ones described in this topic, in addition to internal processes, such as uninstalling and deleting packages with components that have been replaced by other components with newer versions. For more information about the WinSxS folder, see Manage the Component Store. You can, however, reduce the size of the WinSxS folder using tools built into Windows. One commonly asked question is, 'Can I delete the WinSxS folder to regain some disk space?' The short answer is no. This topic is about the different ways to reduce the size of the WinSxS folder on a running version of Windows 10.

Windows update cleanup tool