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💾 Disk Cleanup Guide

Disk Cleanup System Files Route Windows Update Cleanup Step by Step

Windows still ships Disk Cleanup, and its second scan — Clean up system files — reaches gigabytes that the normal Temporary files page sometimes under-reports: the Windows Update Cleanup pile above all. Here is the complete route, with an honest note on what each big checkbox costs you.

✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows 11⏱️ 6 minute fix
🎥 Watch the full process in the video — the Disk Cleanup system files route done live

Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr) looks old, and its first scan is unimpressive — a few hundred MB of thumbnails and temp files. The real weight appears only after you press Clean up system files and let it scan again with administrator rights. That second list includes the servicing leftovers of every update this PC has ever installed. After a feature update or a year of Patch Tuesdays, that is where 5, 10, sometimes 20+ GB are sitting.

Disk Cleanup for (C:) — system files scan, example sizes
☑ Windows Update Cleanup8.7 GB
☑ Previous Windows installation(s)24.6 GB
☑ Temporary Windows installation files1.9 GB
☑ Delivery Optimization Files3.4 GB
☑ Device driver packages640 MB
If your first scan showed only small numbers, you have not run the system files scan yet — that button is the whole trick of this tool.
Example Disk Cleanup list after the system files scan. Your entries and sizes depend on your update history.
1

Open Disk Cleanup the Right Way

  1. Press Windows + R, type cleanmgr and press Enter — or search Disk Cleanup in Start
  2. Select drive C: and let the first scan finish
  3. Now the step people miss: choose Clean up system files, select C: again, and wait for the deeper scan
  4. The list that returns is longer and much larger — this is the technician view, and it is still the same safe, supported tool
2

Windows Update Cleanup — the Big One

Every update replaces system files, and Windows keeps the replaced copies so updates can be uninstalled. Windows Update Cleanup removes the copies belonging to updates that have been superseded by newer ones.

  1. Tick Windows Update Cleanup — on a well-used PC this row alone is often 3 to 10 GB
  2. Honest cost: after this cleanup, those superseded updates can no longer be uninstalled individually. For a PC running well on current updates, that is the standard trade every technician makes
  3. If you are mid-troubleshooting a bad recent update and may need to remove it, skip this row today and clean it next month instead
3

The Other Rows That Matter After an Update

  1. Previous Windows installation(s) — this is Windows.old. Ticking it removes your rollback copy of the previous version, so rescue personal files from Windows.old\Users first and be sure the new version is stable
  2. Temporary Windows installation files — the setup working files of an upgrade. Safe once the upgrade finished and the PC runs normally
  3. Windows upgrade log files — small text diaries of the upgrade; safe to clear when you are not actively diagnosing that upgrade
  4. Delivery Optimization Files and Device driver packages — the update-sharing cache and the stored copies of old drivers. Both safe for a healthy PC
  5. Leave anything you do not recognize unticked. The tool never forces an all-or-nothing choice
4

Run It and Let It Finish

  1. Choose OK, then confirm with Delete Files
  2. Windows Update Cleanup can sit at one screen for many minutes on a heavily updated PC. That is normal servicing work, not a hang — do not force-close it and do not power off
  3. A restart prompt may follow if update files were in use; accept it
  4. Afterwards, check free space in Settings → System → Storage and compare with where you started
5

The DISM Twin for Technicians

The command-line equivalent of the component cleanup is DISM, useful on servers, scripts and PCs where you want the result in a log.

  1. From an administrator prompt: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
  2. There is also a deeper switch, /ResetBase, which removes every superseded component version and makes all installed updates permanent. It frees the most — and removes every uninstall path. Use it deliberately on stable machines only, never as a reflex
  3. Both DISM routes are supported. Opening the WinSxS folder and deleting from it by hand is not, under any circumstances
🔴 Disk Cleanup is patient work. The Windows Update Cleanup phase can look frozen while it services thousands of files. Interrupting it — especially with a forced shutdown — is how a safe cleanup turns into an update problem.

🎥 Watch the Complete Video Guide

Every checkbox explained and the cleanup run to completion — follow it live in the video.

▶️ Watch Full Video
❓ Common Questions (FAQ)

Is Disk Cleanup still available in Windows 11?

Yes. cleanmgr ships with Windows 11 and works the same way, including the Clean up system files second scan. Settings → Storage → Temporary files covers overlapping ground in a modern interface, but Disk Cleanup's system files list — Windows Update Cleanup in particular — is still the most complete view of update leftovers.

Why does Disk Cleanup show almost nothing for me?

Usually because only the first scan ran. The first scan covers your user profile — temp files and thumbnails, typically a few hundred MB. Press Clean up system files and scan drive C: again: Windows Update Cleanup, previous installations and setup leftovers only appear in that elevated second list.

Can Windows Update Cleanup break my updates?

It does not touch your current, working updates. It removes the kept copies of file versions that newer updates have already replaced. The real cost is rollback: those superseded updates can no longer be uninstalled afterwards. If you are actively planning to remove a recent bad update, skip this checkbox until that is settled.

This guide is based on the Technical Anshu C drive full after update video • Stuck on any step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply there 🙏