Windows Updates Disk Space Usage Huge Increase

Stan Kasper 1,486 Reputation points

Base Windows system disk usage used to be under 20GB. Applying updates and now it is over 30GB. Run settings/storage/temporary to delete files. Run DISM /resetbase. And disk space usage is still over 30GB. Is this the new normal? Or do I need to do something else?

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  4. Nam Bui (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 1,195 Reputation points • Microsoft External Staff • Moderator

    Hi Stan Kasper,

    Yes, a base system disk usage of 30GB or more is now typical for modern Windows systems such as Windows Server 2022 and Windows 11, especially after cumulative updates and added features. Below is a detailed explanation and additional steps you can take to further optimize disk usage.

    Why disk usage increases:

    Component Store (WinSxS) growth: Even after running DISM /ResetBase, Windows retains some components (e.g., language packs, Features on Demand) that are not removed automatically.

    Cumulative update cache: Windows stores update payloads to support rollback and servicing. These files are not always removed by default cleanup tools.

    Other hidden space consumers: Memory dump files (e.g., MEMORY.DMP), Shadow copies (Volume Snapshot Service), Hyper-V checkpoints or mounted ISO files, Delivery Optimization cache

    Additional cleanup steps:

    1. Analyze component store
    Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore
    1. Remove superseded components
    Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase
    1. Delete memory dump files
    Remove-Item -Path "C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP" -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    1. Delete shadow copies
    Get-WmiObject Win32_ShadowCopy | ForEach-Object { $_.Delete() }
    1. Clear Delivery Optimization cache
    Remove-Item -Path "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DeliveryOptimization\*" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    1. Remove Windows Update residuals
    Remove-Item -Path "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\*" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    Hope the above information is helpful!

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