Delete downloaded Windows Updates which failed to install [EASY GUIDE]

Update process could be annoying itself, but it’s especially teasing when it takes your time to download updates, but then is unable to install them.

These corrupted updates just unnecessarily take your disk space, and you should get rid of them, and here’s how to do that.

Softwaredistribution folder contains files related to Windows Updates. It is present on all versions of Windows and it should have a couple of hundreds megabytes of size.

But if this folder is larger, you have some corrupted updates in it, and it will take more disk space. So, in order to get rid of these corrupted updates and free up some disk space, you’ll have to delete corrupted updates from Softwaredistribution folder.

Problems deleting all your junk files? Follow this guide to use Disk Cleanup and save your drive.

To delete the corrupted updates, follow these instructions:

1. Go to This PC and open the partition you have your Windows installed on (it’s usually C:)
2. Go to Windows folder
3. In Windows folder, find the folder named Softwaredistribution and open it
4. Open sub-folder Download and delete everything from it (you might need an administrator permission)
5. Now go to Search, type update and open Windows Update Settings
6. Go to Advanced Options and set Notify to schedule restart under Choose how updates are installed

Need more info on how to delete the Software Distribution folder? Take a look at this in-depth article.

That’s all, your corrupted updates are now deleted and you should be able to check for good ones normally.

You don’t have to follow steps 5 and 6 from the resolution above, but we included this because it’s useful to control when you install updates because it won’t interrupt your work and updates could be installed naturally when you want, without any ‘side-effects’ from third-party software.

You can install the updates whenever you want. Check out this article to learn how to schedule your updates.

Updating drivers manually is very dangerous as you can download and install the wrong driver version.We recommend you to download Tweakbit’s Driver Updater (approved by Norton and Microsoft) to do it automatically. Thus, you will prevent file loss and even permanent damage to your computer.

If you have some comments, suggestions, or maybe some alternate solution for corrupted updates problem, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments, other readers will surely love to hear that.

READ ALSO:

• What to do if Windows 10 update deletes all your files
• Restart your computer to install important updates [SUPER GUIDE]
• Windows 10 updates won’t install [6 easy steps to fix the issue]
• Rename Software Distribution folder on Windows 10 [QUICK GUIDE]

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in July 2015 and has been revamped and updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness. We want to be sure that our list has the best products that will fit your needs.