Based on your recommendation I downloaded and ran this utility and deleted *another* 4.9GB of files. Between this program and deleting the C:\Windows\Installer files, I picked up almost 9GB of space on my boot drive.
Does anyone know whether those Windows\Installer MS Office 2013 updates also get removed when you uninstall MS Office 2013??? I want to try MS Office 2016 Preview, but not if uninstalling MS Office 2013 leaves those updates that take up space because that would result in even more space wasted when MS Office 2016 would be installed and later updated...
Office 2016 Preview also leaves updates around, 1GB+ for each. I've got approx. 5GB sitting around now and I only installed it a few weeks ago. I assume it is because of ClickToRun method of updating.
I must've downloaded the later Preview version because Windows 10 is not detecting updates for it (I did enable Updated for Other MS Software). Maybe because I used KMSAuto on it...
Nothing new here. Windows has always kept useless files for it's own reasons. Windows wastes so much space and it will only get worse as the bloat grows exponentially .
Do not delete windows\installer folder You are making a very big mistake. if you delete windows\installer folder. you wont be able to uninstall/update lots of programs like office, nero, etc. which uses an .msi file for installation. also i dont recomment using some apps to cleanup this folder. they usually delete wrong files.
Excluding installed programs, drivers, hibernation file, page file, windows itself grew by 3GB since fresh install on 30 July, i have yet to find out what caused those. Windows updates can't be that severe right? I certainly hope is not the WinSxS because that hasn't been an issue for me since Windows 7 (some claim still is). Vista was the worst with that.
Ha! Office 2016 is better at managing update files! Office 2013 always downloaded and kept update files for ALL Office 2013 features, including Outlook, Access, Vizio, etc. I only used 3 features - Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Office 2016 downloads and keeps ONLY updates for the installed features (for me its again Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), which minimizes download times and allows for more free storage! I like Office 2016 a LOT!
My tips to use less space on Windows 10 : - Delete windows\installer\$PatchCache$ Then define a registry key in order to not recreate this folder again : "reg add HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer /v MaxPatchCacheSize /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f" - Remove all files in \windows\temp - Remove all files in %temp% - Remove all files (after updates have been installed !) in "\windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download". - Cleanup unused components : in cmd (admin (Win + X and A)) : "dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup". To save more space (for advanced users only !) : - Enable ResetBase : go to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SideBySide\Configuration" and change DWORD "DisableResetbase" to 0. You can now use "dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup /resetbase" to remove all older updates. BE CAREFUL : YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO REMOVE WINDOWS UPDATES ! - Compact these 2 system folders (like DISM Compact Mode (/compact) does !) : in cmd (Admin too) : "compact /S:c:\Windows\Installer" "compact /S:c:\Windows\WinSXS" These folders will be compressed and will use less space but there will be slower when accessed (updates, installation). You can use a more powerfull compress mode (but will be slower of course) by using "/EXE" and "XPRESS4K", "XPRESS8K", "XPRESS16K" or "LZX". Example : "compact /S:c:\Windows\Installer /EXE:LZX" to compress at maximum. - Disable Hybrid Sleep if not using (sleep in RAM and Drive) : in cmd (admin too) : "powercfg -h off". With all that tips you will save a looooooot of space .