Is it possible to remove Windows edb? What can be removed from the Windows folder painlessly for the system and is it worth doing? Reducing the Windows Search database file

In the directory C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download, the operating system stores updates downloaded from the Microsoft server. After installation, they remain as ballast in the folder - they reduce the free space of the system partition.

Before deleting unnecessary files in SoftwareDistribution, disable the automatic launch of search and installation of patches for Windows:

1. Click on the “Windows” button in the taskbar.

2. Click "Control Panel" and go to the "System and Security" section.

3. Click the “Center...” subsection.

4. Select “Settings” from the vertical menu.

5. In the “Important...” option, set “Do not check for...”.

Selective removal of updates

Downloaded updates can be deleted selectively. To perform this operation:

1. In Control Panel, open: System and Security → Center...

3. In the list of updates, in the “Microsoft Windows” block, right-click on the update that you want to remove from the disk. Click the “Delete” panel that opens.

Global folder cleanup SoftwareDistribution

1. Open drive C and go to the Windows folder.

2. In the list of system elements, click SoftwareDistribution.

3. Go to the Download folder. Press the key combination “CTRL+A” to select all the elements in it.

4. Right-click and click on the “Delete” command in the context menu.

5. In the same way, send the contents of the DataStore folder to the trash.

Additionally, clean other directories on the system partition using the CCleaner or Reg Organizer cleaning utility.

Hello everyone Hello everyone, today I will tell you whether it is possible to delete the SoftwareDistribution folder in Windows 7, and also why it is needed in general. In general, I didn’t find much information on the Internet about the SoftwareDistribution folder, to be honest, I don’t even understand why it’s not there, well, that is, the folder seems to be well-known. does it weigh a lot?

Yes, it can weigh a lot, but there are other folders that are heavier, so to speak (well, for example, the same WinSxS). Okay, I won’t torture you, I’ll say that the SoftwareDistribution folder is needed for updates. All things happen in it that relate to updating Windows. Is it possible to remove it? If it bothers you, then you can remove it. It won't be a big deal, it will appear again during the next update, just don't dare delete it while the update is happening! There won’t be a catastrophe, but there may just be some kind of mistake.

The SoftwareDistribution folder itself is located here:

And here's what's inside the folder:

As you can see, there are different folders in which certain data is stored during updating. This folder contains information about what was downloaded, what has already been installed, dates for installing updates, and all sorts of reports. In general, everything related to Windows updates, all service information.

How to delete the SoftwareDistribution folder? I thought that everything was not so simple here, because when I tried to rename the folder, nothing worked. Usually in such situations I use a powerful utility; it can delete everything that cannot be deleted. So. But I remembered about the update service, that you probably need to turn it off first and then you can delete the folder!

So, to disable the folder, launch the task manager and on the Services tab click on this button:

Now in the list of services at the very bottom there will be an update center, this is what we need:

Now look what needs to be done. Click on it twice and a small window will open. There you need to click on the Stop button, well, so that the service immediately stops working and.. you can disable it immediately, to do this, select Startup type: Disabled. Disabling this service will disable updates, please keep this in mind. Therefore, look here for yourself, updates are still needed. I personally disable this service and turn it on only sometimes, so that Windows is updated, then I turn it off again. In general, this is what you need to click in this window:

After this, the service will no longer have its power, and we can safely delete the SoftwareDistribution folder. So let's go, open the system drive, and then jump into the Windows folder, where we delete the SoftwareDistribution folder:

Then you will see a message like this, click Yes:

And that’s it, she left like a sweetheart! As you can see, there are no problems with deletion. However, just in case, I recommend you watch..

When the update service starts up again, the SoftwareDistribution folder will automatically appear.

I almost wrote the most important thing! But won't there be any bugs and glitches if I delete this folder? I’m telling you honestly that there won’t be any problems if you delete this folder. I deleted it. Then I rebooted - there are no glitches, everything works, all programs open and everything works fine. Browsers, everything is as it should be, there are no jambs, brakes and error messages - no, everything is clear guys!

For the test, I launched the update service, there were no errors and the SoftwareDistribution folder appeared again

I hope that I wrote everything clearly and that everything was clear to you, good luck to you

On Windows 10, the installation process for cumulative updates can sometimes cause problems. For example, updates may not install due to file corruption, compatibility issues, or unknown errors.

Regardless of the reason, if you're having trouble installing an update, or have a problem with a specific patch, you can simply remove pending updates to download the files again or skip the update. The problem can be fixed by clearing the Windows update cache. After which, Windows 10 Update downloads a new copy of the update and installs it.

If you haven't disabled Windows Update, either manually or using a third-party tool, then updating your system works without problems for most users. However, there are some users who are facing an issue while downloading or installing an update in Windows 10.

If Windows Update is not working properly, it is a good idea to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter. Go to the application "Options"→ "Update and Security" → « Troubleshooting" → click once on "Windows Update" and press the button "Run the troubleshooter".

Sometimes running the Windows Update troubleshooter may not help fix Windows update problems.

Clearing the Windows update cache may fix the problems. In this guide, we will see how to clear the Windows update cache (delete pending update files) in the Windows 10 operating system.

How to Clear Windows Update Cache on Windows 10

You can do this by deleting the contents of the SoftwareDistribution folder, which contains the files that Windows Update uses to apply new updates.

Before we can delete the update cache, we need to stop the Windows Update service.

Step 1: On the menu "Start" or in the dialog box "Run" enter services.msc, and then press Enter to open the Services window.

Step 2: Find the service entry « Windows Update" and double click on it to open the properties dialog.

Step 3: In the " Are common", click the button Stop", and press the button "OK", to stop the Window Update service s.

Step 4: Open the drive where Windows 10 is installed.

For example, if Windows 10 is installed on the drive " C", open it. Browse to the folder Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download.

Step 5: In folder " Download», click menu " File" and press the button. On the " View", check the box opposite the inscription “. Then uncheck the box in front of the option " Hide protected system files" and click the button Apply"(see pictures below) .

Step 6: Now in the directory C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download- Select all files and folders and then Delete them..

You have just cleared the Windows update cache. Follow these two steps to start the Windows Update service ( Windows Update), which was stopped in the first three stages.

Step 7: Enter Services.msc in the Start menu or Search on the taskbar and press Enter.

Step 8: Double-click the Windows Update service, and then click the " Launch" to start the service and click "OK".

You have successfully cleared the Windows update cache in Windows 10. Hopefully this will help you resolve the Windows update issue.

Have you noticed that the space on the system disk disappears without a trace, and the new generation disk such as SSD is often very small in volume, then it’s time to do a general cleaning of the system disk and configure windows. Now the Internet is full of all sorts of disk cleaning utilities, but here we describe a manual cleaning method using the example of a 64-bit Windows 7 system.

Deleting files using Disk Cleanup

To reduce the number of unused files on your hard drive, free up disk space, and improve your computer's performance, use Disk Cleanup. It cleans out the Recycle Bin, removes temporary files, as well as various unused system files and other items.

• Launch Disk Cleanup by clicking the Start button and selecting All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Cleanup.
• In the Disk Cleanup Options dialog box, choose whether to clean up only your own files or all files on your computer. Administrator permission required. Enter the administrator password or password confirmation if prompted.
• In the Disk Cleanup: Select Disk dialog box, select the hard drive you want to clean up, and then click OK.
• On the Disk Cleanup tab, select the check boxes for the files to be deleted.
• After selecting the files to delete, click OK, and then click Remove Files to confirm the operation. Disk Cleanup removes all unused files from your computer.
• The Advanced tab is available when you choose to delete files from all users on the computer. This tab contains two additional ways to free up even more disk space.

* Programs and components. Opens Programs and Features in Control Panel, where you can remove unused programs. The Size column in the Programs and Features window shows how much disk space is used by each program.

* System restore and shadow copying. Requests that all recovery points except the most recent one be deleted from the disk. System Restore uses restore points to return system files to an earlier state. If your computer is working normally, you can delete earlier restore points to free up disk space.

Manually deleting temporary files

Windows 7 temporary folders are located at the following addresses: %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Temp (for each user on the computer) %ProgramData%\TEMP
%windir%\Temp

You can safely delete all files located in these folders. Windows itself will not allow you to delete files that are currently being used by the system or applications.

Reducing the database file Windows Search Services

The fact is that Windows 7 Search caches information about files on disks in a database file, which is located in the %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows\ folder and is called Windows.edb. When the amount of information on hard drives grows, the database file swells accordingly, which can reach several GB.

For those who do not use hard drive search much, there is a solution that will significantly reduce the size of the Windows.edb file and allow you to control its size in the future.

• Launch the services.msc console (Win+R -> services.msc -> OK).
• We find and set the Window Search service to the Disabled state, then stop the service.
• Rename the file %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows\Windows.edb
• Set the Window Search service to Automatic and start it
• The service will re-create the Windows.edb file (from a size of several tens of MB)
• Opening Control Panel -> Indexing Options
• Click Change
• Select the indexing mode that suits you (uncheck unnecessary boxes)

Resizing or moving the page file

To free up additional space, you can reduce the size of the paging file or move it to another drive. The optimal size of the paging file depends on your specific system configuration. The best thing is to read this article (English)

Removing program installers

Many programs and updates installed on the system leave their installation programs in the %windir%\Installer folder, which over time leads to this folder growing to several GB in size. Deleting these files is not a good idea, as this may affect the correct updating or uninstallation of programs in the future, as well as the correct display of file type icons. But if you urgently need to free up disk space, you can delete them too. In the future, if a problem arises, you can use the original software distributions to return or remove applications.

Cleaning the Carntine folder of antivirus software

How to disable (sleep/hibernate) in Windows 7 and delete hiberfil.sys file

What is Hibernation - read here. The hiberfil.sys file is always located on the system disk and takes up space! Again, depending on the computer configuration, this file can reach several Gigabytes. If you don't use hibernation, you can safely disable it. In order to disable sleep mode (not to be confused with sleep), you must perform the following steps:

• Login to Windows 7 with rights administrator.
• Open Control Panel -> Power Options -> Sleep Settings.
• In the Put your computer to sleep mode drop-down list, select Never and save your changes.
• Call the desktop context menu (right click).
• Select New->Shortcut.
• In the field, enter powercfg -h off.
• Click Next, then Finish.
• Launch the shortcut as an administrator (from the context menu, select the item with the shield image).
• Agree to allow the action in the UAC prompt (it may not appear).

Another useful tip for monitoring free space on your system partition in Windows 7.

I will explain how you can control the free space on the Windows 7 system partition and prevent future problems associated with a lack of it. I’ll explain, again using the example of the 64-bit Windows 7 OS (which are gaining popularity, according to statistics - 48% of all installed Windows 7 OS are 64-bit), but this is also true for 32-bit sevens. Specifically, we will talk about Windows user folders.

In order to use this method, you must have several hard drives (or disk partitions) on your computer. It is advisable to perform this procedure immediately after installing Windows on your computer, since there should always be at least 15% free space on the system partition; this is required for the defragmentation procedure, which in Windows 7 is performed automatically, as needed. Defragmentation, in turn, speeds up the system and reduces wear on the hard drive.

Now, in order. After installation, Windows 7 creates several system folders in the root directory of the system drive (usually the C: drive, but not always). These folders are highlighted in the screenshot.

You won't be able to see some folders because they are hidden by default. These folders are: Documents and Settings, $Recycle.Bin, ProgramData, Recovery and System Volume Information (most of them are not even folders as such, but just hard links). The remaining folders should be visible (the Program Files (86) folder exists only in 64-bit versions). The folder we need is Users.

When you enter the Users folder, you will see the following picture (user names and their number may vary). We are interested in these folders, or rather the folder named by your username, it is in it that all user documents, music, videos, photos, etc. are located.

Let's go into this folder. Here you can see all the folders where user data is stored.

Many of these folders swell as documents and files are added to them; the figure highlights particularly problematic ones, which usually store a large amount of information. For example, by default I download files from browsers such as Internet Explorer and Google Chrome into the Downloads folder. It is advisable not to store these folders on the system volume, but to move them to another disk. This can be done in an easy way - just cut out these folders (be sure to cut them out, don’t copy them!) and transfer them to another drive where you have a lot of free space, for example D:.

Create a folder with the user name on drive D: and insert all the cut folders into it.

Now, all your files are placed in the corresponding Libraries (<Видео, Документы, Изображения и т.п.) будут автоматически сохранятся на диске D:. Такую процедуру желательно проделать для всех активных пользователей на вашем компьютере. Это позволит контролировать заполнение системного раздела, а значит и производительность всей системы.