Can I uninstall previous windows updates. How to uninstall unnecessary Windows updates and free up tons of space. Removing old updates

Updating the operating system is good. However, sometimes the saying “the best is the enemy of the good” works, as a result of which the system, which seems to be more productive, suddenly begins to behave strangely. Oftentimes, it's the installed modifications that are to blame.

Let's take a look at how to uninstall Windows 7 updates if they cause the system to malfunction or simply take up too much space.

Deleting

If you installed Windows 7 and subsequently encountered incorrect updates, follow these steps:

Open the "Control Panel", go to the "Programs" section. Click on the link "View installed updates".
A list of modifications that have been installed on your computer will appear. They are all sorted by product type - you are interested in "Microsoft Windows".
You can highlight and uninstall any modification. The main thing here is not to be mistaken.

There can be no automatic updates in Windows XP because Microsoft no longer supports this operating system.

However, if necessary, you can remove all unnecessary updates using the "Add or Remove Programs" function. It is enough just to mark the item "Show updates" so that they are displayed in the list and become available for deletion.
If you want to get rid of the last installed modifications, use the system restore function. Roll back the system to a previous working state, but be careful: if you, for example, installed drivers on Windows 7 after a checkpoint, they will disappear. The same applies to programs, so it is recommended not to get carried away with system rollbacks.

The WinSxS directory is a kind of repository for old versions of system files that are not needed after the next update. These files are needed so that, if necessary, you can roll back the system to an earlier state. This is sometimes useful - for example, if an update breaks the system.
However, in most cases, files from this folder are dead weight, taking up a lot of space (from 5 GB and more). Let's see what you can do with this directory in Windows 8 and 7 to clean up your hard drive a bit.

Important! Windows 7 must have SP1 or KB2852386 installed or the cleanup function will not have the required parameters.

As part of such a cleaning, all files that were installed more than a month ago are destroyed.

In Windows 8 and 8.1, this procedure is no different. In a similar way, you get rid of all unnecessary files that take up space, so do not forget to use it at least once a month.

As you can see, Windows developers are well aware of the flaws in their system and are trying to fix them. Perhaps in the tenth version there will be additional functions that allow you to get rid of unnecessary files, but we will learn about this a little later.

Windows Updates- these are additional software modules that are created by the developers of the operating system to fix critical errors that lead to malfunctions, eliminate vulnerabilities in system security, as well as add new functions to Windows and improve the stability of third-party applications. In rare cases, due to developer errors, updates may contain critical bugs and cause crashes in Windows or programs installed in it. To restore normal operation, such faulty updates must be removed, and in this guide, we will discuss various ways to remove updates in Windows 7 and 8 operating systems.

Configuring update download options

First, you need to keep in mind that not all updates are important and required to install. Many updates do not contain important fixes and improvements for the OS, but the changes they make can cause various failures. In addition, many optional updates are large and take up significant hard disk space.

To avoid installing unnecessary updates to the operating system, you must correctly configure Windows Update, because by default the operating system automatically downloads and installs all updates released by Microsoft. However, this can be fixed by enabling the ability to independently select and install only the most important updates.

To change the rules for downloading updates, open the menu Start and enter into Control Panel(in Windows 8 you can use hotkeys Win + I to open the Parameters panel and already in it click on the Control Panel link).

Opening Control Panel from the Settings Panel in Windows 8

Opening Control Panel from the Start Menu in Windows 7

Next, go to the section system and safety (The control panel must be in Category, which can be selected in the upper right corner in the drop-down list located next to the button View) .

Select item Windows Update:

In the left vertical menu, selectSettings:

And finally, in the window that opens, you need to select the option from the drop-down list Look for updates, but the decision to download and install is made by me.

Hiding and restoring unnecessary updates

Updates detected by the system but not yet installed that are not needed can be hidden so that they will not appear in the list for installation in the future.

To do this, open again Windows Update and select the desired section: Important or Optional updates.

In the list that opens, left-click on the update you do not need to install, then right mouse button open the dropdown menu with options and select the item Hide update.

You can restore hidden updates in the same Windows Update by selecting the corresponding link in the left vertical menu.

In the list of hidden updates that opens, you must select the required checkbox and click on the button Restore, after which the update will return to the list of available for download and installation.

Clean up disk from temporary files of downloaded updates and delete update history

On local drive C, you can clear the system folders that store temporary files for downloaded but not installed updates, and delete the update history log.

To do this, open Conductor and go to:C: \ Windows \ SoftwareDistribution ... In this directory, find two folders:Download(contains update files) andDataStore(keeps logs of update history). Delete the files that are in them using the combination Shift + Del(without moving to the basket).

How to remove installed updates

Now let's talk about different ways to remove already installed updates from the system.

Uninstallation via Control Panel

In order to remove the updates installed in the operating system, open Control Panel and go to the section Programs.

In chapter Programs and Features select item View installed updates.

In the list of installed updates that appears, select the required one with the left mouse button, then press the right mouse button and in the drop-down menu select the item Delete. To complete the operation, confirm your intentions by clicking OK and restart your computer for the changes you made to take effect.

Uninstalling via the command line

This method is suitable for advanced users, and involves manual input of commands. Run Command Prompt as Administrator. To do this, in Windows 7, click on the menu icon Start and in the search bar enter the command: cmd, then in the search results window, right-click on the icon cmd and select the command Run as administrator... In Windows 8, just press the key combination Win + X and in the appeared context menu select the item Command Line (Admin).

Run Command Prompt as Administrator in Windows 7

Run Command Prompt as Administrator in Windows 8

To view the list of installed updates, enter the command:wmic qfe list brief / format: table

In order to remove any update, enter the command: wusa / uninstall / kb: update number(For example: wusa / uninstall / kb: 3185331).

How to uninstall all updates at once

Unfortunately, the developers did not provide such an opportunity in the Windows functionality. It's a pity that in some situations this function can really be useful, since it is inconvenient and takes too long to manually remove a large number of updates. Fortunately, there are several easy and affordable ways to fix this problem.

Removal via .bat file (batch file)

Create a new file using the program Notebook(right-click on an empty space on the desktop and select the option Create text document).

Copy the following code into a blank document:

@echo off
color 0A
mode con: cols = 40 lines = 12
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
Set templist =% TEMP% \ listTMP.txt
set list =% USERPROFILE% \ Desktop \ uninstall_updates.cmd

echo.
echo.
echo Please wait
echo.
echo.

if exist% templist% del% templist%
if exist% list% del% list%

wmic qfe get hotfixid >>% templist%

call: 1 "KB" "KB:"
echo DONE
timeout / t 3 / nobreak> nul
exit / b

:1
for / f "tokens = 1 * delims =]" %% a in ("find / v / n" "^ if not" %% b "==" "(set line = %% b) else (set line = not)

set newline =! line:% ~ 1 =% ~ 2!
set newline =! newline: not =!

echo wusa.exe / uninstall /! newline! / quiet / norestart >>% list%
:: set templist =% list%
goto: eof

Save the created file with the extension .bat by giving him any name (for example: new.bat)... Pre-in option File type select option All files... Then run the batch file.

After starting the created file, a window will open asking you to wait, which will close automatically upon completion of the deletion ... All updates installed in Windows 7 and 8 will be removed.

Removing updates using special programs

Nowadays, a large number of various uninstaller and system cleaners have been developed that are quite capable of removing updates from Windows. For example, you can use the well-known program Revo Uninstaller, which can be downloaded for free on our website.

Run Revo Uninstaller and enter Settings... In this section, select the tab Uninstaller and check the boxes next to the parameters Show system updates and Show system components.

Click on OK to close the settings window and refresh the list by clicking on the corresponding icon on the program toolbar. After that, Windows updates will appear in the list of installed applications. It is very simple to identify them - they are marked with a special icon and, as a rule, have a serial number. KB: xxxxxxxxxxx.

Hold down the key to uninstall Ctrl and select the necessary updates with the left mouse button, then click on the icon Delete.

After the uninstallation is complete and the computer restarts, the selected updates will disappear from the operating system.

How to remove old update files

Not many people think that with each update installation, Windows downloads update packages from Microsoft servers, and then starts the process of installing and updating system files, but the package file itself, which is no longer needed, remains in the service folder. In the case of timely installation of updates, such files accumulate a lot and in total they can take tens of gigabytes of space on the system disk. And if you remember that ultra-fast SSD drives of a relatively small size are often used for the operation of the operating system nowadays, the issue of freeing up space often arises by the edge and deleting obsolete update package files can significantly help significantly increase the amount of free space.

To remove outdated service packs, open Conductor by clicking on the special icon near the menu Start (or keyboard shortcut Win + E) ... Right-click on the C drive and select the item Properties.

In the window that opens, click on the button Disk cleanup.

In the next window select the function Cleaning Windows Updates, click OK and wait for the procedure to complete.

Many computer experts consider this method to be the fastest, most effective and safest, which is quite logical - the operating system is better than any third-party utilities to deal with its outdated system files.

Unfortunately, many users note that some updates released for the popular Windows 7 OS often (most often due to their flaws) can cause unexpected failures and errors, and not only the most recent, but also clearly outdated. In addition, the updates themselves on the hard disk take up too much space. How do I uninstall old updates to Windows 7 Ultimate, Home, or any other modifications released later? By and large, nothing is impossible in this. The only question is how expedient such actions are. In most cases, this concerns cleaning up disk space when it is insufficient for user needs or to prevent all kinds of conflicts from occurring.

Can I uninstall old updates to Windows 7 and similar versions of the system?

Speaking about the possibility of completely removing outdated updates that are not necessary for the user, it can be noted that you can really get rid of them. This will not harm the system, especially since in all modifications for which the release of updates is constantly announced by Microsoft, this possibility is provided from the outset. The only trouble is that it is almost impossible to perform such operations manually.

When searching for updates, files are placed in a special WinSxS directory, which is located directly in the main directory of the system on the C drive, but subfolders and files cannot be deleted in the usual way in Explorer, if only because access to them, be the user at least three times an administrator , is completely blocked. How do I uninstall old updates to Windows 7 Home or any other OS version, including both earlier and later? An ordinary user can be offered at least three options for actions that you can perform yourself.

How to remove old Windows 7 updates: the simplest method

So, for starters, you can use the standard tools for cleaning the system partition. In the "Explorer" through the RMB menu on the system disk, select the property item and on the immediately presented tab of the general parameters, click the disk cleanup button.

After the system scans objects that can be painlessly removed, click the additional button for cleaning system files, and in the expanded list that appears, select the necessary items. The item of previous system installations or the item of updates is responsible for removing updates. after that, you just have to confirm the cleaning. The process can take a long time, so you have to be patient.

Selective removal of updates by means of the system

Now a few words about how to uninstall old Windows 7 updates selectively. To do this, you can use an equally simple technique.

In the "Control Panel" (control), select the section of programs and components, in the window with the list of applications, go to the item for viewing installed updates, which is located in the menu on the left, scroll through the list, mark the package that is no longer needed (all the names of system updates begin with the letters "KB »), Then just click the delete button at the top. Be sure to reboot your system after completing all the steps.

Using uninstaller programs

Now let's see how to remove old Windows 7 update files using automated applications. For example, take the iObit Uninstaller program, which is considered one of the most powerful in its class.

In the application menu, go to the Windows updates section (it can be called either from the list on the left, or by clicking the button in the upper right), then sort the packages by installation date, mark unnecessary ones and click the uninstall button. The use of such utilities is convenient because you can get rid of updates in batch mode, that is, delete several pieces at a time. It is impossible to perform such an operation using standard system tools (updates will have to be removed one at a time).

Note: the second and third methods can also get rid of unnecessary self-installing "Office" packages.

How to completely disable the installation of updates?

How to remove old Windows 7 updates, figured out. But the main problem is that when the automatic installation of updates is activated, the system will still search for them and install them, regardless of whether the user needs them or not. Here you can do two things. In the first case, in the "Update Center" you can activate a manual search and exclude unnecessary packages from the list (this is especially often necessary to prevent the installation of faulty updates that cause critical errors).

In the second option, you can disable the "Update Center" altogether by using the services section (services.msc), where you need to stop the services indicated in the image above and set manual start in the start type field. Again, after saving the options, it is advisable to perform a complete restart of the computer (not logging out of the system or account, but a reboot).

Note: to disable the installation of updates only for office applications, it is enough to deactivate the item for searching and installing updates for other software products of Microsoft Corporation.

Outcome

In principle, the problem of how to remove old Windows 7 updates can be solved by creating special keys in the system registry and then starting an automated process from the Shell or using PowerShell tools, but such procedures for an ordinary user may seem too complicated in development, therefore they were not considered. In addition, it is possible, after all, to make trouble in the registry, and such that the entire system will refuse to work (if someone does not know, all changes are saved automatically, and there is absolutely no way to undo or roll back the performed actions). But, returning to the main question, we can say that the three listed methods are enough for ordinary users, as they say, with their heads. In addition, it is the use of such techniques, no matter how hard you try, that you will not damage the functionality of the system itself, even though almost all released updates are focused on eliminating security problems.

Can updates be removed? For many reasons, there is a need to remove Windows 7 updates. It often happens that after the automatic installation of an update, one of the programs stops working, the hardware starts to work worse due to overload or errors begin to appear.

The reasons can be varied: there are updates that directly change the kernel of the Windows 7 operating system itself, which entails a failure of the drivers. There can be a lot of reasons and options. Of course, it is better not to touch the updates that are installed on your computer, they are usually useful for the operating system, but nevertheless, to prevent negative consequences, we will consider the main ways to remove them.

How to uninstall updates

Removing an update via the control panel

If you need to uninstall updates in the latest versions of Windows 7, you can do this in the corresponding item in the Control Panel:

1. You need to go to the control panel and find the item "Windows Update".

2. Your second step will be to find the "Installed Updates" link.

4. You need to select Windows 7 updates, and click uninstall, after you confirm the removal of the update.

After the uninstallation is complete, the system will prompt you to restart your computer. This must be done in order for the system to be updated again and not to react to fragments from a remote update.

Remove update via command line

Windows has a dedicated tool called "Standalone Update Installer". If you call it through the command line (start, run, cmd, Enter)

you can also uninstall the update from Windows 7. To do this, you need to use the following command: wusa.exe / uninstall / kb: 2222222. In this command, kb: 2222222 is the identification number of the update you need to remove.

In conclusion, I will say - that we covered the basic principles and stages of uninstalling an update on your OS, but if you do not want to bother, and updates are not so important for you, you can try to completely disable automatic updates of Windows 7.