Hi all! Often, operating system updates do not bring new features, but rather new problems. So today we will talk about four ways uninstalling Windows 7 system patches.
Method 1 - Control Panel
This method is the most popular of all existing ones. So, to remove the Windows update, you need to do the following:
1) Go to the "Start" menu, and from there to the "Control Panel" section.
2) Next, switch to the "Programs" tab.
3) In the "Programs and Features" section, select the "View installed updates" item.
These actions can also be done through the "Run" menu. To do this, on the keyboard, press the key combination e Win + R.
In the menu that appears, enter wapp(without quotes) and press the Enter key
4) After that, you will be taken to the "Update Center". Here, at the very bottom of the page is the menu "See. also, where we need to go. Then select " Installed updates».
5) After that, you will see a list of all installed operating system updates, as well as a couple of components from Microsoft. In addition to a set of letters and numbers, which are the names of updates, you will see the date of their installation, as well as the identifier "KV".
Based on this, we can understand that we do not have to comb through the entire section in search of the desired update, but remembering the approximate date the error occurred, we need to find the update exactly for it and completely uninstall it.
6) Now you need to find the update that should be removed. If this is not an update, but some system component, then you need to look for it in the block " Microsoft Windows". Once the required component is found, click on it. right click mouse and select the only option from the context menu - "Delete".
Also, as an alternative, you can click on the desired LMB component, and then select the "Delete" item in the top toolbar.
7) Next, you will be shown a warning window where you will need to confirm your intentions. Press the "Yes" button and proceed to the next step.
8) So now the process of uninstalling the component will start.
9) When this process comes to an end, in most cases you will see a system message that prompts you to restart the computer in order for the adjustments made to take effect.
In the case when you need an instant reboot, you should click on the "Restart now" button. If there is no great urgency for this case, then click on the "Restart later" button.
In the event that you canceled restarting the computer, complete removal updates will only take place after a system restart.
10) Now that the system is restarted, all the directories we need will be permanently erased from the computer.
This method is universal for removing almost any component from the Installed Updates section.
1) First of all, you need to find the document you need in the menu. Right-click on it and select "Delete", or use the corresponding key from the top toolbar.
2) Of course, this is where the differences begin, as the interface of the uninstall wizard will change depending on what you are about to uninstall. The only thing you need to do is to follow the instructions of the uninstall wizard, with which you will be able to successfully remove the update from your computer.
By the way, if you have included automatic installation updates, then the components you uninstalled will soon be reloaded, as the system recognizes their absence.
Actually, the only thing left for you to do is simply deactivate this function. Then only you will have the right to choose which update to install and which not.
Method 2 - Command Line
Through the command line in the Windows operating system, you can do almost any operation. Uninstalling OS updates is no exception.
1) First of all, go to the "Start" menu and select "All Programs" from there.
2) Next, go to the "Standard" section.
3) Right-click on the "Command Prompt" item and select the "Run as administrator" option in the context menu.
4) Now we will get to the section command line. You need to enter the following command into it:
wusa.exe /uninstall /kb:*******
Actually, as you already understood, instead of asterisks, you must enter the number of the previously installed update. In the case when this number is unknown to you, then you can look it up using the method that we described earlier.
So, for example, in our case, the name of the installed update looks like this - “KB4025341”. That is, the template we specified earlier will be
converted to this command:
wusa.exe /uninstall /kb:4025341
Once you have entered this command, press the Enter key.
5) After that, the process of uninstalling the document will begin.
6) As in the previous method, a warning window will appear here in which you need to confirm your intentions. Press the "Yes" button to continue the process.
7) After that, the system update removal utility will proceed to the final phase of this process.
8) Probably here, as in the previous method, in order to complete the removal procedure, it will be necessary to restart the system. To do this, click on the "Restart now" button in a special dialog box, if it, of course, is displayed.
In addition to this tool, you can use the entire set of them that the system has. In order to find out which tool is responsible for what, you need to write “wusa.exe /?” in the command line, and then press the Enter key.
Now you will be shown full list tools that you can use not only when uninstalling operating system updates, but also when uninstalling any other component.
It is worth noting that not every one of these tools will be able to help you in the process of uninstalling updates. But, as an example, if you write the command
wusa.exe /uninstall /kb:4025341 /quiet
If you do this, the update will be uninstalled without pop-up system warnings. In case the system requests a system restart, it will be restarted at automatic mode without your intervention.
Method 3 - Deleting the contents of the drive
It is worth noting that when the system installs updates, they are not all automatically added to system files at once. In the period from 1 to 10 days, these directories with updates can be stored on solid state drives. Based on this, you can understand that the installers are constantly hanging like a dead weight in the memory of your drive, although the updates themselves have already been installed.
In addition, situations sometimes arise when a set of updates is already installed on the computer, but the user does not want to unpack it. After that, just like in the previous situation, they will simply be “dead weight”, dropping which, you can free up some space in the system.
Also, sometimes there are situations in which updates cannot be installed due to any system problems. In this situation, the installers will not only "flounder" on the hard drive, but also prevent the system from installing updates normally. One way or another, the directory with updates must be cleared. To do this, do the following:
1) Go to the "Start" menu and from there switch to the "Computer" section.
2) After that, a section will start in which you can see all the hard drives that are installed on your computer. We need a disk operating system, in our case it is "C". Right-click on it and go to the "Properties" menu.
3) Now we switch to the "General" section and select the "Disk Cleanup" item there.
4) After that, the disk will be scanned and the system will find out what can be deleted and how much space can be freed up.
5) When the scan is completed you will see a system message showing the amount of space that can be freed up. Here we need to click on "Clean up system files".
6) After that, the analysis will be started again hard drive, only this time when collecting information, system directories will also be taken into account.
7) So, the scan is completed. Now, in the "Delete the following files" section, all directories that can be erased as unnecessary will be displayed.
All directories that can be deleted will have a checkmark next to them. The necessary components will not have them. In order to correctly complete the removal of updates, we need to activate in this section following options: "Windows Update Cleanup" and "Log Files windows updates". After that, start the uninstallation process by pressing the "OK" button.
8) After that, you will see a warning window, which will say that the deletion is irrevocable and it will no longer be possible to cancel this procedure. Here we should confirm our intentions by pressing the "Delete files" button.
9) So now the process of uninstalling junk files will be started. system files. As soon as it finishes you have to manually restart the system.
Method 4 - Uninstall downloaded updates using the command line
If you just want to clean the system of garbage that has accumulated during its operation, then the command line can help us here too. Just like the previous method, this method can only help you get rid of installation files and cache files, but will not roll back updates to system components.
1) First of all, you need to start the command line. Scroll a little higher and you will see a description of the process of launching it in the second method. So here we need to write
net stop wuauserver
Then press the Enter key.
2) Now you need to enter a command here that will clear the system of cache files. This command looks like this:
ren %windir%SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.OLD
After that, you need to press Enter again.
3) And the last command will restart the update service. It looks like this:
net start wuauserver
For the last time, press the Enter key.
That's all. After the cache will be cleared and some more space will be freed up in the system.
Method 5 - Manually Deleting Downloaded Files
Also, components can be removed manually from the folder where they were uploaded.
In order for nothing to interfere with the procedure, you need to temporarily disable the update service, as it can block the process of manually deleting files. Click "Start" and go to "Control Panel".
Select "System and Security".
In the list of system tools, select "Services".
You can go to the service control window without using the "Control Panel". Call the Run utility by clicking Win+R. Drive in:
Click OK.
The service management window opens. By clicking on the name of the column "Name", build the names of the services in alphabetical order for easy search. Find "Windows Update". Check this item and click Stop Service.
Now launch Explorer. Copy the following address into its address bar:
C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution
Press Enter or click the arrow to the right of the line.
In the "Explorer" a directory opens in which there are several folders. We, in particular, will be interested in the "Download" and "DataStore" directories. The first folder contains the components themselves, and the second folder contains the logs.
Go to the "Download" folder. Select all of its contents by pressing Ctrl+A and delete it with Shift+Delete.
It is necessary to use this particular combination because after pressing a single Delete key, the content will be sent to the Recycle Bin, that is, it will actually continue to occupy a certain disk space. With the help of the Shift + Delete combination, a complete permanent deletion will be performed.
True, you still have to confirm your intentions in the miniature window that will appear after that by clicking the "Yes" button. The deletion will now take place.
Windows updates- these are additional software modules, which are created by the developers of the operating system to fix critical errors leading to malfunctions, fixing vulnerabilities in system security, as well as adding to Windows new features and stability improvements 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. Recovery normal operation, such failed updates must be removed and in this guide we will talk about various ways uninstalling updates in operating rooms Windows systems 7 and 8.
Configuring Update Download Options
To begin with, you need to keep in mind that not all updates are important and required to be installed. Many updates do not contain important fixes and improvements for the OS, but the changes they make can cause various failures. Also, many optional updates are large and take up a lot of hard drive space.
To avoid installing unnecessary updates to the operating system, you need to properly configure Windows Update, because by default the operating system automatically downloads and installs all updates released by Microsoft without exception. However, this can be fixed by enabling the ability to self-select and install only the most important updates.
To change the rules for downloading updates, open the menu Start And sign in Control Panel(in Windows 8 you can use hotkeys Win+I to open the Settings panel and click on the Control Panel link in it).
Opening the Control Panel through the Options Panel in Windows 8
Opening the 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 caption View) .
Select an item Windows Update:
In the left vertical menu, selectSettings:
And finally, in the window that opens, 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, which are not needed, can be hidden so that they do not appear in the list for installation in the future.
To do this, open again Windows Update and choose desired section: Important or Optional updates.
In the list that opens, left-click to select an update that is not required to be installed, 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 appropriate link in the left vertical menu.
In the list of hidden updates that opens, select the one you need and click on the button Restore, after which the update will return to the list available for download and installation.
Cleaning the disk from temporary files of downloaded updates and deleting the update history
On local disk C can be cleared system folders, which 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) anddata store(stores update history logs). Delete the files in them with a combination Shift+Del(without moving to the trash).
How to uninstall installed updates
Now let's talk about different ways removing already installed updates from the system.
Uninstall via Control Panel
To uninstall updates installed in the operating system, open Control Panel and go to section Programs.
In chapter Programs and Features select item View installed updates.
In the list of installed updates that appears, select the required update with the left mouse button, then right-click and select the item in the drop-down menu Delete. To complete the operation, confirm your intentions by pressing OK and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Uninstall via command line
This method is suitable for confident users, and involves manual entry of commands. Run a command prompt with administrator rights. 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 command Run as administrator. In Windows 8, just press the key combination Windows + X and in the context menu that appears, select the item Command Prompt (Admin).
Running Command Prompt as Administrator in Windows 7
Running Command Prompt as Administrator in Windows 8
To view a list of installed updates, enter the command:wmic qfe list brief /format:table
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, this possibility Windows functionality the developers did not foresee. It's a pity, this feature can really be useful in some situations, since manually deleting a large number of updates is inconvenient and takes too long. Fortunately, there are some simple and available ways solve this problem.
Removing via .bat file (batch file)
Create new file using the program Notebook(right click on an empty space on the desktop and select the option Create a text document).
Copy the following code into an empty 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 generated file with the extension .bat by giving it any name (for example: new.bat). Pre-In Options File type choose an option All files. Then run the batch file.
After launching 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 different uninstallers and system cleaners have been developed, which are quite capable of removing updates from Windows. For example, you can use the well-known Revo Uninstaller program, which can be downloaded for free on our website.
Run Revo Uninstaller and sign in Settings. In this section, select the tab Uninstaller and check the boxes next to the options Show system updates And Show system components.
Click OK to close the settings window and refresh the list by clicking on the corresponding icon on the program toolbar. After that in the list installed apps there will be Windows updates. It is very easy to identify them - they are marked with a special icon and, as a rule, have a serial number. KB:xxxxxxxxxxxx.
Hold down the key to uninstall ctrl and highlight the necessary updates with the left mouse button, then click on the icon Delete.
After the uninstall 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 every time updates are installed, Windows downloads update packages from Microsoft servers, after which it 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 up tens of gigabytes of space on system drive. And if you remember that in our time, ultra-fast SSD drives of a relatively small volume are often used to operate the operating system, the issue of freeing up space often comes to the fore and deleting obsolete update package files can significantly help to significantly increase the amount of free space.
To remove obsolete service packs, open Conductor by clicking on the special icon next to the menu Start (or keyboard shortcut Win+E) . Right-click on the C drive and select the item in the context menu Properties.
In the window that opens, click the button Disk Cleanup.
In the next window, select a function Windows Update Cleanup, click OK and wait for the procedure to complete.
Many computer specialists consider this method the fastest, most efficient and safest, which is quite logical - the operating system is better than any third-party utilities deal with its obsolete system files.
Hello, my dear friends, readers and associates in the computer field!
Recently, I installed several updates for the system and noticed that it started to slow down a lot. The speed of work has decreased, videos have begun to slow down, and I’m generally silent about games, the frame rate drawdown is generally terrible. To solve this problem, I had to remove some service packs. And I decided to tell you how updates cleanup works in windows 7, and how it can speed up your computer! Go!
What can it give?
Let's imagine you installed an update, and now the system is loading endlessly. this is a definite bug. Or another situation, after installing the service pack, a conflict occurs when starting the game, which refers to graphics library. Also not comme il faut, agree? Unfortunately, sometimes updates are installed crookedly, or they are downloaded with broken segments, or initially they were not made with high quality.
All this can greatly damage the system. It will start to slow down, some software will stop opening, the processor load will be maximum, and the temperature inside the case can rise significantly.
In such difficult cases, you should intelligently remove updates one by one until you see a significant increase in speed and stability. This can also be done manually, but it is very difficult, and for users who do not have specialized skills, such an operation is not possible. But there is an easier and more reliable option. That's what we'll look at below.
Through the control panel
The standard method, which will be pulled by everyone who has ever reinstalled Windows. So we open start and go to control Panel.
Go to the section programs.
You can do everything differently. Open the run line and write the command there - wuapp.
In the update center, click on this line here.
An interface will open with all installed service packs and updates.
We select the necessary left button and press the appeared button delete.
Or choose any and press the same button in the top line.
A warning window will appear, in it we click " Yes».
We are waiting for the end of the process.
That's all.
Through the command line
Opening the menu start and go to tab all programs.
Now right-click on the command line tab and select from the list run as administrator.
In the black command line window, enter the following command - wusa.exe /uninstall /kb:*******. Instead of asterisks, you need to specify serial number microsoft update package. For example - KB4025341.
As soon as the package is found, it will be offered to demolish it.
By the way, if you enter the command - wusa.exe /uninstall /kb:4025341 /quiet, then the files will be deleted in background without warning the user.
Removing through Disk Cleanup
What to do if neither the first nor the second option worked out for you? We poke on the button start and open My computer.
On the logical partition with the operating system, right-click. Next we go to properties such.
Choose a tab are common and then click on the button disk cleanup.
Now we click on cleaning system files.
The process of counting all the data will go.
Now put a tick in these spirit sections and click OK.
In the window that appears, click on removal.
There will be a cleaning of the hard drive.
There we go to the block administration and after looking for a block services.
Now in the line of the explorer we prescribe this path. Copy carefully - C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\
We do this in both folders.
Conclusion
Well, that's all, now you know what to do if you need to demolish updates that slow down your computer. I tested all these methods myself, they are one hundred percent working and any of them will help you. Here's a great video on the subject.
Well, with that, I will end this article. Share it on social projects with friends and interest groups. Subscribe to the blog, and you will always know about the publication of new articles. All the best and see you on the site!
As you know, when installing Windows updates, the update files are first downloaded to the system folders, and after installing the updates ... they remain there. Therefore, the size Windows folders growing all the time. For a year, the folder grows fat by 6-10 GB. The same thing happens when you install programs whose distribution kit is made in the form of an msi file. And this is in addition to the mass of temporary files that are created during installation. How to delete temporary files, I think you know.
But how to deal with update files that are not so easy to find and remove manually, and often even impossible, since they are located in protected folders?
Where can I find update files?
All updates of Windows and a number of other programs are delivered to the user on the computer in the form of msi or msp files. After downloading from the Internet, they are stored in a folder C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download. And after installation, the files necessary for the system are placed in hidden folder "c:\Windows\Installer".
The folder C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download can be safely cleaned manually or by writing the simplest file with bat or cmd extension and putting the line into it:
| del c:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\* .* / f / s / q |
del c:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\*.* /f /s /q
Also growing folder "c:\Windows\Prefetch". The files that are stored in the prefetch folder contain information about the applications that run on the computer. This information is used by the Prefetch service for more quick start programs again. If you frequently install and uninstall various programs and applications, the prefetch folder is overflowing with unnecessary information that is no longer used in any way, but simply takes up space on the hard drive. Accordingly, if you delete all the contents of the prefetch folder, then necessary information programs will be written to it again, and the unnecessary will be deleted forever. If you completely delete all files from the prefetch folder, then the first Windows boot 7 after deletion will slow down a little while the programs re-enter their data.
vssadmin delete shadows /All /Quiet
saved bat file with these 3 lines, you can connect to the Task Scheduler and execute on a schedule.
What about the c:\Windows\Installer folder?
As we said, this folder grows as a result of installing programs and updates. And just like that, its contents cannot be deleted, because part of the data is then used to delete what was installed. But some of the data is useless. For example, some updates are replaced by others, more complete, old ones become unnecessary. How to clean this folder competently without damaging anything?
I have been using the unique PatchCleaner program for a long time in my work. This utility detects those already unused useless files called orphaned. How does she find them? Using WMI queries to the system, you can get a list of used installers and patches and then compare it with the list of files in the Installer directory.
The utility can be used in command line mode via CLI (Command Line Interface). By running the utility with the /d switch, it will automatically detect all unnecessary and delete such files. As you remember, after installation, you can also add it to the scheduler and run it, for example, once a month after installing updates.
It works great with all versions Windows Vista. The only condition for work is the installed .Net Fframework 4.5.2. By the way, the utility has a portable version.
What should not be removed?
Folder C:\Windows\WinSxS, or Windows Side by Side, has been present in the OS since Windows XP. Microsoft has created a system that allows you to keep multiple versions of the same libraries (DLL) and use, if necessary, exactly what a particular program requires. The folder is intended to protect users from the not quite direct hands of some programmers. During installation, some programs try to replace Windows dll files with their own, which is not always good and can lead to system failure. Microsoft has solved this problem. Windows sends the program's dll file to WinSxS, and the program thinks everything has been replaced and runs smoothly. Windows, in turn, also continues to work quietly.
In short, the contents of this folder do not need to be deleted. What can be done with it? Yes, Windows 8.1 and newer support compressing this folder. How this can be done is described in a Microsoft article on TechNet.
WinSxS, or Windows Side by Side, is another new addition to Windows XP. Microsoft has created a system that allows you to keep multiple versions of the same libraries (DLL) and use, if necessary, exactly what a particular program requires. The folder is intended to protect users from the not quite direct hands of some programmers. During installation, some programs try to replace Windows dll files with their own, which is not always good and can lead to system failure. Microsoft has solved this problem. XP sends the program's dll file to WinSxS, and the program thinks that everything has been replaced and runs smoothly. Windows, in turn, also continues to work quietly.
Loading...