As a rule, ordinary users often don’t pay any attention to the Windows Installer folder, hidden in the operating systems from the eyes of the average person. But this continues only until the space in the system partition is reduced to a catastrophic minimum, and the lack of free disk space leads to the fact that the OS itself and the programs installed in it begin to work incorrectly or simply slow down and freeze. Here comes the understanding that you need to do something with this directory, because it can take up a lot of space (more than 10 GB). In the normal state, immediately after installing the operating system, the size of the directory usually does not exceed several tens of megabytes, but as you install more and more programs, their additional components or even system updates, its size grows to incredible sizes. This is where users begin to complain that the Installer folder in Windows 7 takes up a lot of space. This, by the way, applies to all modifications of Windows. But how much space is this? There are cases when the size of this directory increased to 70 GB or more.
What is the installer folder on Windows?
It is clear that you need to get rid of this directory in any case. But before deciding to delete it, you should figure out what kind of directory it is and what data can be stored in it. In general, it is absolutely easy to understand what exactly can be in this directory. Just translate the name. It means "Windows Installer." In general, the name is correct. But you need to look at it more widely.
The fact is that in this directory there are all kinds of installers of both uninstalled updates of the operating system itself and installed applications for which it is possible to update or include additional components in them. Windows developers themselves do not need to touch this directory if they don’t prohibit, then they definitely don’t advise, because some programs or even Windows as a whole may stop working.
How to view the contents of a directory?
The directory itself is not only systemic and hidden, but also protected. In other words, in the most ordinary "Explorer" or any other file manager, getting to it is not so easy. Even if you use the quick inclusion of the display of hidden elements from the main panel of the "Explorer", as provided in Windows 10, the user will still not see it.
To access it, you must use the view menu and check on the corresponding tab not only the item for showing hidden folders and files, but also system protected objects. Only after that the Windows Installer folder will become visible. After that, you can immediately see how much space it takes, using the property item in the RMB menu for this. If the volume does not exceed a couple of gigabytes, by and large, you can not do cleaning. But in case of revealing an unreasonably large volume, urgent measures must be taken. But not everything is as simple as it might seem at first glance.
Can I delete a directory if the Installer folder on Windows takes up a lot of space?
As already mentioned, this directory is protected, and just deleting it will not work (the system will not allow this). Some "specialists" solve this problem in their own way, using the Unlocker utility to unlock it. Well, that is their business. But when the Windows Installer folder is deleted, for some reason some programs refuse to work for them. In particular, this applies to the most common office suite. To call individual applications included in its composition, it becomes impossible to use shortcuts, it is not possible to install additional application components, etc. However, this also applies to the entire operating system, since problems can also be observed with it. Deleting objects one by one in the directory itself, hoping for a Russian chance, is also impossible. The consequences will be the same.
How to clean the directory using the system?
But how then to clear the Windows Installer folder? In the simplest case, you should use the standard disk cleaning tool with a choice of the system partition with the installed OS and cleaning system files, where all items should be noted in the list, including system updates.
It is quite possible that this will give some kind of result. Some experts recommend additionally deleting all recovery control points, leaving only the last one on the recommendation of the system.
Alas, in most cases, disk space can only be freed up slightly.
Can clean-up programs be used to clean the catalog?
Especially popular among users of all levels of training are special programs designed to clean and optimize the system, such as CCleaner, Advanced SystemCare and the like. Disappointment even with in-depth cleaning of junk files or components of the operating system itself occurs immediately. In fact, the effect of using such applications is not observed only because the Windows Installer folder as a protected system object by such utilities is simply ignored. But then what can be done?
PatchCleaner Utility Cleanup
As it turns out, there is such a tool. If the Installer folder in Windows 10 takes up a lot of space (as well as in other modifications of the system), you can clean its contents using a small utility called PatchCleaner, which is absolutely free, although it does not have a Russian-language interface. In order to use it appropriately, the display of the described hidden directory must be enabled initially, and the program itself suggests using a special folder by default, to which unnecessary objects can be moved in the form of backups.
You can view files by clicking on the link for showing details (Details ...). But you should not delete used files (Files still used). It is better to limit yourself only to those that are marked as Orphaned. However, with a critically large volume of the folder, you can select unnecessary, although used patches.
Also in the settings, you can activate normal or in-depth scanning. As a rule, the average user does not need to worry about anything else, but for those who want to use finer tuning, you can experiment and, for example, exclude the removal of patches for individual applications.
Moving a directory to another logical partition
Finally, it is completely optional to delete manually or clean the Windows Installer folder. It is enough to move it to another logical partition, in which there is more free space. To do this, simply copy the directory to the desired location in the usual way, then delete the source directory, call the command console on behalf of the administrator and set the command mklink / j "c: \ windows \ installer" "partition_litera: \ directory \ subdirectory \ Installer". You can use any of the existing directories or create the necessary directories yourself before executing the command.
Which method to give preference?
It remains to choose the best solution for the actions performed. As many people have probably guessed, it’s best to move the directory to another location or use safe cleaning using a specialized program to remove patches. But manual removal of both the folder and its contents is not recommended under any far-fetched pretext, since then no system recovery will help, not to mention the fact that many applications will become completely inoperative, as well as installing updates or additions to the operating system and programs necessary for the user.