How to Delete Component Store Files to Free Up Space

The Component Store files in Windows can take up significant space on your C drive, often consuming 4GB to 15GB. For example, the component store files on my system take up 7.5 GB of space.

Fortunately, you can check the size of component store files and delete them using the Terminal, Command Prompt, or PowerShell. Doing so not only frees up space but may also improve system performance.

In this quick and easy guide, I’ll walk you through the steps to delete the Component Store files to reclaim disk space and improve your system. Let’s get started.

Before You Begin

• You require administrator rights to clear component store files on Windows.
• Optionally, create a system restore point to be on the safe side.
• The steps listed below are tested to work on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Delete Component Store Files

1. Right-click the Start button on the taskbar.
2. Select “Terminal (Admin)” or “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”.
3. Run the following command to check the component files size.
   dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore
4. Check if the “Component Store Cleanup Recommended” flag is set to “Yes“.
5. If it’s recommended, run the following command to clear component files on Windows.
   dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
6. Once done, close the Terminal/PowerShell window.
7. With that, you are done deleting the component store files.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, right-click the Start button on the taskbar or press “Windows + X” shortcut. Next, select the “Terminal (Admin)” option. Windows 10 users can select the “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” option.

In the terminal window, run the following command to check the component store size and if the cleanup is recommended.

dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

You will see the current size of the component store next to the “Actual Size of Component Store” heading. If Windows recommends component store cleanup, you will see “Yes” next to the “Component Store Cleanup Recommended” heading.

If component store cleanup is recommended, run the following command. It will delete all the unnecessary component store files and free up space.

dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

Depending on the component store size and the number of obsolete packages, it can take some time to complete the cleanup process. So, sit back and wait till the process is complete. Don’t turn off or interrupt the process.

In my case, the component store cleanup freed up around 5GB of space. As you can tell, that is quite a lot of C drive space that can be utilized for other things.

What is Component Store on Windows?

For the curious, the Component Store is essentially the WinSxS folder located in the C:\Windows directory. Introduced in Windows XP, it is designed to manage various components and files critical to the Windows operating system. Windows organizes these files into packages. As updates are installed, some packages become obsolete. Instead of deleting them immediately, Windows keeps these files temporarily to support rollback and recovery options.

Generally, Windows automatically runs a scheduled task called “StartComponentCleanup” to clean up Component Store files and remove unused or outdated files in the background. However, for whatever reason, Windows can sometimes miss the schedule. When that happens, the Component Store can occupy unnecessary space on your C drive. In such cases, you can manually clean up the Component Store by following the above steps to reclaim disk space.

If you want to learn more about the Component Store, read this detailed Microsoft document.

Wrapping Up — Clearing Component Store Files on Windows

As you can see, if you are low on disk space, cleaning up the component store not only saves significant space but may also improve the system’s performance. Generally, you don’t have to do this regularly as Windows takes care of it using the scheduled task. However, the component store is one of those things that you should keep in mind if you are looking for various ways to free up space.

Here are more ways you can free up C drive space on Windows:

• Delete Windows BT and Windows WS folders
• Move the downloads folder to another drive
• Limit Chrome cache to save disk space
• Delete temporary files

If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to help.

Update: The tutorial is updated to match the changes in Windows.