How to Remove the Windows 7 SP1 Backup Files

Microsoft released the first Service Pack for Windows 7 a little while ago.  Most of the people using Windows 7 must have installed it. It is actually a compilation of all previous Windows updates for Windows 7. One glaring problem with the Service Pack is that the backup files it creates occupy quite a large amount of space.

This article demonstrates how to permanently delete these Windows 7 SP1 backup files.

How to Remove the Backup Files

To carry this out, we need to run the command prompt as administrator. So, go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories, then right-click on the Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator or simply type cmd in the run box of the start menu and press Ctrl + Enter.

In the command prompt, type in dism /online /cleanup-image /spsuperseded and press enter.

The clean up of the SP1 backup files is started. Once the process is over, the message Service Pack Cleanup operation completed will show up. The process can take some time, so make sure to be a little patient.

Before

After

The amount of space freed depends on the version of Windows (32-bit or 64-bit). In my case, around 1.2 GB was freed. In some cases, even upto 3 GB can be freed. Please note that once you remove the SP1 backup files, you will not be able to uninstall Windows 7 SP1, so remove the backup only if you are sure that you want to keep the Service Pack.