A common safety measure when installing a major Windows update is that the operating system creates a general backup, in case a rollback is needed if something goes wrong. With the arrival of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, several reports on the web indicate that the backup can reach 30 gigabytes, a space that many users cannot afford to give up. If everything went well and Windows 10 FCU works perfectly, it's not a bad idea to reclaim that space...
Personally, I've decided to postpone the installation of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update for a couple of weeks. Microsoft's distribution system still leaves much to be desired, and the last thing I need is a computer out of commission with a stuck update. To be honest, I think it's best to download the ISO image and start the process from scratch. Reinstalls are tedious, but they usually offer a safer and more stable path. Still, Fall Creators Update is already working on millions of devices without incidents. The only thing left is to do a little "post-installation maintenance", starting with purging temporary files.
Why Does It Take Up So Much Space?
And to tell the truth, there are many. The web was quick to register reports of users talking about up to 30 gigabytes in backups. Honestly, I don't fully understand why Windows 10 FCU requires such a large amount of space. Maybe Microsoft decided to play it safe and generate larger backups, or perhaps they are the result of the accumulation of several major updates (November - Anniversary - Creators Update - Fall Creators Update). Fortunately, it is very simple to reclaim it.
How to Reclaim the Space
All we have to do is open the Disk Cleanup tool, select the option to delete previous Windows installations, and let it finish. As an alternative, we can visit "Settings - System - Storage - Change how we free up space" in the new interface.
A Word of Caution
Finally, a warning: deleting these files also removes the possibility of rolling back to the previous version. Windows 10 should purge temporary files automatically, but if in the coming days you notice that something is not quite right, restoring the backup could be a good alternative before activating the nuclear option.
