How To Clean Up Old Installer Files

Solid State Drives (SATA and NVMe) are fast becoming the norm for many users to place their Windows install onto. Because prices for larger capacity drives are nevertheless quite expensive, many users accept smaller capacity drives. If you lot have a smaller SSD or your Windows boot division isn't that large, you need to lookout man every Gigabyte that goes onto information technology or space can fill upward pretty quickly.

Using tools similar TreeSize or SpaceSniffer to find what is taking upwardly excess space on your drive might show that the C:\Windsows\Installer folder is one of them. If y'all cheque the binder, you volition most probable find a lot of MSI and MSP files in in that location peradventure consuming Gigabytes of bulldoze space. Do note that the Windows Installer folder has a hidden and system aspect. To run into the binder, you lot will demand to select "Show hidden files, folders and drives" and uncheck "Hide protected operating system files" from the Binder Options in Command Console.

Viewing the Property details of MSI and MSP files in the Installer binder could show that they are connected to software currently installed. Others might be from software you have uninstalled or old versions that take since been replaced. Those files should exist no longer needed and can be deleted. The trouble is identifying them because simply deleting any MSI or MSP file is a bad thought as information technology could be required for updating, patching, or uninstalling existing applications.

Beneath is an MSP file from an former installation of Microsoft Function 2003 even though that version of Office was uninstalled from the arrangement some time agone.

MSP Property Details

Here are a few ways in which yous tin more than safely place and delete redundant MSI and MSP files from the Windows Installer folder.

A Dedicated Cleaning Tool To Removed Unused MSI and MSP Files

Patch Cleaner is specifically designed to clean redundant files from the Installer binder and the tool actually took its inspiration from this very commodity! Attribution to Raymond.cc is on the nigh page (thank you HomeDev for the mention). Patch Cleaner appeared in 2022 but there's been no updates since 2022, so information technology's safe to say the program is no longer in evolution. Both portable and installer versions are available.

But launch the tool and it will run a scan and testify the results in the window of what has been found. The files still used result is what it believes should be kept and the orphaned files are what tin be removed because they are no longer required past any installed software. A Windows install that's been in utilize for several years could show several Gigabytes of orphaned files.

Patch cleaner result

If you lot accept adequate space on another drive, it's best to utilise the included option and move the files instead of directly deleting them. That style, if you encounter a problem, yous all the same have a fill-in as this process is by no means foolproof. Use the Browse push to locate a destination folder. If you want to ignore MSI or MSP files connected to specific software, an exclusion tin be created in the Settings.

Patch Cleaner requires .NET Framework four.5.2 or newer so Windows 7 users will need to make sure their installed .Internet versions include it. Patch Cleaner works on Windows seven, 8, 10, and Server 2008/2012.

Download Patch Cleaner | Patch Cleaner Portable

Apply an old Microsoft Utility

One of the old tools that could do this was MsiZap which was adult past Microsoft. The tool is available with The Windows Installer Clean Up Utility (Msicuu) which is basically a frontend for some of MsiZap'south commands. Microsoft discontinued both MsiZap and Msicuu some fourth dimension ago after saying they were causing likewise many issues, but many users still utilise MsiZap with some success. Download the Windows Installer Clean Up Utility and and then extract it with 7-Goose egg to utilise the MsiZapU.exe.

Open a Command Prompt, type MsiZapU.exe G and press enter. The G control tells the program to remove whatever orphaned cached Windows Installer data files. While testing we got an error on both Windows vii and XP like to the following although it did say it had cleared some orphaned files out.

MsiZapInfo: Performing operations for user S-1-5-21-598190838-2299067166-971484642-chiliad
Removing orphaned buried files.
Error enumerating Products fundamental for S-1-v-21-598190838-2299067166-971484642-g user. Mistake: 6.
FAILED to articulate all data.

MsiZap is definitely a tool to be used with circumspection because Microsoft ordinarily doesn't pull utilities unless there's a valid reason to do so.

Windows Installer Unused Files Cleanup Tool

The Windows Installer UnUsed Files Cleanup Tool (WICleanup) past KZTechs is able to scan for orphaned MSI and MSP files in the WindowsInstaller folder and offers you an option to delete them from the comfort of a graphical user interface. For scripts and command line usage, WICleanup as well includes a command line version in the archive (WICleanupC.exe).

Windows Installer UnUsed Files Cleanup Tool

All y'all need to practice is excerpt the downloaded Zero file, run the WICleanupUI.exe and click the Browse push. All the entries that testify in the window are orphaned files and manually cheque the boxes for what y'all want to delete. Although it has no pick to automatically select all files for deletion, you tin utilize the Shift primal to multi-select, i.e; click the first file, hold Shift and click the last file, then click one of the selected tick boxes. Information technology would accept been useful if this tool offered an selection to fill-in the unused files instead of deleting them in instance of whatever potential issues. Note the website is in Japanese.

Download WICleanup

Deleting the Unused MSI Entries Manually

Before you lot but go into the C:\Windows\Installer folder and offset deleting files on your ain to costless upwardly some space, there is a way to determine which files are orphaned and should be rubber to delete. Because the patch files still registered will have a respective entry in the registry, those that are missing aren't necessary anymore.

Heath Stewart over at blogs.msdn.com wrote a small VBScript a few years back that checks the system for registered patch files, and lists those that are. This way you will be shown the files that you SHOULD Not delete from WindowsInstaller as they are the ones however in use, those not in the list are safe to remove.

Download WiMsps VBScript

Do note that this download isn't the original VBScript establish on the website as that has an annoying OK popup on every registered entry it comes beyond which tin can be very abrasive considering there'southward oftentimes loads of them. We've fabricated a small modification to output the registered entries to a text file instead.

WiMsps output

Don't forget, these are the currently registered patch files and the ones to non touch. We would recommend you don't manually delete files from the Installer folder anyhow without some experience, and moving them to another folder simply in instance a trouble occurs is more preferable.