When apps are installed and updated on Windows 10 operating system, a hidden directory designated as C: Windows Installer is used to store Microsoft Installer (MSI) files and Windows Installer Patch (MSP) files. In this article, we’ll introduce the different ways you can easily and safely clean up the unused MSI and MSP files from the Windows Installer folder in Windows 10.
If you’re using Free Disk Space Analyzer software for Windows 10 to find out what’s taking up too much space on your disk, this may indicate that the C: Windsows Installer the file is one of them. If you check the folder, you will most likely find a lot of MSI and MSP files there, possibly consuming gigabytes of disk space.
Now when you view the details of the properties of the MSI and MSP files in the Installer folder, they may indicate that they are connected to the currently installed software. Others may come from software that you uninstalled or from older versions that have since been replaced. These are no longer necessary and can be safely deleted.
However, the puzzle identifies these MSI and MSP files as removing any MSI or MSP files is not encouraged as it might be required for updating, patching, or uninstalling existing applications, which could cause serious problems in the future requiring reinstallation. Windows 10.
However, there are several ways to more safely identify and remove redundant MSI and MSP files from the Windows Installer folder in Windows 10 – we present them below.
Caution: Be careful before deciding to delete files, and remember to create a system restore point before continuing. If you are not sure, it is better not to delete anything.
Clean up unused MSI and MSP files from Windows Installer folder
In this article, we will highlight 3 utilities to clean up unused .MSI and .MSP files from Windows Installer folder in Windows 10. These are:
1]PowerShell script WInstCleaner.ps1
With the WInstCleaner.ps1 PowerShell script, you can manually dig into the C: Windows Installer folder and determine which files are orphaned and should be able to be safely deleted. Since the patch files still saved will have a corresponding entry in the registry, those that are missing are no longer needed.
The PowerShell script shows you the files that you should NOT delete from the Windows Installer folder because they are the ones that are still in use, those that are not in the list can be safely deleted.
WInstCleaner.ps1 is available here for download on microsoft.com.
2]PatchCleaner
Patch cleaner is specially designed to clean redundant files from the Installer folder. Patch Cleaner appeared in 2015 but there has been no update since 2016, so it is safe to say that the program is no longer in development.
The portable and installation versions of PatchCleaner are available for Download.
3]Windows Installer Unused File Cleaner
the Windows Installer Unused Files Cleanup Tool (WICleanup) by KZTechs can search for orphaned MSI and MSP files in the Windows Installer folder and gives you the option to delete them through the graphical user interface (GUI). For scripts and using the command line, WICleanup also includes a command line version in the archive (WICleanupC.exe).
Use WICleanup, all you have to do is extract the downloaded ZIP file, run WICleanupUI.exe and click the button Analysis button. All entries that appear in the window are orphan files and manually check the boxes corresponding to what you want to delete.
WICleanup is available here for Download.
POINT: This message will help you resolve the missing Windows Installer cache files.
With these 3 tools, you can clean unused MSI and MSP files from Windows Installer folder on Windows 10!
