In order to enable the disk cleanup button in a disk s properties page, you. Windows server 2008 disk cleanup steps and precautions. Disk cleanup is missing on windows server 2008 r2 windows server 2008 r2 doesnt include the disk cleanup tool by default. By default, this tool is not enabled on windows server 2008 r2. Apr 05, 2012 the disk cleanup executable file cleanmgr. The advantage of the disk cleanup utility is that it can remove all the temporary install and upgrade log files, that are created by windows during upgrading or updating the operating system, plus the. I dont recommend this as installing the desktop experience feature will not only install disk. How to enable the disk cleanup tool on windows server 2008, 2008 r2, 2012, 2012 r2 september 2015 posted in uncategorized by ovais by default disk cleanup utility is not enabled on the windows server platform which is part of desktop experience program group. This is by microsofts, at the very least hardtoexplain, design, who likely believe its more of a desktop experience feature than a musthave tool. Trying to remember all the paths to temporary files can be a daunting challenge for any sysadmin. May 12, 2014 install this update to resolve issues in windows. Since that time i have come across another way to install disk cleanup on windows 2008 r2 without having to install desktop experience which adds things to servers that are not needed.
Depending on the task your windows server has, iis web server for. Feb 26, 2015 disk cleanup and temporary files i had a question about the disk cleanup in windows 7 home premium. We havent previously added the ink and handwriting services, so we get a popup window informing us that they are required in order to install. Not recommended install the desktop experience feature. Cleaning up winsxs folder on windows server 2008 r2 interworks. After running this command which you can only do once, i would also manually defragment the system drive. Keep in mind that this installs all the desktop experience components. Installing the desktop experience feature will not only install disk cleanup, but a lot of other utilities you likely dont need on a server sound. This command will only work if you have windows server 2008 r2 service pack 1 or windows 7 service pack 1 installed.
Sometimes it is convenient to cleanup some disk space by deleting unneeded files like service pack files, the temporary folder an so on. How to enable the disk cleanup tool on windows server 2008. How to enableinstall disk cleanup in windows server 2012. Jul 11, 2011 theres two ways to install disk cleanup in windows server 2008. Winsxs cleanup tool available for windows server 2008 r2.
On the disk cleanup tab, select windows update cleanup, and then click ok. The disk cleanup box says, you can safely delete temporary files that have not been modified in over a week. Im sure you can manually delete them and windows wont baulk. The servicing stack is available on all windows vista and windows server 2008 installations, as well. Using disk cleanup on windows server microsoft docs. Update for windows server 2008 r2 x64 edition kb2852386. Apr 21, 2017 cleans disk space by deleting temp files and obsolete windows updates and service pack files. Believe me or not, but an essential windows tool, cleanmgr. For a step by step guide regarding specifically the patches directory, try this blog. Disk cleanup utility will help us in deleting unwanted temporary files, downloaded files, service pack files, etc. How to clean up disk space on windows 2008 server sysnog.
When i run disk cleanup, does it only delete files older than one week or all of them. This update adds a new plugin to the disk cleanup wizard. To install the disk cleanup feature, follow the steps given below. In both cases run the utility at an elevated command prompt and select y to start the cleanup. Winsxs cleanup tool available for windows server 2008 r2 sp1. Enable disk cleanup in windows 2008 without reboot. Recommended copy 2 files to specific system folders and you can immediately use the tool. Disk cleanup free a small utility that will help you to delete temporary files on your computer.
On windows server 2008 r2 and windows server 2012 r2 you have to enable the desktop experience feature before you can use this feature. Remove unused updates and update revisions remove all older updates. How to enable the disk cleanup tool on windows server 2008 r2 search for search for some odd reason microsoft decided to leave this feature disabled by default, and place it within a optional feature set called desktop experience. After you install this update, you can use the windows update cleanup option to delete windows updates that you no longer need. May 12, 2017 find answers to windows 2008 standard, disk cleanup, and winsxs from the expert community at experts exchange windows 2008 standard, disk cleanup, and winsxs solutions experts exchange need support for your remote team.
In an earlier post i described how to install and use disk cleanup on windows 2008 r2 server. Disk cleanup utility missing in windows server 2008. Disk cleanup is good tool to free up disk space, but in. Disk cleanup wizard addon lets users delete outdated. Disk cleanup on windows server 2008 without installing desktop. Many pc users know that while the various programs form a temporary file. Enable disk cleanup on an earlier version of windows server by installing the. To enable disk cleanup, well first open server manager by clicking on the server manager icon next to the start button. As i said above, you cannot enable disk cleanup in server 2012 r2 by simply coping files, you have to follow the steps above to install desktop experience. How to enable disk cleanup on windows 2008 r2 without desktop. The disk cleanup wizard removes the update files that pile up in the. How to add disk cleanup tool in windows server 2008 r2. The disk cleanup tool is bundled into the desktop experience feature. Oct 17, 2011 disk cleanup option on drives general properties and cleanmgr.
Microsoft finally adds winsxs directory cleanup to windows. When you install windows server 2008 r2 sp1, the setup program backs up any files that are replaced by the service pack. Server 2012 r2, windows server 2012, windows server 2008 r2. How to enable disk cleanup on windows 2008 r2 life of a. You can remove these backup files to save space with the deployment image servicing. Reclaiming space from the winsxs folder to alleviate disk. Net knowledge is not what you can remember, but what you cannot forget. Disk cleanup in windows server using dism is one of the most. Disk cleanup on windows server 2008 without installing desktop experience posted on 20082014 by tomas windows server 2008 is something every admin likes to work with sense the sarcasm over the internet, dr cooper. Oct 21, 2011 here are some tips to help manage the system disk space on vista sp1, windows 7, and windows server 2008 r2. Apr 11, 2015 this entry was posted in windows and tagged cleanmgr. This is by design, as the disk cleanup button is part of the desktop experience feature. Once it is done, you should have some more free space available on your system drive. Microsoft released an optional update last week that adds a disk cleanup wizard to windows server 2008 r2 service pack 1.
Either install the desktop experience feature, which requires a. In server manager, scroll down to the features section and click on add features in the upper right area. Note by default, the windows update cleanup option is already selected. After installing this update and prior to being able to perform the cleanup, the desktop experience feature must be installed. The disk cleanup is a powerful and easy to use tool to remove the useless files and free up disk space on your windows 7,8 or 10 based computer. Disk cleanup on server 2008 r2 is ineffective server fault. Apr 24, 2015 sometime recovering free disk space on windows 2008 is hard and we find dependency over the diskcleanup utility. Use disk cleanup utility to clean winsxs folder in windows. Disk cleanup failed in computers with windows 2008 and windows 2008 r2 operating systems.
In realworld examples we have seen the above utilities free up 2 gb or more of disk space, which is a great start towards getting your server running smoothly again. The disk cleanup button is part of the desktop experience feature. Windows server semiannual channel, windows server 2016, windows server 2012 r2, windows server 2012. When disk cleanup option is missing in windows server 2008r2, just copy 2 files from the windows sxs folder and disk cleanup is available. Freeing disk space on windows server 2008 r2 windows server. On windows server 2008 r2 and windows server 2012 or later, you can get a disk cleanup tool like the one on the desktop. Windows 2008 standard, disk cleanup, and winsxs solutions. By default, disk cleanup is not available in windows 2008 and to enable it requires a reboot. Jan 26, 2010 after the reboot is complete, we can find the disk cleanup tool in accessories system tools. Ive seen some images where windows update cleanup is right on the main disk cleanup tab. The first, and the more straightforward approach, is to install the desktop experience from the add features wizard in server manager features. Its an update from ms titled how to clean up the winsxs directory and free up disk space on windows server 2008 r2 with new update i have used disk cleanup before to clean the winsxs directory on a windows 7 machine and it had worked nicely for me, in his case though it is that installer directory. How to enable the disk cleanup tool on windows server 2008 r2. Disk cleanup wizard addon lets users delete outdated windows.
The disk cleanup wizard that would cleanup previous versions of windows update files, kb2852386 adds a disk cleanup option on windows server 2008 r2. What happened to the disk cleanup utility in windows server 2008. Microsoft finally adds winsxs directory cleanup to windows server 2008 r2. The server cleanup wizard is integrated into the user interface and can be used to help you manage your disk space. Disk cleanup option missing in windows server 2008 r2. On windows 7 workstation, you have the disk cleanup utility to do this. Microsoft itself is saying that 30gb is the number you should be aiming at.
Once you have the sp1 installed, you can use the windows update cleanup option to delete windows updates that you no longer need. Were not sure why microsoft decided to omit disk cleanup from server 2008 by default, but at least its pretty easy to add back into the tools. First back up your system, backup again, backup it up, and oh, backup the box, if youre doing this in production, run it on your test machine first. Freeing disk space on windows server 2008 r2 posted in windows server. Select the windows 7 or windows server 2008 r2 system drive, and then click ok. Disk cleanup option on drives general properties and cleanmgr.
This article describes an update for the disk cleanup wizard in windows 7 service pack 1 sp1 or in windows server 2008 r2 sp1. Hello, we are having an issue with disk space being used up on our windows server 2008 r2 machine with sp 1. Disk cleanup does not delete windows update files solved. Download update for windows server 2008 r2 x64 edition kb2852386 from official microsoft download center. Cleans disk space by deleting temp files and obsolete windows updates and service pack files.