Remove Microsoft’s sneaky Windows 10 download

Microsoft has sneakily downloaded a massive folder (around 6GB) on to millions of PCs running Windows 7 and 8. It contains installation files for Windows 10 and is downloaded whether or not you ‘reserved’ your copy of the new operating system.

Its main purpose is to make the process smooth should you decide to upgrade. If you have no plans of doing that in the near future, then we’ll show you how to stop the folder automatically downloading to your PC, letting you reclaim valuable storage space.

STEP 1

Deleting the folder is futile because it’ll automatically redownload the next time your PC runs a Windows Update. You first need to uninstall the specific Windows Update that’s responsible for the download. To do that, press the Windows key and type windows update. Now right-click that option, click ‘Run as administrator’, then Yes to confirm. Next, click Installed Updates at the bottom left, then type KB3035583 in the search field 1 to locate the notorious update. Click the update 2, click Uninstall 3, then Yes to confirm. After that’s done, click the top-left back button, then ‘Change settings’. Next, untick the ‘Give me recommended updates…’ box in the ‘Recommended updates’ section. This will stop that specific update automatically downloading with future Windows updates.

STEP 2

It’s now safe to delete the folder. Even though it’s on your C drive, you won’t be able to see it because it’s hidden. To access it, first open your C drive, click the Organize dropdown menu at the top left, then ‘Folder and search options’. Now click the View tab 1, select ‘Show hidden files, folders and drives’ 2, then click Apply and OK. You’ll now see the folder in question: ‘$Windows.~BT’ 3 . To permanently get rid of it, click it, press Shift+Delete, click Yes, Continue and wait until that’s done. Click Yes if you get any prompts to confirm deletion during the process.

STEP 3

Because the folder is massive, it’s likely that it won’t get completely deleted using this method. Instead use your PC’s Disk Cleanup tool. Press the Windows key, type disk cleanup, then press Enter. Now click OK, click the ‘Clean up system files’ button at the bottom left, then click OK again. You should now see a ‘Temporary Windows installation files’ option, which will be a few GBs worth 1 (depending on how effectively you were able to delete the folder in Step 2). Tick to select it 2, click OK 3, then ‘Clean up’ to delete it.