Almost nine gigabytes in size: Windows update 24H2 creates an undeletable cache file

Update: 21.10.2024

Microsoft has communicated an update to the reported problem. It is an incorrect display - the memory is not actually occupied. You can find out more about this on the corresponding Microsoft website.

On the first of October, Microsoft kicked off the worldwide roll-out of the latest Windows 11 update. Although the "autumn update" brings a few new features and security patches, it initially appeared to be a veritable memory hog.

Now it's clear: this is a bug. The update creates an 8.63 GB update cache file that cannot be deleted. Apparently, this cache file is not an isolated phenomenon: it seems to affect practically all users who have just installed the update.

Classical deletion methods fail

There is apparently still no way to clear the cache and retrieve the eight gigabytes of memory. While you could simply delete "Windows.old" in previous updates to prevent the unnecessary waste of memory, this no longer works. Various system cleaning tools from third-party providers were also unsuccessful. Only a complete system reset was successful - a rather harsh measure because of the few gigabytes.

Microsoft locates problem in checkpoint function

Users are understandably annoyed about this. However, Microsoft has already responded to the complaints. The exact source of the problem was not really clear at first.

In a post, the company then explained that the cache was caused by the "checkpoint update". This is Microsoft's method for reducing the size and installation time of available updates. It is normal for this cache to occur. However, it should actually disappear again once the update has been installed, which did not happen in this case.

Microsoft confirmed, however, that a patch for this problem is already being planned and will be rolled out as soon as possible. Until then, Microsoft warns against changing or deleting any individual files. This could affect the update or even the operating system.