Getting Started
- What is WuInstall?
  - What is WuInstall?
- Download and Installation
  - Download and Install WuInstall
- Search for Updates
  - Search for Updates
- Download Updates
  - Download Updates
- Install Updates
  - Install Updates
WuInstall
- WuInstall HowTo
  - Basic Functions
  - Selecting Updates
  - Additional Options
- WuInstall Options
  - Basic Options
  - Caching Options
  - Criteria Options
  - Filter Options
  - WSUS Options
  - Proxy Options
  - Reboot / Shutdown Options
  - Other Options
  - Email Options
  - Remote Options
- WuInstall Return Codes
  - Error Codes
  - Return Codes
FAQ
- How to use WuInstall?
- How to get "Important" updates only?
- How do I call WuInstall on a remote machine using psexec?
- How to use WuInstall with a proxy server?
- Does windows reboot automatically after WuInstall installed updates which need to reboot the machine?
- How does the /criteria option work?
- Why are updates marked as hidden also installed?
- Where does WuInstall download the updates?
- Does WuInstall work with Windows 7?
- Does WuInstall work with Windows 10?
- Does WuInstall work with Windows 11?
- Does WuInstall work with Windows Server 2008-2022?
- What is the advantage of Wuinstall over other solutions?
- WuInstall has no GUI, what can I do?
- How to search for special updates or how to use Regular Expressions for /match /nomatch?
- Is it possible to deploy IE8 without user interaction using WuInstall?
- Why does WuInstall crash/generate failures during the download or installation of updates?
- WuInstall doesn't install updates properly when starting with "run as administrator", why?
- Windows 7 Service Pack 1 installation fails, why?
- Installation of updates with WuInstall does not work on my Windows XP machine, why?
- Does WuInstall work with Windows 8,10,11 / Server 2008,2012,2016,2019,2022?
- WuInstall exits with error code 0x80072EFD, why?
- WuInstall exits with error code 0x8024400A, why?
- WuInstall exits with error code 0x80240044, why?
- How is the WuInstall license price calculated?
- How do I get updates of WuInstall PRO?
- How long is the WuInstall license valid?
- How does licensing work if I am a IT service company and want to provide WuInstall to my customers?
- How to calculate licenses if I only use WuInstall once per machine (e.g. for initial setup)?
- Does Wuinstall send data to the Internet or the cloud?
- Where is the license stored or do I update the license?
- How do I clear the local Windows Update cache with WuInstall?
More

How do I clear the local Windows Update cache with WuInstall?

The /clearlocalcache switch removes all files from the local Windows Update download cache:

wuinstall /clearlocalcache

This deletes everything in %SystemRoot%\SoftwareDistribution\Download, forcing Windows Update to download all pending updates fresh on the next run.

When to use it:

Updates fail repeatedly with download or corruption errors

You want to free disk space consumed by old cached updates

You suspect a partially downloaded update is causing installation failures

After clearing the cache, run a clean install:

wuinstall /install /autoaccepteula

If updates that previously failed now install successfully, the corrupted cache was the problem.

Note: This operation only affects the local machine's download cache. It does not touch the shared network cache used by /install_cache or /download_cache.

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Where is the license stored or do I update the license?