How to Clear Windows Update History

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When performing manual or automatic updates on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1, the Windows Update applet stores a list of installed and failed updates for your review. To prevent updates from filling up the list over time, clear the update history by manually deleting Windows Update's log files. You must, however, temporarily stop the Windows Update service before clearing the update history.

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Step 1

Press Windows-R, type services.msc into the Run box, and then click OK to open Windows Update.

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Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Step 2

Scroll down the list of services, right-click Windows Update, and then select Stop.

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Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Step 3

Open the Run box, type %windir%\SoftwareDistribution, and then click OK to open the Software Distribution folder.

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Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Step 4

Double-click the folder labeled DataStore.

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Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Step 5

Hold down Ctrl, and then select Logs and DataStore.ebd. Right-click any of the selected items, and then click Delete to remove both items and clear the update history.

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Alternately, press the Delete key to remove the items.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Step 6

Open the Services applet, right-click Windows Update, and then select Start to restart the Windows Update service.

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Windows Update resumes activity.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft
Deleting Windows Update log files removes all history.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

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