Free up some space by removing Windows 7 SP1 backup files
When you install Windows 7 SP1, backup files are created to be used in case you have problems with the update and want to get rid of it. These files may take up as much as several GB of space and eventually you may want to delete them. It may not make much difference if you have a terabyte drive but these days many operating system volumes are fairly small. If you have been using SP1 for a while and everything seems to be working properly, here is how to remove the backup files.
Note that once these files are removed, you won’t be able to uninstall SP1. As a matter of good practice, make an image of your system before installing service packs so that you can have an alternate way to return to your original setup.
Use the command line to remove the backups
If you are a command-line aficionado, there is a quicker way to delete the backup files. Open a command prompt with administrator privileges and enter
Code:
DISM /online /cleanup-Image /spsuperseded