I have a Windows 10 machine that is seeing the WinSxS folder fill up so quickly that DISM cannot run, and c: shows 0 bytes free. The machine also has a D: with 30 GB+ free space, so I have tried running
dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup /scratchdir:d:\dism_temp
If I run without the scratchdisk option, dism won't even start. If I run with the scratchdisk option, dism errors out at 20% with a 112 error "There is not enough space on the disk."
/resetbase switch also errors out on not enough disk space even with /scratchdir switch used.
Disk Cleanup buys me a few MB for a minute or two, which is enough to get dism started without the d: scratchdisk, but then the freed space magically disappears in a few minutes.
Is there some way around this?
Best Answer
How big is WinSxS? It is normally large, managed by Windows and should be left alone.
Look elsewhere to save space. Check My Documents (and Pictures, Videos) for large or older files that can be moved elsewhere (your second drive) .
The Windows drive needs space for WinSxS (for repairs and management) and for updating (20GB + for feature updates).
Once you have moved some files, Admin Tools, Disk Cleanup works very well. Run Disk Cleanup, push "Cleanup System Files" and then (after it does its first run), select ALL items.
If you have done a feature update in past, Disk Cleanup will ask you about removing it and say OK or Yes.
Ultimately you may need a bigger drive C:.