Where are Adobe Acrobat DC update temporary files located?

[Franck Dernoncourt]

I updated Adobe Acrobat DC from version 19.10.20100.325521 to 19.12.20035.332343 on Windows 7 SP1 x64 Ultimate, and I see that I lost 467.628032 MB in the process. Since the update seems minor, I assume that most of the lost space comes from update temporary files. The update was done through Adobe Acrobat DC -> Help -> Check for updates.

Where are Adobe Acrobat DC update temporary files located?

I unsuccessfully tried:

- `C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Temp\`

[LeoUpdaterX]

Downloaded updates are deleted after successful installation.

However, Windows Installer Service caches these files in C:\Windows\Installer folder (hidden) for maintenance.

It is not recommended to manually remove files or registries managed by Windows Installer Service.

If you absolutely can't work without cleanup, let me know and I will provide possible work around.

[Franck Dernoncourt]

Thanks Leo, yes I would like to know how to remove it. Note that I don't see any large file dated today (2019-07-14) in C:\Windows\Installer . I made the Adobe Acrobat DC update today.

[LeoUpdaterX]

Download and run AcroSize.exe file from AcroSize.exe - Google Drive

Select "Start Acrobat Report" button. Wait a few seconds. You should see Acrobat installation info.

In the Description column find "Patch" records. Each Patch record would have Required or Optional value in the last column - Details.

Those that are marked Optional can be deleted (again, this is against Windows Installer Service  registration and you have to be careful)

Start with renaming these "optional" files one by one and after each file I would recommend running Acrobat Repair from Help menu.

If repair succeeds after file is renamed, it means that Windows Installer Service does not need this file.

If possible, save these files somewhere on external drive just in case something will stop working in the future.

[Franck Dernoncourt]

Thanks, great diagnostic program, wow Acrobat DC is taking 4662 MB (~1.5 GB of which is being optional)! Why are some msp optional and some msp are required?

[Test Screen Name]

If you delete files from the Windows Installer database you will likely be unable to ever uninstall or patch the app. It is normal to find complete copies of installers in the Windows Installer database, and to double or triple the size of every install, and you need enough space for this.

[Franck Dernoncourt]

Does one need to keep all the .msp files corresponding to one program? For example in my case, I have 8 .msp files totalling ~1.5 GB for 1 Acrobat DC. Are all 8 .msp files necessary to keep?

[Test Screen Name]

The Windows Installer database you never be touched, I indicates what could happen if you remove anything. You may break things beyond recovery. Many people have much more than this.

[Franck_Dernoncourt_]

This is incorrect, e.g. see Can I safely remove *.msi and *.msp files that are in C:\Windows\Installer but are not the mentioned...

[Test Screen Name]

Your quote seems to support my statement nicely. From the superuser article:

"C:\Windows\Installer is where Windows Installer stores cached copies of the setup packages (.msi) and setup patches (.msp) used for your currently installed programs. These files are required if you want to update, modify, or uninstall a program on your computer. Do not delete them blindly.

Sometimes you can end up with orphaned .msi or .msp files in this directory that do not get cleaned up appropriately. This typically happens when an installation fails. These can be removed with a tool called Msizap, but be aware it is not supported by Microsoft anymore."

These files are not orphaned! I repeat the excellent advise Do not delete them blindly.

[Franck Dernoncourt]

You said "The Windows Installer database you never be touched" -> this is incorrect since one can touch it, e.g. to remove orphaned msp files.

Back to Acrobat DC: are none of the 8 the above-mentioned .msp files in the screenshot orphaned?

[LeoUpdaterX]

Franck, in your particular case, .msp files you see marked optional are not orphaned in a sense that MSI has their information registered for the product.

When cumulative Patches for Acrobat are built, one of the built-in setting tells MSI to mark previous Patches as "obsolete".

When latest Patch is installed, Patch Sequencer (part of MSI) enumerates all patches registered for a product, and tries to find and sequence those that should be applied. Obsolete patches are not applied.

You have to decide if you want to proceed with solution to remove these "optional" files after testing Repair as I suggested.

Again, it is crutial that you do not touch anything other than optional Patches.

Uninstall should work fine even without these files. The only required file for uninstall is .msi - actual installer database.

[Test Screen Name]

Almost certainly not. If the patch was properly applied without a failure it isn't orphaned.

Of course, you may delete what you wish. You clearly have the skills to reformat your computer and reinstall everything if that recovery option is needed.