Reclaim Disk Space after Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 install

After installing service pack 1 on Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7, the OS backs up all files that it replaces. This is done so you can uninstall the service pack at any time.

If you are comfortable, after having SP1 installed for a while, and you are sure you are not going to need to uninstall SP1, you can remove the backed up files and reclaim disk space by using the following steps:

1. Open a command prompt with administrative privileges
2. Type the following command:

   Dism /online /cleanup-image /spsuperseded