Solved 24H2 - how to remove the two (un)reclaimable that always show in DISM

hader · Dec 30, 2025

Bree said:
If the Insider Canary Channel 26H1 is any guide, 'fixed' looks possible.

View attachment 158386

As I suspected. Thanks for the info! Can you look at the versions inside the Component Store? (DISM /Online /Get-Packages /Format:Table)
Are they all starting with 28020.xxxx ? Are there other versions visible? .xxxx and .1362 or only the last one if there were no updates for it yet.
If this last one is the case, than the risk is there; that later on when new updates arrive we see the same happening as with 26100.1742 and 26100.xxxx.
Let's hope not.....

Bree · Dec 30, 2025

hader said:
Can you look at the versions inside the Component Store? (DISM /Online /Get-Packages /Format:Table)
Are they all starting with 28020.xxxx ?

The base build of 26H1 Canary seems to be 28000.4. The update to 28020 is via an enablement package.

Attached is the table of packages.

hader · Dec 30, 2025

Bree said:
The base build of 26H1 Canary seems to be 28000.4. The update to 28020 is via an enablement package.

View attachment 158393

Attached is the table of packages.

Thanks. Nice to see this (know); Base is 28000.4 and the current version is 28000.1362 (quite a version distance) and no packages has to be cleaned. Also some reporting change thing. Component Store says 28000. xxxx and Winver says; 28020.xxxx. Not that strange looking at the image version of this early release. May change as time progresses. Is this an ARM edition? Because testing will commence in January, later on the x86 will appear.

Edit: Have to correct myself; I see everywhere amd64 so this is the x86 version, not ARM.

Bree · Dec 30, 2025

hader said:
Is this an ARM edition?

No, it's x64.

gunrunnerjohn · Dec 30, 2025

hader said:
So removing those 2 packages for cosmetic purposes (should be 0!!!, Dism says so...) Yes; their lays the real problem. MS is not taking in account that DISM will show us "2 more packages can be cleaned up..." It can easily avoided if they made an exception only for those 2 packages and show us 0 packages to be cleaned up.... They woke up the dogs by this way. I stopped removing them. Because every time I'll do an In-Place-Installment they are back again. So I understand the reason why now and can't be bothered with it anymore. Already told this to MS support but as always it fell onto deaf ears. They have their reasons.

Exactly, I removed them and when I did the repair install they came back. After I did it the second time and had to do the repair install again, the penny dropped and I am leaving them alone! If the standard cleanup command doesn't get rid of them, I figure it's not worth poking the bear.

larysid · Dec 30, 2025

Rollback_Jockey said:
The majority of the posts above suggest they are needed, personally i leave them alone since my last 3 cumulative updates have bit me on the ass.

Thank you! I will them alone!

larysid · Dec 30, 2025

Ghot said:
Open Terminal (Admin), and run the following command, to remove all BUT the two packages...

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase

This topic is how to remove the final two packages, if desired.
I removed the last two before, and then had trouble with Windows Updates.
Not everyone has experienced the same issue.

Thank you! I will them alone..but I will run this command again!

larysid · Dec 30, 2025

pietcorus2 said:
Better stay safe , dont remove them ( next updates may fail........) , not worth the risk............!

Thank you! I will them alone

larysid · Dec 30, 2025

FrancoDT said:
Kind of unusual you have 4 unreclaimable packages as most of us usually have just 2 unreclaimable. However if they are indeed unreclaimable I would leave them alone for now as they may be needed for future updates and may get cleared out after a future update:

Key Reasons for Unreclaimable Packages:

Hard Links: Files are shared across the system; a component might show as reclaimable but its files are actively used elsewhere, so DISM can't remove them.

Safety & Fallback: Windows retains older, "staged" components as backups for rollbacks or future feature installs, preventing corruption if newer updates fail.

Baseline Components: Some packages, often from major updates, act as foundational layers and are locked until the next large update confirms they're no longer needed.

Incomplete Cleanup: DISM is conservative; it won't delete everything to avoid breaking critical functions, leaving some items marked as "reclaimable" but not actually removable.

Interrupted Updates: Failed or incomplete updates can leave behind staged components that DISM struggles to process.

Thank you! I will them alone

larysid · Dec 31, 2025

So I eventually ran Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase but the 760 MBs in Windows update cleanup (in Windows settings storage delete temporary files) and the 4 reclaimable packages as well, still remain to my laptop. I do not believe that there is a problem with my installation (it can't be truth that I have a corrupted version because the laptop dell ALIENWARE ac16250 with win 11 25h2 is recently formatted by a technician to whom I gave it to do this job). So I believe that I have to wait for the next upcoming updates to fix this bug! Do you agree?

Rollback_Jockey · Dec 31, 2025

larysid said:
So I believe that I have to wait for the next upcoming updates to fix this bug! Do you agree?

I'm guessing this issue is here for the long haul. It's only a reporting error that can safely be ignored.

larysid · Dec 31, 2025

Rollback_Jockey said:
I'm guessing this issue is here for the long haul. It's only a reporting error that can safely be ignored.

Thank you! Happy new year!

Josey Wales · Apr 1, 2026

Bree said:
In 24H2 the command Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore always shows that there are 2 reclaimable packages, and that a cleanup is recommended.

But they remain there after the cleanup command Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

They are even present in a clean install.

I am grateful to @hader who showed how to identify the offending packages.

I have found that if I uninstall just the Package_for_RollupFix~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~26100.1742.1.10 package, in doing so the Microsoft-Windows-FodMetadataServicing-Desktop-Metadata-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.26100.1742 package gets removed at the same time.

This one command removes both....
dism /online /remove-package /packagename:Package_for_RollupFix~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~26100.1742.1.10

How to identify Reclaimable Packages reported as count by "Dism /Online /CleanUp-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore" - post#59

A new cumulative update, KB5053656, gave me the opportunity to test that removing the packages did not interfere with further updates, and that the two (un)reclaimable packages did not return.

KB5053656 Windows 11 Cumulative Update Preview build 26100.3624 (24H2) - March 27 - post #22

These packages date back to build 26100.1742, the initial release of 24H2. They have long been superseded, removing them should do no harm, and means that DISM now reports correctly whether or not a cleanup is recommended.

I am going to assume that this is still safe to do.

FrancoDT · Apr 1, 2026

Josey Wales said:
I am going to assume that this is still safe to do.

Nope, many of us learned the hard way those two unreclaimable packages are there for a reason and need to be left alone. They contain files for future Windows updates and you can get installation errors the next update if you remove them. Leave them be.

Josey Wales · Apr 1, 2026

FrancoDT said:
Nope, many of us learned the hard way those two unreclaimable packages are there for a reason and need to be left alone. They contain files for future Windows updates and you can get installation errors the next update if you remove them. Leave them be.

OK, I will not do this

FrancoDT · Apr 1, 2026

Josey Wales said:
I am going to assume that this is still safe to do.

Here's a detailed Co-pilot explanation for you

Why You Shouldn’t Remove Un‑Reclaimable Component Store Packages

Un‑reclaimable packages are marked that way because Windows still needs them. They may include:

Core system libraries
Servicing stack components
Security components
Features that appear unused but are tied to dependencies

Removing them can break Windows in subtle or catastrophic ways.

Windows Update relies on the Component Store to:

Apply cumulative updates
Roll back failed updates
Perform DISM repairs
Enable or disable optional features

If you remove these packages, you may find that:

Updates fail
DISM /restorehealth can’t repair the system
SFC /scannow can’t restore missing files
Feature updates refuse to install

Even if a package looks old or unused, Windows may need it to:

Roll back to a previous version
Support side-by-side assemblies
Maintain compatibility with drivers or apps

Removing these can cause:

Random app crashes
Driver failures
Boot issues

Many people try to shrink WinSxS because it looks huge. But:

Much of the size is hard links, not actual disk usage
Windows already reclaims what it safely can
The “un‑reclaimable” portion is usually small and essential

Trying to manually remove it rarely saves meaningful space.

Microsoft explicitly warns that:

Deleting WinSxS files manually
Using third‑party “cleanup” tools
Removing packages not marked as reclaimable

…can corrupt the OS in ways that cannot be repaired.

This often leads to:

In-place upgrade repairs
Full reinstall
Data loss if the system becomes unbootable

The bottom line

Un‑reclaimable packages are not bloat — they’re the backbone of Windows servicing. Removing them is almost guaranteed to cause problems down the line, even if the system seems fine at first.

Josey Wales · Apr 1, 2026

SFC /SCANNOW
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

The above should be safe.

FrancoDT · Apr 1, 2026

Josey Wales said:
SFC /SCANNOW
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

The above should be safe.

Yup, those are all safe

Bree · Apr 1, 2026

Josey Wales said:
I am going to assume that this is still safe to do.

All my RTM 24H2 (now 25H2) machines where I've done this continue to have no issues, getting all updates as normal.

All my Insider Dev and Beta (24H2/25H2 based builds) machines have run into update problems and required an in-place upgrade to reinstall the packages before they could update successfully.

Josey Wales · Apr 1, 2026

Bree said:
All my RTM 24H2 (now 25H2) machines where I've done this continue to have no issues, getting all updates as normal.

All my Insider Dev and Beta (24H2/25H2 based builds) machines have run into update problems and required an in-place upgrade to reinstall the packages before they could update successfully.

Thanks Bree, I don't plan to do any further insiders builds, so I should be OK.

Solved 24H2 - how to remove the two (un)reclaimable that always show in DISM

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Why You Shouldn’t Remove Un‑Reclaimable Component Store Packages​

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