Windows Temp Directory / CAB Files Causing Disk Space Issue

Symptom:

Large amount of space used by the Windows Temp directory.

Specifically it seems a log file under `C:\windows\Logs\CBS` becomes corrupt, after which small but numerous `cab_xxxx` files start to appear in the `C:\windows\temp` directory.

Incident Resolution:

The incident is easily fixed:

- Delete the largest/oldest log file from `C:\windows\Logs\CBS`

- Delete all `cab_xxxx` files from the `C:\windows\temp`

(some posts suggest stopping & starting the windows update service / regenerating the cab files after performing the above).

Problem Prevention:

NB: It seems that the root cause is known: makecab.exe utility cannot handle files over 2GB.

However, I've seen nothing on how to prevent this in the first place.

Question: Is there a hotfix to correct this bug? If not, is there anything in the pipeline?

Additional Info:

Other resources relating to this issue on the web provide additional insights:

- https://serverfault.com/questions/746849/windows-temp-large-amounts-of-cab-xxxx-files

- https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-files/cabxxxx-files-found-in-windowstemp-folder/2e86137e-7e6b-4cb7-9a3c-4ee73f665742?messageId=f2867ca4-401d-402e-90fb-646eb7fce91a&auth=1

- https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/495234-windows-temp-file-is-full-of-cab_xxxx-files-on-windows-server-2008-r2

- https://www.infopackets.com/news/10173/how-fix-permanently-hundreds-cabxxx-files-cwindowstemp

Thanks in advance.

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Replies (1)

PCDoctor1

ive been having this prob with various machines lately..

i thought id help out since microsoft doesnt seem to be home lol

heres what i found

i see this everywhere and i suspect this works for a while until some cab file gets to 2gb

Step 1. Stop the Windows Modules Installer service.
Click Start and in the Search box type

services.msc

Press Enter and you see the Local Services list.

Step 2. Scroll down to the Windows Modules Installer
service and double-click on it.

Step 3. Under Service status, click Stop. Click OK.

Step 4. Use File Explorer to go to C:\Windows\Logs\CBS

Step 5. Move or rename all of the files in that folder.

Step 6. delete all the "cab*" files in C:\Windows\Temp.

Step 7. Reboot.

now what im really looking for is a permanent fix and i ran across this

not sure if it works or what the side effects are but heres the guys entire post

cbs.log bloat can be limited with registry tweak
http://pastebin.com/wrpqw1SD

CBSLogCompress
cbs.log always NTFS compressed

NumCBSPersistLogs
the number of cabbed logs, setting to 0 eliminate them (not created)

and if you want to get rid of cbs.log completely (not created), change EnableLog to 0 in
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionComponent Based Servicing]
require taking permissions ownership

later he goes on to say only the reg key at the bottom works on win7

this is the best ive found, if anyone finds something better (like a KB :)... post it below

Windows Temp Directory / CAB Files Causing Disk Space Issue

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