WSUS – How to Completely Wipe WSUS and Start Again

wsus

Anyone know of a way to completely wipe WSUS of updates and start again?

It seems as if I have loads of language packs and assorted rubbish in the list which we do not need. Having now removed all the unwanted Products, Classifications and Languages what I would like to do is completely clean out the WSUS database and start again. It appears that uninstalling the reinstalling the WSUS role does not help they are all still there. Have also tried the Server Cleanup wizard which seems to be mostly a waste of time, it didn't clean up any of the updates I was hoping it would remove.

I haven't yet installed any of these on a machines yet so if only I could work out how I could completely wipe all listed updates and start again but according to my new reduced Products list.

Thanks,
Nick

Best Answer

To re-install WSUS with a clean database i.e. no previous configuration:

Run Windows Powershell as Administrator and use the following commands:

  • Uninstall-WindowsFeature -Name UpdateServices,Windows-Internal-Database -Restart

  • Post restart, delete EVERYTHING in the C:\Windows\WID\ (for Win 2012 r2) folder.

  • Then run the following command to re-install WSUS:

    Install-WindowsFeature UpdateServices -Restart

This only works on PowerShell 3 or higher.
More info here: Microsoft TechNet: Removing Server Roles and Features

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