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How to Move the WSUS Content Folder to a New Location

The WSUSContent folder is where WSUS stores information regarding Microsoft software update EULA’s, third-party software update content, and Microsoft update content when using WSUS standalone without SCCM.

There are a few reasons why you may want to move the WSUSContent folder to a new location, including:

  • Low disk space on the current volume
  • Corrupted or misconfigured shares for (WsusContent, UpdateServicesPackages, or WSUSTemp)

Topics covered in this article:

How to Use WSUSUtil.exe to Move the WSUSContent Folder to a New Location

To move the WSUSContent folder to a new location, you will need to use the WSUSUtil.exe tool located in the C:\Program Files\Update Services\Tools directory. In our example, we will move the WSUSContent folder from C:\WSUS to J:\WSUS

Here is a list of available command lines for WSUSUtil.exe:

There are two possible options you can use when moving the WSUSContent folder:

The first option is to move file’s in the current WSUSContent folder to the new location. We recommend using this option if you have already published third-party software updates to your WSUS server and want to migrate those published updates.

Example: “c:\Program Files\Update Services\Tools\WsusUtil.exe” movecontent J:\WSUS C:\wsusmove.log

The second option includes the -skipcopy parameter and does not copy the existing file’s in the current WSUSContent folder to the new location. This option can save time if you haven’t published any third-party updates before or don’t want to migrate previous content.

Example: “c:\Program Files\Update Services\Tools\WsusUtil.exe” movecontent J:\WSUS -skipcopy C:\wsusmove.log

Validate WSUSContent Move was Successful

There are three different places where the WSUSContent configuration is utilized. If configured correctly, all these locations should point to the same path.

  1. In the registry on the WSUS server, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Update Services\Server\Setup:ContentDir
    • WSUSContent Folder From Registry
  2. In IIS > Sites > WSUS Administration > Content
  3. In SQL Server Management Studio, run the following query against the SUSDB run the following query: Select LocalContentCacheLocation from tbConfigurationB
  4. In Computer Management, review the Shared Folders node and validate the Folder Path

How to Use WSUSUtil.exe to Move the WSUSContent Folder to a New Location (Video)

If you would like to watch the video guide, this goes into a more detailed explanation about how to move the WSUSContent folder, and all the locations to validate, including the registry, IIS, shared folders, and the SUSDB.