FolderRisk: Do not touch

FileRepository C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository

Driver Store folder holding driver packages, one subfolder per package; clean it only with pnputil.

Updated on 12 November 2026 By AltF4 Formation

What it’s for

FileRepository is the Driver Store’s depot: driver packages are kept here in full (INF, catalogs, binaries). When a package is added (staging), Windows copies it here, then installs it on the matching hardware from this reference copy. That is why a driver can be reinstalled without media.

What it contains

One subfolder per package, named after its INF, the architecture and a hash, for example name.inf_amd64_<hash>.
In each, the driver files: .inf, .cat, .sys, .dll and related files.
Several versions of the same driver side by side, notably graphics drivers that update often. The folder easily reaches several gigabytes.

Risks and best practices

Never delete a subfolder by hand: the published INF and the Plug and Play manager’s metadata would no longer match, with unpredictable behavior.
Folder names follow the original INF, not oemNN.inf. pnputil /enum-drivers gives the mapping (“Published Name” and “Original Name”).
To free space, delete unused old versions with pnputil /delete-driver. Without /force, a driver a device is still using is not deleted.
Before removing a storage, network or graphics driver, create a restore point or a backup.

Useful commands

# Third-party packages: published name, original name, provider, version
pnputil /enum-drivers

# Largest subfolders
Get-ChildItem "$env:windir\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository" -Directory |
    ForEach-Object { [pscustomobject]@{ Package = $_.Name
        MB = [math]::Round(((Get-ChildItem $_.FullName -Recurse -File -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Measure-Object Length -Sum).Sum / 1MB), 1) } } |
    Sort-Object MB -Descending | Select-Object -First 10

:: Delete an old unused package (as administrator); replace oemXX.inf with the published name
pnputil /delete-driver oemXX.inf

Report a mistake