💽 Winget and Intune Autoupdate Bug Filling Up Disk Space — Here’s How to Fix It
If your Windows devices suddenly started running out of disk space in the last few weeks, you’re not alone. Many IT admins are finding massive log files (40–60GB each) piling up in the C:\Windows\Temp\winget folder.
The cause? A recent Winget and Intune autoupdate bug that’s flooding systems with endless logging data. Here’s what’s going on, what Microsoft has said, and what you can do to clean it up until a permanent fix arrives.
⚠️ What’s Happening
The issue affects devices managed through Microsoft Intune or Autopilot.
When Microsoft Store apps are updated via Winget (Windows Package Manager), the system logs every process in extreme detail — and never stops.
Over time, the C:\Windows\Temp\winget folder fills with large .log files. Some admins reported drives completely filled within a day.
Key symptoms include:
- Drive space disappearing quickly.
- Log files of 40GB–60GB each.
- High CPU usage from the Intune Management Extension (IME) process.
- Failing Intune policies due to full disks.
📰 Microsoft’s Official Response
Microsoft has acknowledged the problem.
Admins spotted an alert in the Microsoft 365 admin portal describing the issue as a known bug affecting Store app updates via Intune.
A fix is being developed and will be included in a future Windows or Intune service update.
Until then, admins are advised to clear temp files and reduce verbose logging as temporary workarounds.
🧰 Temporary Fixes
While waiting for Microsoft’s update, here are a few safe and proven ways to control the log growth.
🧹 Option 1: Clean the Winget Temp Folder
Run this PowerShell script manually or deploy it via Intune to remove bloated logs:
# Clean up excessive Winget log files
Stop-Service -Name "IntuneManagementExtension" -Force
Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Windows\Temp\winget" -File |
Where-Object { $_.Length -gt 500MB } |
Remove-Item -Force
Start-Service -Name "IntuneManagementExtension"
What it does:
- Stops the Intune Management Extension service.
- Deletes any Winget logs larger than 500MB.
- Restarts the service cleanly.
💡 Tip: Schedule this script to run daily using Intune or Group Policy.
⚙️ Option 2: Disable Verbose Logging via Intune
You can reduce or disable Winget’s verbose logging through an Intune policy.
Steps:
- Go to Intune Admin Center → Devices → Configuration Profiles.
- Create a Settings Catalog profile for Windows 10/11.
- Search for “Windows Package Manager” or “Winget.”
- Disable Verbose Logging under the Diagnostics/Logging section.
- Assign the profile to affected device groups.
This prevents new oversized log files from being generated while keeping Winget functionality intact.
🔄 Option 3: Automate Disk Cleanup
If you manage many endpoints, schedule an automatic cleanup task.
Create a simple PowerShell script to delete Winget log files older than one day:
Get-ChildItem "C:\Windows\Temp\winget" -Recurse |
Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-1) } |
Remove-Item -Force
Deploy it as a scheduled task or through Intune’s Device Scripts feature.
🧩 Root Cause
The issue appears to be triggered by the Winget service looping continuously during app updates.
Each process writes large amounts of data into log files, but the logs never rotate or clear automatically.
In other words, it’s infinite verbose logging caused by a bug in the Microsoft Store + Winget update process.
✅ Summary
| Problem | Cause | Temporary Fix |
|---|---|---|
| C:\Windows\Temp\winget logs filling up | Winget process stuck in verbose logging loop | Delete logs and reduce verbose logging |
| Disks filling up rapidly | Continuous logging during Store app updates | Run PowerShell cleanup script |
| Intune policy deployment issues | IME service fails when disk is full | Restart service after cleanup |
| Permanent solution | Pending Microsoft patch | Monitor Microsoft 365 admin center for updates |
💡 Best Practice Until the Fix
- Run a cleanup script daily.
- Disable or limit verbose Winget logging.
- Monitor disk space on shared or virtual systems.
- Watch for service updates in the Microsoft 365 Service Health Dashboard.
These steps will help prevent system slowdowns or disk failures while Microsoft prepares the official fix.
