You Can Delete Msocache

The PC boot drive (usually C:) has a few folders, names of some of which don’t make sense. It is not wrong to panic when you see some shady name among them.

e.g. The drive on which you installed Windows usually has the following folders:

Documents and Settings
Drivers,… and similar ones
Program Files
WINDOWS

In addition, I have folders called cygwin, Downloads, and SysinternalsSuite. Until recently, I also had Msocache. Msocache is not always in C: but could be on any non-removable and non-network drive with over 1.5GB free disk space.

The Msocache folder is created during the Microsoft Office installation and is called the “Local Install Source”. It contains a copy of the install source files and is a hidden folder. The folder is not necessary after the installation and it is safe to get rid of. Save up to 270 MB disk space.

The Microsoft Help and Support site has a helpful article about Msocache explaining in detail its purpose, and ways of removing it. “Do not delete the MSOCACHE folder by using Microsoft Windows Explorer,” the article warns.

In the past and more recently too, I have deleted the folder directly and I had no problems. But I now learnt that it is not the right way to do it.