Update Cleanup safely removes the backup files that were created when installing a Windows hotfix or service pack update. Removing the old backup files with Update Cleanup will free up hard disk space. Update Cleanup safely removes the backup files that were created when installing a Windows hotfix or service pack update. Removing the old backup files with Update Cleanup will free up hard disk space. This utility will locate the hotfixes that have created backup files on your PC and will remove those backups. It will also remove the associated Registry entries for these items -- entries that visibly show up as unnecessary program entries in the Add/Remove Programs panel.