How do MS updates sit on the HD

[nithig]

Since buying this new laptop with Win 7 Pro
I'm amazed at the sheer volume of updates.

(Must explain, I'm in regional Australia and still on
dial up so large updates are a problem. Last yr the
Federal Govt started laying an NBN (National Broadband
Network) optic fibre cable)

Now ... the dial up aside ... what actually happens with
the updates? Are they cumulative? Or does a new update
over-write an earlier update? In other words does the amount
of disk space keep shrinking with new updates (cumulative)
or is the space relatively unaffected (replacement).

 

[richc46]

90% of the updates are probably new, but I am sure that some are updated.
We will soon see and SP1. This is cumulative, all the updates, plus any new changes.
They change the OS, and the net effect of the update is usually negligible.

Most updates do not take much HD space.