The WinSxS folder is the Component Store located in your C: Windows directory where core Windows files reside including the bits needed to turn on and off any Windows features you enable from the Control Panel. Not only are these files critical to the operation of Windows 10 but when updates to Windows are installed, these files get updated. Jun 10, 2019 WinSxs Folder consuming enormous disk space My WinSxs folder under Windows directory is consuming 10GB of disk space. We all know that Windows root folder is the system root directory. What is WinSxs? Is there any work around to clear up the free space from this folder? If it keeps building up with this rate, I can see my primary partition. How to clean up Windows 10's WinSxS folder using the StartComponentCleanup task. In measuring the success of Disk Cleanup's work with the WinSxS folder, I mentioned that the Clean Up System Files feature removes only those files in the WinSxS folder that it determines are no longer needed by the system. Why the WinSXS Folder Gets too Big. The WinSXS folder contains all Windows system components. In fact, component files elsewhere in Windows are just links to files contained in the WinSXS folder. The WinSXS folder contains every operating system file. When Windows installs updates, it drops the new Windows component in the WinSXS folder and keeps the old component in the WinSXS folder.
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This topic is about the different ways to reduce the size of the WinSxS folder on a running version of Windows 10.
One commonly asked question is, 'Can I delete the WinSxS folder to regain some disk space?' The short answer is no. You can, however, reduce the size of the WinSxS folder using tools built into Windows. For more information about the WinSxS folder, see Manage the Component Store.
Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 automatically reduce the size of the WinSxS folder by using methods similar to the ones described in this topic, in addition to internal processes, such as uninstalling and deleting packages with components that have been replaced by other components with newer versions. Previous versions of some components are kept on the system for a period of time, allowing you to rollback if necessary. After a period of time, these older components are automatically removed from the installation.
You can also reduce the size of a Windows image using some of the same techniques, as discussed in Reduce the Size of the Component Store in an Offline Windows Image.
To learn about finding the size of your WinSxS folder, see Determine the actual size of the WinSxS folder.
Warning
Winsxs Folder In Windows 8
Deleting files from the WinSxS folder or deleting the entire WinSxS folder may severely damage your system so that your PC might not boot and make it impossible to update.
In Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016, you have a number of ways to start the cleanup of the component store, which use a combination of package deletion and component compression to clean up the WinSxS folder:
Task Scheduler
The StartComponentCleanup task was created in Windows 8 to regularly clean up components automatically when the system is not in use. This task is set to run automatically when triggered by the operating system. When run automatically, the task will wait at least 30 days after an updated component has been installed before uninstalling the previous versions of the component.
If you choose to run this task, the task will have a 1 hour timeout and may not completely clean up all files.
Run the StartComponentCleanup task in Task Scheduler to clean up and compress components
- If Task Scheduler is not open, start the Task Scheduler. For more information, see Start Task Scheduler.
- Expand the console tree and navigate to Task Scheduler LibraryMicrosoftWindowsServicingStartComponentCleanup.
- Under Selected Item, click RunNoteThe StartComponentCleanup task can also be started from the command line.
Dism.exe
The /Cleanup-Image parameter of Dism.exe provides advanced users more options to further reduce the size of the WinSxS folder. For more information, see DISM Operating System Package Servicing Command-Line Options.
Use the /StartComponentCleanup parameter
Winsxs Folder In Windows Server 2012 R2
- Using the /StartComponentCleanup parameter of Dism.exe on a running version of Windows 10 gives you similar results to running the StartComponentCleanup task in Task Scheduler, except previous versions of updated components will be immediately deleted (without a 30 day grace period) and you will not have a 1-hour timeout limitation.From an elevated command prompt, type the following:
Use the /ResetBase switch with the /StartComponentCleanup parameter
- Using the /ResetBase switch with the /StartComponentCleanup parameter of DISM.exe on a running version of Windows 10 removes all superseded versions of every component in the component store.From an elevated command prompt, type the following:WarningAll existing service packs and updates cannot be uninstalled after this command is completed. This will not block the uninstallation of future service packs or updates.
Clean Winsxs Folder In Windows 7
Use the /SPSuperseded parameter
- To reduce the amount of space used by a Service Pack, use the /SPSuperseded parameter of Dism.exe on a running version of Windows 10 to remove any backup components needed for uninstallation of the service pack. A service pack is a collection of cumulative updates for a particular release of Windows.From an elevated command prompt, type the following:Warning The service pack cannot be uninstalled after this command is completed.
Disk Cleanup
You can use Disk Cleanup to reduce the number of unnecessary files on your drives, which can help your PC run faster. It can delete temporary files and system files, empty the Recycle Bin, and remove a variety of other items that you might no longer need. The option to cleanup updates helps reduce the size of the component store.
Sony xplod car stereo troubleshooting. Run Disk Cleanup to delete system files
- To delete system files run the steps as provided in Delete files using Disk Cleanup.
Related topics
In Windows 7 and Windows 8/10, there is a new folder under C:Windows called WinSxS, which basically stores dll and component files. It also stores older versions of all dll and component files and can grow to be quite large. In addition to that, a lot of space is taken up by the backup folder, which gets really big after you install a Service Pack, like SP 1 for Windows 7.
Here’s the size of my WinSxS folder on Windows 7:
And here’s the size of the WinSxS folder on Windows 8/10:
That’s a lot of space, especially for fresh installs of both operating systems! Once you install more Windows updates or any service pack, it’ll shoot up a few more GBs. Unfortunately, this is a super core set of files for Windows, so you never want to try to delete anything yourself. You can, however, save a little space.
The first thing you can do is reduce the size of the backup folder by running the following command (Start, type CMD):
If any service pack backup files were found, it will automatically clean them up. In my case, I didn’t install SP1, so there was nothing to remove and hence I didn’t save any space. You can do that on Windows 7 with SP1 and on Windows Vista SP1, you can do the same thing using a different tool. Basically, it removes all the older files, but makes the service pack unremovable.
The file is called VSP1CLN.EXE for Windows Vista SP1 and it’s called COMPCLN.EXE for Windows Vista SP2. You can run these by clicking on Start and then typing in Run. When the Run dialog appears, just type in the commands.
There is also another way to remove the backup files for SP1 in Windows 7 and make it permanent. Simply open up the Disk Cleanup utility, click on Clean Up System Files and then check the Service Pack Backup Files box. Also, be sure to check Windows Update Cleanup and Previous Windows installations if those options are present. The latter one will reduce the size of the entire Windows folder significantly.
So again to reiterate, in Vista you have to use VSP1CLN and COMPCLN and for Windows 7 you use the DISM command. Using any of these will make the service pack permanent. Other people have mentioned compressing the backup folder inside the WinSxS folder, but that’s probably not a good idea. Doing anything else will reduce the reliability of your system.
You can also run two other commands that will clear out older or out-dated components. Basically, once you run these commands, you won’t be able to uninstall any installed updates or service packs, so keep that in mind. Ludo king games download for pc windows 7. https://carpowerful.weebly.com/blog/extreme-makeover-home-edition-application.
Remove Windows Features
In Windows 8/10, there are some nice new features added to the DISM command. You can now remove packages that you no longer want need or want. You can use the commands like below or you can simply use the Add and remove Windows features option, which gives you a nice GUI. This is the command:
So how do you know what features you can disable? Well, you can run the following command to see all the available features:
Now that you have the list, you can disable a feature like SimpleTCP shown below:
Pretty neat eh!? So that can save you a lot of space in Windows 8/10 if you plan on not using a lot of advanced features that are built-in by default. Enjoy!