This article discusses how you can save up that space without affecting the critical system files by safely deleting the unwanted files within the WinSxS folder.
What is the WinSxS folder
The WinSxS folder contains files such as DLLs, binaries, and other XML files that are used by the device. It also contains the information and files required to install Windows features. Each time your Windows gets an update, it is installed on your computer while the old ones are shifted to the WinSxS folder. This is also important to prevent the system from crashing by providing compatibility or to revert to old files in case of a system restore.
What is the WinSxS folder How to check the size of the WinSxS folder How to clean up WinSxS folder using Disk Cleanup How to clean up the WinSxS folder by removing Optional Features How to compress the WinSxS folder to save space Closing words
This is why the WinSxS folder keeps increasing in size over time. This folder can be found on the following path:C:\Windows\WinSxS As you may find, the folder has a list of sub-folders and files that are used by the system.
How to check the size of the WinSxS folder
You can check the size of the folder through its properties in File Explorer. However, that is the actual size of the folder and not the one you can make available, since everything in the folder cannot be deleted to make space. Along with cache, temporary files, backup and restore data, other critical files are also present. The properties bar does not indicate each individual category of the files within the WinSxS folder.
To check the size of each component storage within this folder, perform the following: You now have complete information on what WinSxS contains and what the size of each component is. We can now use this information to free up 1.14 GB (Backups and Disabled features) of unnecessary files and folders within WinSxS. WinDirStat is a wonderful program that can calculate and show the folder structure and size of each drive in a visual way. To check the size of WinSxS, please run WinDirStat as administrator.
How to clean up WinSxS folder using Disk Cleanup
The Disk Cleanup tool is built into Windows 10 which can be used to perform safe operations to remove unnecessary system files. No critical system files are affected by using this utility, as opposed to deleting the WinSxS sub-folders manually using File Explorer, which poses a significant threat to Windows functionality. Follow the guide below to perform this operation: Although some of the unwanted files have been removed from the WinSxS folder, there is still a possibility to increase the available space even further. If required, move onto the next step.
How to clean up the WinSxS folder by removing Optional Features
Since the WinSxS folder also contains repositories for the optional features, you can create more space by removing the ones that are disabled, and you think you would not need it. Perform the following to remove one feature at a time. If you check the Optional Feature status again by running the same command, you will see that the Status has changed from Disabled to Disabled with payload removed.
How to compress the WinSxS folder to save space
The WinSxS folder can also be compressed, if not deleted. The compression of the folder would save a significant amount of space while having everything available. This method would not involve removing or deleting anything. However, a con of the compression method would be that the system would perform an additional step or compression and decompression each time it needs to access the folder. This would also affect the time it takes to perform these functions. Nonetheless, the time difference is not much as Windows 10 performs these functions quite fast. The process involves starting and stopping some services, as well as changing the ownership of certain files and folders. Therefore it is recommended to create a system restore point before proceeding any further. You may now check the size of the WinSxS folder and notice that it has shrunk significantly, by almost a third.
Closing words
The WinSxS file might be one of the most important ones in the system, but it’s also the biggest one, with an appetite for more storage space. However, no matter the amount of volume you allow for the system drive, it will become insufficient at one point. Compressing or deleting unnecessary files and folders can aid a great deal in the available storage, especially when it can be performed safely, without harming the Windows environment.
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