Winsxs folder?

[Iforgot]

But the spooky thing is,
I still quite like Vista X64

Hello again!

Everyone that REALLY tries it has that same reaction!

Later Ted

But I still wouldn't use it in an Business environment......

 

[johngalt]

I would use in a business environment with one caveat - as long as there were no 16 bit legacy apps I needed to access.

 

[Iforgot]

you're using a 64bit OS with forced usage of 32bit programs. you have to expect it.

Laptop,asus, X52rl series, vista 32bit, winsxs file 7gb

And no 16bit apps either.

 

[Iforgot]

Just changed HDD, larger and new.
reloaded vista 32.
No programs, No standard drivers yet,
first thing was too look at the WinSxS file size.

now --------- winsxs file 4.3gb:huh:

Better bet, go back to XP.....

 

[KayM]

Good God... my winsxs folder went over 15 GB
I wasn't planing on that size when i created the OS partition...
It seems to me the only "safe" way to get rid of all the unwanted files is reinstalling the operating system, unless there's a sane way to filter them :huh:

In conclusion:
-I will realocate a big fat chunk of my HD space, so Vista can bloat in it
-I'm never EVER going back to XP - that's just silly. I can tolerate Vista being 'fat', plus, if you have the propper hardware setup, it won't let you down...

 

[johngalt]

There is no *sane* way to filter them down, unless you plan on spending a *lot* time figuring out what file belongs to what app.

As you continually add to the list of apps you have installed, it gets bigger. I just reinstalled 2 weeks ago and mine is already at 10.9 GB. But I allocated 60 GB to this System partition, and it won't keep growing if I don't keep installing apps.

 

[Fumz]

I used to partition my drives so that XP, my apps and my games were on the leading edge of the drive; thus, the fastest part. XP really seemed to benefit from doing this. I noticed that map loading times decreased. Albeit not by huge amounts, but nonetheless, a reduction in time is still a reduction.

However, because Vista's file management system is so different, I've just decided to let it have the whole drive and see what happens? I honestly didn't know or care about the Winsxs folder until I saw this thread. Today it's at 15GB; a few days ago after I first saw this thread it was a little bigger, but I have since uninstalled a couple game demos.

15 out of 500 isn't something I'm going to get concerned about. I doubt I'll be going back to my old XP ways of partitioning off OS and app drive space. My brother in law also runs a 500GB boot drive and it's loaded with games. He's constantly patching, updating and doing all the normal things one does that would, at least in XP's case, reduce drive performance unless you kept the OS partition small. However, this does not seem to be the case at all.

I don't know if it's because our chipsets are now so much faster, our cpu's are so much faster or we've just got much better drives, but even a full unpartitioned 500GB drive runs apps better under 64-bit Vista than a trimed XP install on a small initial partition.

As has been mentioned, drives are just so cheap that a little space here or there really doesn't matter. One can call what Vista does "bloat", but I think that's misleading? If this "bloat" makes Vista perform as well as it does, then I'll take that over a less occupied partition any day.

 

[Iforgot]

"When an application runs it still has to go thought all the links to find the link it needs.......
and MS still doesn't seem to remove redundant links."

Have you thought about this?

On a 64 bit processor I still prefer vista x64, why.

On a 32 bit processor, the notebook now, I'm using XP-sp3.

Which is more stable? good question, only time will tell.
but I know how to tidy up XP-32bit, and from sp2 it's been (more or less) stable.

Vista is still in the learning stage:huh:

A horrible thought of recovering the OS in vista
Programs and/or data on a second partition........................

But the spooky thing is,
I still quite like Vista X64

 

[Iforgot]

As has been mentioned, drives are just so cheap that a little space here or there really doesn't matter. One can call what Vista does "bloat", but I think that's misleading? If this "bloat" makes Vista perform as well as it does, then I'll take that over a less occupied partition any day.

the thing about bloat is not just a case about the physical size needed for the OS.

It's about how the OS links to a DLL, to run an app.

 

[berserker]

But the spooky thing is,
I still quite like Vista X64

Hello again!

Everyone that REALLY tries it has that same reaction!

Later Ted

But I still wouldn't use it in an Business environment......

That's what most businesses are saying. However, a majority of businesses that use Windows Server 2000 or 2003 plan to transition to Windows Server 2008 which, ironically, shares the same code base as Vista SP1.

See Windows Server 2008 Is Windows Vista SP1 Minus the Pain - Of Vista RTM - Softpedia and Reseller News > It's not Vista: Windows Server 2008 gets nod from IT

 

[Fumz]

As has been mentioned, drives are just so cheap that a little space here or there really doesn't matter. One can call what Vista does "bloat", but I think that's misleading? If this "bloat" makes Vista perform as well as it does, then I'll take that over a less occupied partition any day.

the thing about bloat is not just a case about the physical size needed for the OS.

It's about how the OS links to a DLL, to run an app.

When I think of "bloat", what springs to my mind is software that also bundles a lot of useless crap, usually in some form of advertising, that is non-essential to the function of that software: like X-Fire for instance. The important point is that bloat is non-essential.

If however, the "bloat" in question is an essential part of the operating system, I can't reasonably call it bloat. You can suggest it's poorly coded, and you might be able to make that case since the Winsxs folder contains many sub-folders for AMD and I have an Intel rig, but until we know with certainty that these folders are non-essential, then I can't say they're bloat?

Hi Xephion,

Winsxs is known as "Windows Side by Side" Its used as the compatibility store for windows DLLs and allows windows to run programs built for previous versions of its operating systems...Steven

Vista is "bigger", agreed. That's not to say it's bulk is primarily due to bloat though, right? You need a faster cpu (2 of them really), a faster video card, a lot more RAM and more hard drive space; that's the reality. It's also a reality that the majority of software we use isn't coded for Vista.

... The Winsxs folder, stores multiple copies of dll's in order to let multiple applications run in Windows without any compatibility problem. If you browse inside, you will see what look like a lot of duplicate dlls, each having the same name. These are actually, different versions of the same files which are being stored; as different programs may require different versions. In short, Winsxs, which stands for 'Windows Side By Side', is Vista's native assembly cache. Libraries which are being by multiple applications are stored there. This feature was first introduced, in Windows ME and was considered as Microsoft's solution to the so-called 'dll hell' issues that plagued Windows 9x.

If you're willing to be the guinea pig on this one and delete all the folders considered "bloat", I'm all ears, but Vista runs so incredibly smooth that I can't imagine why you would want to? I don't know why people still say Vista has stability issues, because that's not something I've seen? I've never had a crash, a freeze, a bsod or any other problem common to XP and 98. Meh... guess I'm just lucky?

 

[Iforgot]

Hello again!

Everyone that REALLY tries it has that same reaction!

Later Ted

But I still wouldn't use it in an Business environment......

That's what most businesses are saying. However, a majority of businesses that use Windows Server 2000 or 2003 plan to transition to Windows Server 2008 which, ironically, shares the same code base as Vista SP1.

See Windows Server 2008 Is Windows Vista SP1 Minus the Pain - Of Vista RTM - Softpedia and Reseller News > It's not Vista: Windows Server 2008 gets nod from IT

berserker
Do you have server 2008 running at present?
If so, what's the size of the winsxs folder?

 

[berserker]

But I still wouldn't use it in an Business environment......

That's what most businesses are saying. However, a majority of businesses that use Windows Server 2000 or 2003 plan to transition to Windows Server 2008 which, ironically, shares the same code base as Vista SP1.

See Windows Server 2008 Is Windows Vista SP1 Minus the Pain - Of Vista RTM - Softpedia and Reseller News > It's not Vista: Windows Server 2008 gets nod from IT

berserker
Do you have server 2008 running at present?
If so, what's the size of the winsxs folder?

No, I don't. I've read, though, of people who've installed it and are running it as a desktop OS complete with Aero and WMP. The comments indicate that they like Server's default minimal number of running services; I read one review that said Server is up to 20% faster than Vista depending on the process/application (Neowin.net - Windows Server 2008 is 20% faster than Vista).

Microsoft offers it for download (Windows Server 2008 Trial Software) and a free 60-day evaluation period which can be extended up to 240 days. So, if you have a spare computer it might be a good research project to compare it to Vista.

HTH.

 

[Iforgot]

berserker

I had it on a spare hdd in the pc untill friday, wiped for something else.
Too early by the sound of it.
Should have looked at the winsxs file first, but didn't realise the size of it then.....

It did seem faster, ran any vista progam, could enable aero etc.

Looked like a server enabled version of vista, with all the gizmo's turned off.

you could turn off the server stuff, and enable the gizmo's for a vista workstation.
but I didn't play with it long enought to see the + or - 's.

Will probably be windows 7 workstation when released.
That's probably after windows server 2008 has been out for a while.

 

[Iforgot]

Just loaded server 2008 on again.
posting from it, with firefox now

winsxs folder size 4.12 gb on disk.

 

[Fumz]

Yesterday, after removing a couple demos, my Winsxs folder decreased from 16.somethingGB down to 15.01GB. Just now, after a defrag and a reboot, it's 8.52GB.

huh? Clearly dynamic; I'm not sure how it cut itself in half when I didn't do anything, yet only budged an inch when I un-installed a few GB's worth of games... oh well... I was not meant to understand these things.

 

[Iforgot]

Yesterday, after removing a couple demos, my Winsxs folder decreased from 16.somethingGB down to 15.01GB. Just now, after a defrag and a reboot, it's 8.52GB.

huh? Clearly dynamic; I'm not sure how it cut itself in half when I didn't do anything, yet only budged an inch when I un-installed a few GB's worth of games... oh well... I was not meant to understand these things.

This is one reason i'm asking about winsxs folder.
More info will come to light, as time goes by, eventually, hopefully......

the answer of "don't touch it" "voodoo area" is not my way.


server 2008 winsxs folder size on disc now 4.13 gb
with ati 8.7 catalyst drivers added

 

[Fumz]

Well, since the folder's purpose has been explained, "delete willy-nilly" clearly isn't the way to go.

... As mentioned, Windows stores the old dll's and library components in the WinSxS folder. Now if a newer version of this file is a part of the OS, but a particular application requires a particular older version for running, then the older version from the winsxs folder will be used, leaving the newer version in its present place, for other applications which may require it.
So obviously you cannot delete this directory or move it elsewhere. Nor is it advisable to delete anything here, as such a step could probably make your applications un-workable or even break your system! If you have many applications installed, you can expect to have a jumbo sized winsxs folder.
If you delete components from the WinSxS folder like the manifets or the assemblies, etc, you could be in trouble. Each system would react differently. What may work for one could break another! For instance, if you install a program that requires that particular assembly, which you may have deleted, then that program will just not run! Compressing the folder is also a no-no, as it could cause problems during WindowsUpdates or while installing a Hotfix. The safest way to clean it, is by simply uninstalling applications which you don't require. However, this too is not fool proof, as many applications still leave behind their files here, since they may be shared between other applications. So the probability of dud unused dll's being left behind is quite high.
And if you are into trying out new software or installing and uninstalling frequently, you may notice that your winsxs size is indeed large, as Vista will store multiple copies of these dll files, in order to let multiple applications without compatibility problem.

 

[spider2077]

Good God... my winsxs folder went over 15 GB
I wasn't planing on that size when i created the OS partition...
It seems to me the only "safe" way to get rid of all the unwanted files is reinstalling the operating system, unless there's a sane way to filter them :huh:

In conclusion:
-I will realocate a big fat chunk of my HD space, so Vista can bloat in it
-I'm never EVER going back to XP - that's just silly. I can tolerate Vista being 'fat', plus, if you have the propper hardware setup, it won't let you down...

Oposed to youe 15 GB mine is 22.6 GB (24,367,284,224 bytes) :P as for going back to XP... a 500 GB HDD is around a 100 120 $ :P so XP is long DEAD for me.

 

[ripbox]

I just wanted to add a little about Winsxs... i just did a little spring cleaning on my pc and ran Ccleaner and while browing threw the log i actually noticed that Ccleaner had picked up file in the Winsxs folder.... there seems to be a glimmer of hope on this folder after all

C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_041be1b0146807f201483290a1e9c2dd_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_b56ebe5ac34223ce.manifest 723 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_2af4dbc2e146a2462065da9979746ee9_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_2a36996fc1372650.manifest 678 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_5c21e2f2a96db1d5d96f2b633e4793f1_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_c3092d9fb020a845.manifest 1.03KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_6de921988fb0c28bb7400e151f03289a_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_e7b4859dcc762d36.manifest 3.98KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_793dadb0cb1c5e1eaa76222f3f30029c_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_91f986bd67d0cf01.manifest 690 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_7cae605db6dcc9e764b76e046b2374c7_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_c4f615e913f4fcc9.manifest 1.03KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_874625c0d1777c8f2524a3bcf649dc7f_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_223bab8ae4454360.manifest 712 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_8d6955e99bae2b0d77954e6dce5bb755_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_b0b486d412801122.manifest 690 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_8e5887a7be580e391792f40202fc19d8_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_aa48e2f751d3c60f.manifest 714 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_9f7e4bc40cd6be8168cf4b3bedd2b551_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_a331401d23cc62b2.manifest 682 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_a1fc467526a75909fa7b3a8d6a080028_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_1732d16d8dc172c2.manifest 678 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_a26f045d15566a0e794e003b13c16276_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_10428fdff7be4e1b.manifest 712 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_a9d4ee147176d28ace090c16436665e5_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_93a8f57c0afe11f5.manifest 703 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_c2f7658166cfd53f0fd953cb25065b9a_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_b264a84c0f38f9a4.manifest 1.03KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_c49b51ef13df210d4946dd7704eda464_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_f61361424439ad4e.manifest 723 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_c5516f4a1b91547964a944cbec5a50f6_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_a0c44ceab7e200ee.manifest 703 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_c70e03fda2e130f5c5142b152ef9b857_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_3f614d62955a4ccd.manifest 1.03KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_ca866b36730521e94dc39b88c2d622eb_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_c532edb14f3a4f79.manifest 682 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_cf0017452fd64c89d9fe4c5b7c868a5e_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_08937dddbbf917ac.manifest 716 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_d9c55825772a474378bd9eea4b14539c_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_1acf294794628b7b.manifest 714 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_ebf2b883fd72b272fc4a1cab5d5e2c87_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_a9192261bb092891.manifest 716 bytes
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-e..-devices-xeikaimage_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_cb223dcfb54b60ba.manifest 3.21KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-e..-devices-xeikaimage_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_cb866964ce85d5a4.manifest 3.21KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-ehome-devices-ehreplay_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_6edf368b5af564a7.manifest 53.98KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-ehome-devices-ehreplay_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_6f436220742fd991.manifest 53.68KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-ehome-devices-mcrmgr_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_8e51a6e1953cc905.manifest 23.17KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-ehome-devices-mcrmgr_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_8eb5d276ae773def.manifest 23.17KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehdebug_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_8a0575993d84a075.manifest 4.68KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehdebug_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_8a69a12e56bf155f.manifest 4.68KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehres_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_ac33c26d0bbac2f6.manifest 2.83KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehres_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_ac97ee0224f537e0.manifest 2.83KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehtrace_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_92e48798cf22860b.manifest 4.02KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehtrace_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_9348b32de85cfaf5.manifest 3.71KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehuihlp_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_9632ccf9e6800db2.manifest 10.29KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-m..mediadeliveryengine_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_995227b51ac6c09a.manifest 8.88KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\amd64_microsoft-windows-m..mediadeliveryengine_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_99b6534a34013584.manifest 8.58KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\msil_ehepg_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_d9ac5ba2d1cd93c1.manifest 2.95KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\msil_ehepg_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_da108737eb0808ab.manifest 2.95KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\msil_ehexthost_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_bcf1d858c1bcf70c.manifest 11.56KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\msil_ehiextens_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_fbd4df3d09c25501.manifest 2.95KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\msil_ehiextens_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_fc390ad222fcc9eb.manifest 2.95KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\msil_microsoft.mediacenter_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_2386c23dcf3201d9.manifest 3.83KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\wow64_ehexthost32-info_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_a4686954d7acbb26.manifest 9.89KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\wow64_ehexthost32-info_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_a4cc94e9f0e73010.manifest 9.89KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\wow64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehdebug_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_945a1feb71e56270.manifest 2.84KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\wow64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehdebug_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_94be4b808b1fd75a.manifest 2.84KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\wow64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehtrace_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_9d3931eb03834806.manifest 2.48KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\wow64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehtrace_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_9d9d5d801cbdbcf0.manifest 2.48KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\wow64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehuihlp_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20750_none_a0eba2e1341b4497.manifest 2.48KB
C:\Windows\TEMP\winsxs\manifests\wow64_microsoft-windows-ehome-ehui_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16625_none_33408515b90b1b0b.manifest 2.46KB

nothing really special and its only a case of several MB's but still good all the same