Winsxs folder?

Xephion

New Member
Whats this folder for it contains about 8gigs of data in it and its take all most of my os partition.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte MA790X-DS4
    Memory
    8GB G.SKILL PC2-8500 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066
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    2x Diamond Radeon 4850 Crossfire
    Sound Card
    Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Audio 24BIT 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron W2252TQ
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Velociraptor WD1500HLFS 150GB SATA 10000RPM
    PSU
    Seasonic M12 600W EPS12V
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    Coolermaster CM 690 Mid Tower Black
    Cooling
    Xigmatek HDT-S1283
    Keyboard
    Sector 7 Xtreem Gaming
    Mouse
    Sector 7 Xtreem Gaming X7
    Internet Speed
    5MB
never mind i looked it up cant do much to help for the size of it, any one know of a good software to edit the size of my windows partition, I cant use the one in windows as its my first partition and I have to much data to lose if I remove my second partition.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte MA790X-DS4
    Memory
    8GB G.SKILL PC2-8500 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2x Diamond Radeon 4850 Crossfire
    Sound Card
    Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Audio 24BIT 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron W2252TQ
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Velociraptor WD1500HLFS 150GB SATA 10000RPM
    PSU
    Seasonic M12 600W EPS12V
    Case
    Coolermaster CM 690 Mid Tower Black
    Cooling
    Xigmatek HDT-S1283
    Keyboard
    Sector 7 Xtreem Gaming
    Mouse
    Sector 7 Xtreem Gaming X7
    Internet Speed
    5MB
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...

Gparted is a good open-source and free partition manager ;)

Steven
 

My Computer

it might be a good one but it seems its for linux not windows...
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte MA790X-DS4
    Memory
    8GB G.SKILL PC2-8500 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2x Diamond Radeon 4850 Crossfire
    Sound Card
    Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Audio 24BIT 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron W2252TQ
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Velociraptor WD1500HLFS 150GB SATA 10000RPM
    PSU
    Seasonic M12 600W EPS12V
    Case
    Coolermaster CM 690 Mid Tower Black
    Cooling
    Xigmatek HDT-S1283
    Keyboard
    Sector 7 Xtreem Gaming
    Mouse
    Sector 7 Xtreem Gaming X7
    Internet Speed
    5MB
it might be a good one but it seems its for linux not windows...


Hi Xephion,


Gparted can format & partition Microsoft Windows NTFS Volumes, It uses a Linux-base for creating a LiveCD Graphical User Interface for managing partitions for many different Operating Systems including Linux/Windows 98/2000/XP/Vista ;)

Steven
 

My Computer

Ah thanks! I was at work and coudlnt do it remotly but got it working last night, its says its going to take 26 hours to complet the change :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte MA790X-DS4
    Memory
    8GB G.SKILL PC2-8500 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2x Diamond Radeon 4850 Crossfire
    Sound Card
    Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Audio 24BIT 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron W2252TQ
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Velociraptor WD1500HLFS 150GB SATA 10000RPM
    PSU
    Seasonic M12 600W EPS12V
    Case
    Coolermaster CM 690 Mid Tower Black
    Cooling
    Xigmatek HDT-S1283
    Keyboard
    Sector 7 Xtreem Gaming
    Mouse
    Sector 7 Xtreem Gaming X7
    Internet Speed
    5MB
2 decrease the partition of D and encrease C, partition D was 911Gig and has about 500G in it. so 26 hours :S
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte MA790X-DS4
    Memory
    8GB G.SKILL PC2-8500 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2x Diamond Radeon 4850 Crossfire
    Sound Card
    Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Audio 24BIT 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron W2252TQ
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Velociraptor WD1500HLFS 150GB SATA 10000RPM
    PSU
    Seasonic M12 600W EPS12V
    Case
    Coolermaster CM 690 Mid Tower Black
    Cooling
    Xigmatek HDT-S1283
    Keyboard
    Sector 7 Xtreem Gaming
    Mouse
    Sector 7 Xtreem Gaming X7
    Internet Speed
    5MB
think its worth me posting this for future users who wish to learn a little more about winsxs and how it works

The Secret Of Vista's Winsxs Folder.​
Most of you may have noticed the WinSxS folder and been surprised at its size. For those who have not, the folder is situated at C:\Windows\Winsxs and has a whopping size ! Mine is almost 5 GB and has around 6000 folders & 25000 files and occupies almost 40% of the Windows folder ! While the size of this Winsxs folder, in XP is around 25-50 MB; its large size in Vista, is intriguing, to many ! Check the image below.​

attachment.php



  • So what is the mystery of this Winsxs folder in Vista?
  • What's the purpose of so many folders & sub folders?
  • What does it contain?
  • Can you delete this directory?
  • Can you atleast move it somewhere else?
  • Or can its size be reduced to save disk-space?
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.


In Winsxs the 'backup' folder is the largest as can be noticed in the image below.

attachment.php


Again, as can be seen in the image below, in the Winsxs folder, the 'Other' File types takes the bulk of the space. These primarily consist of .imd, .ngr, .csd, .dll, .dll.mui, .exe and such other file types.

attachment.php


In Vista, there isn't a 'dllcache' folder and nor can you find the 'i386' folder, where the system caches (like in XP) all it's source modules. It is this WinSxS folder which stores the shared components of side-by-side applications. These files can be multiple versions of the same assembly or application. Every side-by-side assembly has a unique identity. One of the attributes of the assembly identity is its version. "Side-by-side assemblies are used by the operating system as fundamental units of naming, binding, versioning, deployment, and configuration. The Winsxs folder includes all manifests, optional components and 3rd party Win32 files".

But, why so many subfolders, and why keep so many different versions of the same dll, exe or other files ?

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.
 

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Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Me :P
    CPU
    Core 2 Quad Q6600
    Motherboard
    Abit IN9 32X MAX
    Memory
    8 GB OCZ PC2-6400 nVIDIA SLI-Ready Edition (4X2GB)
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    AMP! GeForce GTX 260² 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 (650MHz/2100MHz
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    Realtek 7.1 CH HD Audio
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    17" Fujitsu siemens TFT + 32" LG HD LCD TV
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    1280x1024 + 1360x768
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    150GB Raptor HDD
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    Thermaltake W0133RB 1200W PSU
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    Antec 900
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    Logitech G15 (full layout)
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ill give em a go :D

hmmm we need a thumbs up in the smilies tab

Edit: OK image files have been moved to vista forums for your viewing pleasure :D
took some getting the 3rd pic back
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Me :P
    CPU
    Core 2 Quad Q6600
    Motherboard
    Abit IN9 32X MAX
    Memory
    8 GB OCZ PC2-6400 nVIDIA SLI-Ready Edition (4X2GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMP! GeForce GTX 260² 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 (650MHz/2100MHz
    Sound Card
    Realtek 7.1 CH HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Fujitsu siemens TFT + 32" LG HD LCD TV
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 + 1360x768
    Hard Drives
    150GB Raptor HDD
    500GB Caviar HDD
    PSU
    Thermaltake W0133RB 1200W PSU
    Case
    Antec 900
    Cooling
    Stock + Antec 900 case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (full layout)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Revolution
They WFM now.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
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    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
Is there or Has there been any usable advise on reducing the size of the WinSxS folder?

My WinSxS folder is just over 6.5gb and growing..
Un-installing programs doesn't help much...

Any answers would be greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

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...

<snip>

Steven
Only if you really want to b0rk your system.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
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...

<snip>

Steven
Only if you really want to b0rk your system.


ok then....:sick:

Now it's just over 9gb size.
And no way of managing the size.
And we wonder why people say vista is bloated.

ps no new software added.
 

My Computer

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

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
Iforgot said:
And we wonder why people say vista is bloated.

With the size and relatively cheap prices of today's HDDs, does it really matter?






Later :shock: Ted
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
    CPU
    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q Pro
    Memory
    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    HP Enhansed Multimedia
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    18.6Mb/s
    Other Info
    My First Build ;)
Iforgot said:
And we wonder why people say vista is bloated.

With the size and relatively cheap prices of today's HDDs, does it really matter?

Later :shock: Ted

Vista is less bloated than OSX :sick:

A 500GB HardDrive is $100 so I dont know why you care about 9gb of space used by WinSxS :sarc:

I try to make my C:/ partition as small as possible.
C:/ is just for operating system and essentials....
No programs load to C:/
Run computer as standard user mode, only admin use is "run as administrator".

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.

Don't know about OSX, but if it's Linux based it should be able to be cut down to only the drivers that are required.

I just want to control/configure my own pc, for the use, I have for it.

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

My Computer

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

Hello again!

Everyone that REALLY tries it has that same reaction!






Later :shock: Ted
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
    CPU
    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q Pro
    Memory
    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    HP Enhansed Multimedia
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    18.6Mb/s
    Other Info
    My First Build ;)
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