Windows uses a system folder called WinSxS to store files. Clean it out and save a huge amount of disk space. With Windows 7 and above you can use the built-in Disk Cleanup tool to delete. Want to reduce Winsxs folder size - posted in Windows 7: Hello bleeps! I have had my windows 7 64-bit installation for a while now, and I have a problem, that is the winsxs folder is taking up. How to address disk space issues that are caused by a large Windows component store (WinSxS) directory Content provided by Microsoft Applies to: Windows Vista Enterprise Windows 7 Enterprise Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 More.
Active2 years, 6 months ago
I got a new laptop and did the Windows transfer process to move the old laptop files to the new one. It seems along the way it also transferred a bunch of files in the winsxs folder.
I know this because the new laptop is an Intel Core i7 processor and a bunch of folders with names like 'amd64_microsoft-windows' exist in that folder from 2009.
I just did the Windows cleanup process and rebooted, but these folders remain. Can I manually delete them or how can I get rid of them if the manual deletion is not an option?
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jamidajamida
2 Answers
Install the following update:
Run Disk Cleanup and now you can uninstall updates (Windows Update Cleanup) which are replaced by newer security updates and are no longer needed. This can save several GB of space.
Peter Mortensen8,5831616 gold badges6262 silver badges8585 bronze badges
magicandre1981Windows 7 Delete Winsxs Files Windows 7
magicandre198184.5k2121 gold badges134134 silver badges210210 bronze badges
You can't get rid of them at all. Many programs are using older versions of the Visual C++ Runtime (and other libraries, of course), for example. That's what this folder is for. It's perfectly normal for it to be many gigabytes in size.
Be aware though that the folder consists of many hard links, so not all programs are able to correctly calculate its size.
Windows 7 Delete Winsxs Files Windows 7
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