When you buy a new computer, one of the more exciting features should be the huge amount of storage space. Sometimes it makes you wonder if you will be able to utilize the entire 500 GB of storage. After a while, you notice that the storage has inexplicably shrunk. It might be due to the Windows updating itself.
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The updates are installed in a folder called WinSxS, which will gradually eat a large amount of space. This raises the question as to when and how you can clean up the WinSxS folder to save some space. Let us try to find the answer.
WinSxS Folder and Functions
There is a reason the WinSxS folder is located in the system partition because it is a system folder in Windows. WinSxS stands for Windows Side by Side. The purpose and function of the folder are the same as the title. The different versions of files are stored together, side by side.
Managing the WinSxS Folder
If the user wants to clean up the WinSxS folder, there are several options available. You will not be needing any third-party programs at all. Furthermore, it is suggested that unneeded program versions should not be deleted until the system has been running in a stable condition for a long time.
How To Cleanup WinSxS Folder?
To clean the WinSxS folder, you can use Disk Cleanup. Moreover, you can also use this utility to clean up other folders as well. You can simply launch it from the Start menu and then select the drives and folders you wish to clean. The system will show you the amount of space you can free by cleaning up. Once you have selected the folders, click OK for confirmation and the cleanup process will run automatically.
Another way of cleaning the WinSxS folder is using the dism.exe command-line tool. However, for it to work, you will have to log-in as an administrator. Simply execute the Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup command to analyze storage space used by the WinSxS folder. In addition to that, the command output provides useful and important information regarding the last cleanup and how much space is being utilized by the components. Additionally, you can use compression to reduce the size of the WinSxS folder as well.
Why Can’t We Simply Delete WinSxS?
The WinSxS folder is used by Windows to store important system information. If you were to delete the folder, some programs will not be able to run properly. By default, Windows is always installed on the first partition of the hard drive under your use. These partitions are termed volumes or disk drives. Together, they come to form a storage device. The first partition of a hard drive is called Drive C that contains all the relevant files pertaining to programs and Windows itself, including the WinSxS folder. You cannot simply move them to another location either as the operating system will no longer be able to find files required to run programs. That is why, it is recommended that a sufficient amount of disk space is provided to system partitions so that you do not have to clean them every now and then.