WinSxS - what is this folder? How to reduce WinSxS? Can I delete the WinSxS folder?

Operating systems of the Windows family by many users are perceived almost as a standard of "caducity" and a tendency to gradually litter excess files. Unfortunately, there is some truth in such beliefs.

That is why the popularity of various kinds of optimizer programs does not diminish, which makes it possible to keep the livestock of this garbage under relative control. That's only some users are few of their functionality, but because they decide to take everything in their hands. The results are simply catastrophic.

For example, they often delete the WinSxS directory. What kind of folder is this, why can its removal affect the performance of your system is not the best way? Let's find the answer to this question in our article.

What it is?

To understand why this folder is so important, at first it would be nice to find out its purpose. First you need to go a little to the past, talking about the history of the OS "Winds". The fact is that the release of the well-known Windows XP was truly a significant event: the 9x-system line was completely closed, after which the main NT steel was the variety.

But the problem is that many functions that were in demand in older versions, for one reason or another are needed in new systems. Typically, this is due to compatibility issues, for which the same Internet Explorer has been carefully transferred old bugs from older versions.

So, the repository of similar ancient elements became the WinSxS catalog. What is this folder? Is it just a system dump? No, it's not so simple.

Edit description files

When the Windows Vista OS came out, there were profound changes in the core of the system that did not seem to be apparent at all. So, earlier all components were described by INF-files, whereas in "Vista" for the first time the practice of "binary + XML" was introduced. This bundle contains almost all information about the system: from registry keys and ending with system settings.

All these links are stored in WinSxS. What kind of folder is this, if you speak in a simpler language? It can be called an important system repository, which contains all the information about the system. In fact, this directory is OS in miniature. Now it is clear, what consequences will cause its removal?

Most often, after such a barbaric step, the system will not work at all. And if by some miracle some part of its functions is preserved, then it will still be impossible to fully work on it.

Can I clean it?

Strangely enough, but such an operation is entirely permissible. Over time, the size of this folder begins to grow rapidly. This is due to the fact that new components are emerging between the system components, and some of them are already obsolete.

Do not forget also that the system is constantly changing and improving: for example, when you install updates, not only new, but old versions of system files appear in the folder. This is done to rollback the old form of the system.

Simply put, as a result of maintenance and configuration, the volume of this directory will constantly increase until one day it exceeds all reasonable limits. But before you clear WinSxS, you should remember a few simple rules.

First, for its "sanation" should be used only system utilities from the company Microsoft. Secondly, manual modification of its components is unacceptable, since the consequences of such "creativity" will be unpredictable. Thirdly, if you do not understand the meaning of this cleaning, and the size of the system disk allows, it is better to abandon this idea altogether. Speed you do not exactly increase, but you can earn problems with excess.

How is the cleaning done?

We already said that before you clean WinSxS, you need to use the services of a special utility. It is hidden in the depths of the system, and therefore ordinary users do not even suspect about its existence. It is called DISM, at the present time Windows already includes its eighth version.

In order for the utility to start, you need a command line with administrator rights. To run it in this mode, perform the following operations: click on the "Start" button, and in the opened menu, find the search string. Enter the word "CMD" in it, press the "Enter" button.

In the right part of the window, a list of found items appears, among which will be the file with the same name. Click on it with the right mouse button, and in the drop-down context menu select the item "Run as Administrator".

First, we will find out whether a cleaning operation is necessary at a specific moment. To do this, you need to use this command: "Dism.exe / Online / Cleanup-Image / AnalyzeComponentStore".

After that, several incomprehensible lines appear, the meaning of which we will now explain. So, after the line "Component Store information", you should be interested in the very first value. At the end there is some value in Gb. This is the size of the WinSxS directory. What is this folder - we already told, and the decision about its cleaning should be taken by you just after acquaintance with its sizes.

The second line shows the actual size of all components, which should be oriented. Finally, the most recent value is the number of system files that have been replaced with new ones, so they can be painlessly deleted.

The first way

It is the simplest and most effective. So, to make the WinSxS folder of Windows 7 smaller, run the command line in the administrative mode. In it, enter the following command: "Dism.exe / Online / Cleanup-Image / StartComponentCleanup". After a while, the system will report the operation.

Attention! If you performed the operation using the first method, then all other actions can be avoided, since there will be no meaning in them.

The second way

Run the command line emulator again in Administrator mode. In it enter the command "cleanmgr", then press the "Enter" key. The Disk Cleanup utility starts. In the latest versions of Windows, it can even determine the amount of old system update files that can be painlessly removed from the operating system.

The third way

This method is designed to remove all older versions of components that are no longer needed. It is extremely useful for computer owners, who have been running the same version of Windows for several years already.

Important! If you use our advice, you will not be able to roll back the update. The warning is all the more important, since more recently Windows 7 users suffered a series of system failures related to the unsuccessful patch KB2859537. However, if everything is normal with your OS, then the WinSxS folder (how to reduce it, we tell) can be subjected to revision.

This operation is performed using the command "Dism.exe / Online / Cleanup-Image / StartComponentCleanup / ResetBase". The gain in the amount of freed disk space will directly depend on the total number of updates that you have installed since the installation of the system itself. It happens that the size of the liberated space is measured by gigabytes.

Is it worth it to clean

So, after all the above, you may well be in some difficulty. And this is understandable: on the one hand, the gain in the amount of space released attracts, but on the other ... What will you do if some update file turns out to be problematic?

If there is a corresponding WinSxS file, then there is nothing to worry about. But when it is not, in some cases it can only be re-installed. So, before this operation, we strongly advise you to decide whether you need this share of free space. Moreover, as is well known, in Windows 8 WinSxS is partially optimized by system tools, so it's not worth worrying about.