Huge windows folder

[hansen_dk]

So I was wondering what all my space on C:\ was being used for, since the drive is starting to be pretty filled. I came across that my Windows folder is over 13GB!!! Stuff on my desktop, documents, and so on is in the C:\Users folder right, so what the hell is taking up all that space in the windows directory?? Had this been in 2000/XP I would have been pretty confident what I could delete to save some space, but I dont know that much about Vista.. I'm running Vista Ultimate if that makes any difference.. Any help guys?

[Grake]

That's just Vista.

Minimum Requirements:

# 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

# 1 GB of system memory

# 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space

# Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:

* WDDM Driver

* 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)

* Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware

* 32 bits per pixel

[PC_LOAD_LETTER]

my C:\Windows 9.49 GB (10,196,250,070 bytes)

Vista Business

to get a visual breakdown of disk usage use:

http://windirstat.info/

you might find something in there that doesn't belong in there

[suryad]

My XP 64 bit on the other hand is a paltry 2.4 gb hehehehe

[PC_LOAD_LETTER]

my XP 32 is 4.71 GB (5,062,624,566 bytes) but theres prolly a lot of junk in there

[hansen_dk]

my C:\Windows 9.49 GB (10,196,250,070 bytes)

Vista Business

to get a visual breakdown of disk usage use:

http://windirstat.info/

you might find something in there that doesn't belong in there

Using this I found that my WinSxS folder takes up as much as 6gb or 43% of my Windows folder.. I searched a little for some information about this and what I found out is that this is a folder used to store .dll files and so on to avoid important .dll files overwrite.. But ****, 6 GB? On my PC this had not been a problem, but on my notebook I have limited amount of space

I hope some expert on this folder will show his voice because if it keeps growing as it has been until now, I will have to reinstall at some point, and I would HATE reinstallaing for a lame reason like this, because the system runs smooth, when there is enough space

[cluberti]

But ****, 6 GB? On my PC this had not been a problem, but on my notebook I have limited amount of space

Welcome to the new DLL hell - now there's a way to avoid the old replacement of DLLs causing it, but the WinSXS folder grows tremendously. And deleting it is frought with danger - I've got a 20GB SXS folder, so 6GB to me would be wonderful .

[PC_LOAD_LETTER]

I couldnt find anything about cleaning out the winsxs folder but i did find this:

http://aspoc.net/archives/2007/12/05/how-t...ctory-in-vista/

hopefully somebody write a util that can determine what stuf can be deleted from there safely (would love to see that added in CCleaner)

[suryad]

I couldnt find anything about cleaning out the winsxs folder but i did find this:

http://aspoc.net/archives/2007/12/05/how-t...ctory-in-vista/

hopefully somebody write a util that can determine what stuf can be deleted from there safely (would love to see that added in CCleaner)

Great find but in essence I still dont get what that article did. It basically allowed you to move the SX whatever directory? How is moving a directory helping?

Edited January 27, 2008 by suryad

[cluberti]

The problem with WinSXS in it's current form is that you don't have any way to determine what to clean out/remove/delete/whatever and what to leave, as app uninstalls RARELY remove their SXS data. I've used vLite to remove the non-English stuff, and I've deleted some things without issue (like .exe files) - yet. I think what I'm going to do is reinstall with SP1 when it hits the web, and start paying attention to EVERY install, including windows updates, what files/folders get put there by which application and update. Then, I'll know what I need and what I don't (at least I'll know better - whether or not I can do anything about it is still anyone's guess).