What the heck is this folder

[techtype]

I ran across this folder while looking for things to delete: C:\Windows\winsxs\temp

It has 160 Megabytes in it under two subdirectories: PendingDeletes and PendingRenames

Under PendingDeletes the files have names like this: $$DeleteMe.activeds.dll.01c869f7276954a3.0053

Sure looks like it can be deleted, but only answer this post if you have definite knowledge of what this stuff is.

[cluberti]

The WinSxS folder is the side-by-side .dll cache for applications requiring access to .dll files other than what is currently on the system. The TEMP folder inside contains all of the pending operations, to be done on a reboot, like renaming, deleting, or copying in .dll files. I would suggest strongly not touching this folder - if a reboot doesn't delete the contents, you can fairly safely wipe out the pendingdeletes folder, but the pendingrenames folder hanging around is a bad thing indeed.

[techtype]

The WinSxS folder is the side-by-side .dll cache for applications requiring access to .dll files other than what is currently on the system. The TEMP folder inside contains all of the pending operations, to be done on a reboot, like renaming, deleting, or copying in .dll files. I would suggest strongly not touching this folder - if a reboot doesn't delete the contents, you can fairly safely wipe out the pendingdeletes folder, but the pendingrenames folder hanging around is a bad thing indeed.

Thanks for your reply. I image my computer every day, so I was able to trace back the pending deletes to the installation of SP1 (I have the real thing since they released it to beta testers). So I nuked them. I also was able to trace the pending renames to the January Patch Tuesday, so I nuked them also. Event Viewer shows no problems afterward and so I'll hope for the best.