Vista Ultimate:

Just wondering. Something new to Vista. C:\Windows\Winsxs uses more
space than \system32 (which is a lot). What is this folder for?

"JP" <jp********.com> wrote in message
news:O6VbxFsdHHA.5080@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Vista Ultimate:
>
> Just wondering. Something new to Vista. C:\Windows\Winsxs uses more
> space than \system32 (which is a lot). What is this folder for?[/color]

The Winsxs folder includes all manifests, optional components and 3rd party
Win32 files.

The files in %windir%\system32 are hard links to the winsxs directory.

Have you installed a lot of software?

No. Just office 2007 and 3 or 4 small apps.

I did though, come across a Vista article on TechNet:

"Finally (though this doesn't relate to image size), take note that there is no longer
an I386 directory. Instead, all components, whether installed or not, reside in the Windows
directory (although not in the standard SYSTEM32 directory). When installing a new component,
the necessary files will be pulled from this location."

I am guesing maybe \windows\winsxs is where these files reside? That would explain the size
of the directory.



"Justin" <None@None.com> wrote in message news:%23ogU2PtdHHA.4188@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> "JP" <jp********.com> wrote in message news:O6VbxFsdHHA.5080@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...[color=green]
>> Vista Ultimate:
>>
>> Just wondering. Something new to Vista. C:\Windows\Winsxs uses more
>> space than \system32 (which is a lot). What is this folder for?[/color]
>
> The Winsxs folder includes all manifests, optional components and 3rd party Win32 files.
>
> The files in %windir%\system32 are hard links to the winsxs directory.
>
> Have you installed a lot of software?[/color]

Interesting - I hadn't noticed that before. I see on my dual boot system
that the Winsxs folder on XP is 20MB and on Vista is3.5GB. After studying
the Vista files a bit, here's how it looks to me. First a little
background -

Sxs stands for side by side versioning. This was an feature first
introduced, oddly enough, in Windows ME and of course improved in XP. It
was Microsoft's solution to the "DLL Hell" issue that plagued Win 9x and
provided a way to support multiple versions of same named DLLs. Windows
would recognize a potential conflict and place an incoming DLL in the Winsxs
tree rather than overwriting it elsewhere, would store applicable registry
data, etc.

In Vista the use of Winsxs seems to have changed and been greatly expanded.
Vista includes the Net Framework as a core technology (i.e. and not as an
add in). Many of the files under Winsxs are related to the use of managed
code -headers, manifests, etc. Also, I concur with your thought that this
replaces the I386 folder. It seems to be a repository for installation
files as well as Dlls etc.

"JP" <jp********.com> wrote in message
news:O6VbxFsdHHA.5080@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Vista Ultimate:
>
> Just wondering. Something new to Vista. C:\Windows\Winsxs uses more
> space than \system32 (which is a lot). What is this folder for?
>
>[/color]

Thanks for the info ! I didn't realize Winsxs was in previous versions of Windows.
I never noticed it... I did check a WinXP Pro PC and the Windows\Winsxs folder was only about 30MB.
(Maybe that's why I never noticed it.)



"GTS" <x@y.net> wrote in message news:uFdK6C5dHHA.984@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Interesting - I hadn't noticed that before. I see on my dual boot system that the Winsxs folder
> on XP is 20MB and on Vista is3.5GB. After studying the Vista files a bit, here's how it looks to
> me. First a little background -
>
> Sxs stands for side by side versioning. This was an feature first introduced, oddly enough, in
> Windows ME and of course improved in XP. It was Microsoft's solution to the "DLL Hell" issue that
> plagued Win 9x and provided a way to support multiple versions of same named DLLs. Windows would
> recognize a potential conflict and place an incoming DLL in the Winsxs tree rather than
> overwriting it elsewhere, would store applicable registry data, etc.
>
> In Vista the use of Winsxs seems to have changed and been greatly expanded. Vista includes the Net
> Framework as a core technology (i.e. and not as an add in). Many of the files under Winsxs are
> related to the use of managed code -headers, manifests, etc. Also, I concur with your thought
> that this replaces the I386 folder. It seems to be a repository for installation files as well as
> Dlls etc.
>
> "JP" <jp********.com> wrote in message news:O6VbxFsdHHA.5080@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...[color=green]
>> Vista Ultimate:
>>
>> Just wondering. Something new to Vista. C:\Windows\Winsxs uses more
>> space than \system32 (which is a lot). What is this folder for?
>>
>>[/color]
>[/color]

If the folder swells to too large a size, you might want to try this:

http://windowsfixup.com/2009/05/winsxs-folder-taking-up-too-much-disk-space-fix/

This looks extremely dangerous and I recommend not to try it. The program
is a batch file that could trash the system if interrupted. It doesn't
include an instruction file (as claimed on the linked page) and it's logic
is highly questionable.
--

"dudleydip" <benjiw******.com> wrote in message
news:976d68ee8fa38873bf7f617a9c30f268@nntp-gateway.com...[color=blue]
>
> If the folder swells to too large a size, you might want to try this:
>
> [url]http://windowsfixup.com/2009/05/winsxs-folder-taking-up-too-much-disk-space-fix/[/url]
>
>
> --
> dudleydip[/color]

"dudleydip" <benjiw******.com> wrote in message
news:976d68ee8fa38873bf7f617a9c30f268@nntp-gateway.com...[color=blue]
>
> If the folder swells to too large a size, you might want to try this:
>
> [url]http://windowsfixup.com/2009/05/winsxs-folder-taking-up-too-much-disk-space-fix/[/url][/color]

Check this out:
[url]http://www.google.com/search?q=winsxs&hl=en&sourceid=gd&rls=DLUS,DLUS:2008-49,DLUS:en&aq=t[/url]

<H>.
[color=blue]
>
>
> --
> dudleydip[/color]

I know this is a little off track, but what you (I think) were asking is, 'what' can you clear out of your machine without harming the functionality. Like what everyone here has been saying and what I have found for my own edification is that - leave the winsxs directory alone. What you can do is use the 'More' option on disk cleanup wizard. Select to clean up your VERY heavy restore points (leaving the most resent). This has provided up to 10gigs of freed space.

Winsxs sounds sexy

Winsxs is a folder used to store files (DLL or can be other) that are "not" windows certified.

For example, when a program tries to install DLL files, Windows stores them in that folder and so when the program need the DLL, it can access its own file.

Ok I know that I simplify the trick a bit but it's te idea.

The problem is that a mutch program you get as mutch the WINSXS folder will grow.

My experience is with a WINSXS folder that grow up to 14.5 G. But the SP2 seem to fixe the issue. You need to have 5G free space on you HD to be able to launch the installation wizard but at the end the folder have been tashed and I recover the 14.5 G.

Your explanation of the WINSXS folder is fairly accurate for XP. In Vista
the folder is used for much more - it stores key Windows components. It's
not unusual for it to be that large, and it should be left alone. See
[url]http://blogs.technet.com/askcore/archive/2008/09/17/what-is-the-winsxs-directory-in-windows-2008-and-windows-vista-and-why-is-it-so-large.aspx[/url]
for details if interested.
--

"DrMiyu" <DrMiyu********.com> wrote in message
news:570aad91838c10c236ccf753ac8c14b8@nntp-gateway.com...[color=blue]
>
> Winsxs is a folder used to store files (DLL or can be other) that are
> "not" windows certified.
>
> For example, when a program tries to install DLL files, Windows stores
> them in that folder and so when the program need the DLL, it can access
> its own file.
>
> Ok I know that I simplify the trick a bit but it's te idea.
>
> The problem is that a mutch program you get as mutch the WINSXS folder
> will grow.
>
> My experience is with a WINSXS folder that grow up to 14.5 G. But the
> SP2 seem to fixe the issue. You need to have 5G free space on you HD to
> be able to launch the installation wizard but at the end the folder have
> been tashed and I recover the 14.5 G.
>
>
> --
> DrMiyu[/color]