Microsoft Weekly

How big is the Windows SxS folder, really?

By Ed Bott

One of the more esoteric features in Windows is the Component Store, a special folder that's used to keep track of the many packages used to install and update Windows. The Component Store is what makes it possible to install and, if necessary, uninstall packages from Windows Update; to enable and disable Windows features; and to move from one Windows edition to another.

You can find the Component Store in the WinSxS folder, which is located in C:Windows (the name refers to its original function, running programs using side-by-side assemblies). If you inspect the properties of that folder, you might be alarmed to find that it apparently contains many gigabytes of files.

Fortunately, that value is misleading. Most of the items in the WinSxS folder are hard links to files that are in use and are stored elsewhere; your system is really using only a fraction of the space shown. To see the real picture, open a Command Prompt or PowerShell window as an Administrator and then type this command: Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore.

That command displays both the reported size and the actual size, but the real story is in the three detail lines below. Most of the Component Store is shared with Windows, not wasted; look at the values for Backups And Disabled Features and Cache And Temporary Data to see how much space is really being set aside "just in case."

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