Većina vas je možda primijetila mapu WinSxS^{(WinSxS folder)} u Windows 11/10/8/7 i iznenadila se njenom veličinom. Za one koji nisu, mapa se nalazi na C:\Windows\Winsxs i ima nevjerojatnu veličinu! Moj je skoro 5 GB i ima oko 6000 mapa i 25000 datoteka i zauzima gotovo 40% Windows mape! Dok je veličina ove Winsxs mape, u XP-u, oko 25-50 MB; njegova velika veličina u sustavu Windows 11^{(Windows 11)} . Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 i Windows Vista mnogima je intrigantan! Provjerite sliku ispod.

So what is the mystery of this Winsxs folder in Windows 11/10? Let us find so, in this post.

 

Što je mapa WinSxS u Windows 11/10

Mapa WinSxS^{(WinSxS folder)} pohranjuje više kopija dll, exe i drugih sistemskih datoteka kako bi se omogućilo pokretanje više aplikacija u sustavu Windows^(Windows) bez ikakvih problema s kompatibilnošću. Ako pregledavate unutra, vidjet ćete ono što izgleda kao puno dupliciranih datoteka, od kojih svaka ima isto ime. To su zapravo različite verzije istih datoteka koje se pohranjuju; budući da različiti programi mogu zahtijevati različite verzije.

Winsxs, što je skraćenica od 'Windows Side By Side' , je izvorna predmemorija sklopa sustava Windows . ^(Windows)Tamo se pohranjuju knjižnice koje koriste više aplikacija. Ova je značajka prvi put predstavljena u sustavu Windows ME^{(Windows ME)} i smatrana je Microsoftovim rješenjem za takozvane probleme 'dll pakla' koji su mučili Windows 9x .

U Winsxsu^(Winsxs) 'backup' mapa je najveća, kao što se može primijetiti na donjoj slici.

Opet, kao što se može vidjeti na donjoj slici, u mapi Winsxs , vrste ^(Winsxs)datoteka^{(’ File)}  'Ostale ' zauzimaju najveći dio prostora. One se prvenstveno sastoje od .imd , .ngr , .csd , .dll , .dll.mui , .exe i sličnih drugih vrsta datoteka.

U sustavu Windows 7^{(Windows 7)} i novijim ne postoji mapa 'dllcache' niti možete pronaći mapu 'i386' u kojoj sustav sprema (kao u XP-u) sve svoje izvorne module. Upravo ova WinSxS mapa pohranjuje dijeljene komponente paralelnih aplikacija. Te datoteke mogu biti više verzija istog sklopa ili aplikacije. Svaki paralelni sklop ima jedinstveni identitet. Jedan od atributa identiteta sklopa je njegova verzija.

“Side-by-side assemblies are used by the operating system as fundamental units of naming, binding, versioning, deployment, and configuration. The Winsxs folder includes all manifests, optional components, and 3rd party Win32 files”, says Microsoft.

Ali zašto toliko podmapa i zašto čuvati toliko^{(so many)}  različitih verzija istih dll, exe ili drugih datoteka?

Kao što je spomenuto, Windows pohranjuje stare dll-ove i komponente biblioteke u  mapu WinSxS . Sada ako je novija verzija ove datoteke dio OS-a, ali određena aplikacija zahtijeva određenu stariju verziju za pokretanje, tada će se koristiti starija verzija iz  mape WinSxS , ostavljajući noviju verziju na njenom sadašnjem mjestu, za druge aplikacije koje bi to mogle zahtijevati.

Je li sigurno izbrisati WinSxS mapu?

Očito, ne možete izbrisati ovaj direktorij ili ga premjestiti negdje drugdje. Također nije preporučljivo brisati bilo što ovdje, jer bi takav korak vjerojatno mogao učiniti vaše aplikacije nefunkcionalnim ili čak pokvariti vaš sustav! Ako imate instalirano mnogo aplikacija, možete očekivati ​​veliku WinSxS mapu. Ova WinSxs mapa ne može se nalaziti ni na jednom drugom volumenu osim na volumenu sustava. To je zbog NTFS tvrdih veza. Ako pokušate premjestiti mapu, to može dovesti do neispravne instalacije Windows^(Windows) ažuriranja, servisnih paketa, značajki itd.

Ako izbrišete komponente iz mape WinSxS  kao što su manifesti ili sklopovi, itd., mogli biste biti u nevolji. Each system would react differently. What may work for one could break another!Na primjer, ako instalirate program koji zahtijeva taj određeni sklop, koji ste možda izbrisali, tada se taj program jednostavno neće pokrenuti! Sažimanje mape također je ne-ne, jer može uzrokovati probleme tijekom ažuriranja sustava Windows ili tijekom instaliranja hitnog popravka.^{(Compressing the folder is also a no-no, as it could cause problems during WindowsUpdates or while installing a Hotfix.)}

Najsigurniji način da ga očistite je jednostavno deinstaliranje aplikacija koje vam nisu potrebne. Međutim, ni to nije sigurno, jer mnoge aplikacije i dalje ostavljaju svoje datoteke ovdje, budući da se one mogu dijeliti između drugih aplikacija. Dakle, vjerojatnost da će neiskorišteni dll-ovi ostati iza je prilično visoka.

Ne bismo savjetovali korištenje WinSxS alata za čišćenje kao što je WinsxsLite jer biste mogli pokvariti svoj Windows.^{(We would not advise the use of WinSxS cleanup tools like WinsxsLite as you could end up breaking your Windows.)}

A ako isprobavate novi softver ili često instalirate i deinstalirate, možda ćete primijetiti da je vaša Winsxs  veličina doista velika, jer će Windows pohraniti više kopija ovih dll datoteka, kako bi omogućio više aplikacija bez problema s kompatibilnošću.

Čišćenje mape WinSxS^{(WinSxS Folder Cleanup)} u Windows 11/10

Windows 8.1 uveo je novu opciju naredbenog retka za DISM.exe , /AnalyzeComponentStore . Izvođenje ove naredbe analizirat će mapu WinSxS i reći vam je li preporučljivo čišćenje skladišta komponenti^{(Component Store Cleanup)} ili ne. Prisutan je i u Windows 11/10 .

• U Windows 11/10/8.1/8 otvorite Alat za čišćenje diska^{(Disk Cleanup Tool)} i upotrijebite opciju Čišćenje Windows Update za čišćenje ^{(Windows Update Cleanup)}WinSxS .
• Za Windows 7 , Microsoft je objavio ažuriranje koje je dodalo opciju Windows Update Cleanup alatu za čišćenje diska .
• Korisnici Windows Servera^{(Windows Server)} sada također mogu očistiti WinSxS u Windows Serveru s novim novim ažuriranjem.

Evo nekoliko drugih opcija koje biste mogli razmotriti kako biste oslobodili prostor na disku^{(free up disk space)} – neke rutinske, a neke ekstremne:

1. Pokrenite alat za čišćenje diska^{(Disk Cleanup tool)}
2. Deinstalirajte nekorištene aplikacije
3. Premjestite datoteku stranice na drugi pogon
4. Onemogućite hibernaciju
5. Upotrijebite namjensku opciju dump datoteke za snimanje datoteka ispisa memorije na drugom volumenu na sustavu.
6. Onemogućite točke vraćanja sustava
7. Prebacite^(Offload) korisnički profil i direktorije programskih datoteka na drugi volumen na sustavu.

Ažuriranje 1 s TechNet blogova:^{(Update 1 From TechNet Blogs:)} Jedna od najvećih promjena između prethodnih verzija sustava Windows bio je prelazak s INF opisanog OS-a na komponentizaciju. Sve komponente u operacijskom sustavu nalaze se u mapi WinSxS – zapravo, ovu lokaciju nazivamo pohranom komponenti. Svaka komponenta ima jedinstveno ime koje uključuje verziju, jezik i arhitekturu procesora za koju je napravljena. Mapa WinSxS^(WinSxS) jedina je lokacija na kojoj se komponenta nalazi u sustavu, sve ostale instance datoteka koje vidite na sustavu se "projiciraju" tvrdim povezivanjem iz skladišta komponenti.

Sada kada znate zašto trgovina može narasti do tako velike, vaše je sljedeće pitanje vjerojatno zašto ne uklanjamo starije verzije komponenti. Kratak odgovor na to je pouzdanost. Pohrana komponenti, zajedno s ostalim informacijama o sustavu, omogućuje nam da u bilo kojem trenutku odredimo koja je najbolja verzija komponente za projekt. To znači da ako deinstalirate sigurnosno ažuriranje, možemo instalirati sljedeću najvišu verziju na sustav - više nemamo problem "deinstaliranja izvan reda". To također znači da ako odlučite instalirati izbornu značajku, mi ne biramo samo RTM verziju komponente, već ćemo pogledati koja je najviša dostupna verzija na sustavu.

Jedini način za sigurno smanjenje veličine WinSxS mape je smanjenje skupa mogućih radnji koje sustav može poduzeti – najlakši način za to je uklanjanje paketa koji su instalirali komponente. To se može učiniti deinstaliranjem zamijenjenih verzija paketa koji se nalaze na vašem sustavu. Servisni paket 1^{(Service Pack 1)} sadrži binarni program pod nazivom VSP1CLN.EXE , alat koji će paket servisnog^{(Service Pack)} paketa učiniti trajnim (ne može se ukloniti) na vašem sustavu i ukloniti RTM verzije svih zamijenjenih komponenti. To se može učiniti samo zato što se servisni paket^{(Service Pack)} učini trajnim; možemo jamčiti da nam RTM verzije nikada neće trebati.

Ažuriranje 2 s blogova E7^{(From E7 Blogs)} : “ Modularizacija^{(Modularizing)} ” operativnog sustava bio je inženjerski cilj u sustavu Windows Vista^{(Windows Vista)} . To je trebalo riješiti niz problema u naslijeđenim Windowsima^(Windows) koji se odnose na instalaciju, servisiranje i pouzdanost. Direktorij Windows SxS  predstavlja “stanje instalacije i servisiranja” svih komponenti sustava. Ali u stvarnosti, zapravo ne troši toliko prostora na disku kao što se čini kada koristite ugrađene alate ( DIR i Explorer ) za mjerenje iskorištenog prostora na disku. Činjenica da vam otežavamo znati koliko prostora zauzima imenik je poštena stvar! WinSxS imenik^(WinSxS) također omogućuje izvanmrežno servisiranje i činiWindows Vista i noviji "sigurni za obradu slika".

Bilo je nekoliko blogova, pa čak i nekih “podzemnih” alata koji vam govore da je u redu obrisati WinSxS  direktorij, a svakako je istina da ga nakon instalacije možete ukloniti iz sustava i činit će se da se sustav pokreće i radi dobro . No, kao što je gore opisano, ovo je vrlo loša praksa, jer uklanjate mogućnost pouzdanog servisiranja, svih komponenti operativnog sustava i mogućnost ažuriranja ili konfiguriranja izbornih komponenti na vašem sustavu. Windows podržava samo WinSxS direktorij na fizičkom pogonu na njegovom izvorno instaliranom mjestu.

Zaključak^(Conclusion)

Neka WinSxS mapa bude takva kakva jest!

Saznajte više o mapi Sysnative, mapi Panther^{(Panther folder)} i mapama Catroot & Catroot2^{(Catroot & Catroot2 folders)} ovdje.^{(Learn about the Sysnative folder, Panther folder and Catroot & Catroot2 folders here.)}

Dodatno čitanje:^{(Additional reads:)}

Analyze Windows Component Store or WinSxS in Windows WinSxS folder cleanup in Windows Add Windows Update Cleanup option to Disk Cleanup tool in Windows Clean up WinSxS Directory on Windows Server

WinSxS Folder in Windows 11/10 explained

Most of you may have noticed the WinSxS folder in Windows 11/10/8/7 and been surprised at its size. For those who have not, the folder is situated at C:\Windows\Winsxs and has a whopping size! Mine is almost 5 GB and has around 6000 folders & 25000 files and occupies almost 40% of the Windows folder! While the size of this Winsxs folder, in XP, is around 25-50 MB; its large size in Windows 11. Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista, is intriguing to many! Check the image below.

So what is the mystery of this Winsxs folder in Windows 11/10? Let us find so, in this post.

 

What is WinSxS folder in Windows 11/10

The WinSxS folder, stores multiple copies of dll, exe, and other system files to let multiple applications run in Windows without any compatibility problem. If you browse inside, you will see what looks like a lot of duplicate files, each having the same name. These are actually, different versions of the same files which are being stored; as different programs may require different versions.

Winsxs, which stands for ‘Windows Side By Side’, is Windows native assembly cache. Libraries that are being by multiple applications are stored there. This feature was first introduced, in Windows ME and was considered as Microsoft’s solution to the so-called ‘dll hell’ issues that plagued Windows 9x.

In Winsxs, the ‘backup’ folder is the largest, as can be noticed in the image below.

Again, as can be seen in the image below, in the Winsxs folder, the ‘Other’ File types take the bulk of the space. These primarily consist of .imd, .ngr, .csd, .dll, .dll.mui, .exe and such other file types.

In Windows 7 and later, there isn’t a ‘dllcache’ folder and nor can you find the ‘i386’ folder, where the system caches (like in XP) all it’s source modules. It is this WinSxS folder that stores the shared components of side-by-side applications. These files can be multiple versions of the same assembly or application. Every side-by-side assembly has a unique identity. One of the attributes of the assembly identity is its version.

“Side-by-side assemblies are used by the operating system as fundamental units of naming, binding, versioning, deployment, and configuration. The Winsxs folder includes all manifests, optional components, and 3rd party Win32 files”, says Microsoft.

But, why so many subfolders and why keep so many different versions of the same dll, exe, or other files?

As mentioned, Windows stores the old dlls and library components in the WinSxS folder. Now if a newer version of this file is a part of the OS, but a particular application requires a particular older version for running, then the older version from the WinSxS folder will be used, leaving the newer version in its present place, for other applications which may require it.

Is it safe to delete WinSxS folder?

Obviously, you cannot delete this directory or move it elsewhere. Nor is it advisable to delete anything here, as such a step could probably make your applications un-workable or even break your system! If you have many applications installed, you can expect to have a jumbo-sized WinSxS folder. This WinSxs folder cannot reside on any other volume than the system volume. This is because of the NTFS hard links. If you try to move the folder, it may result in Windows updates, service packs, features, etc., not installing correctly.

If you delete components from the WinSxS folder like the manifests or the assemblies, etc., you could be in trouble. Each system would react differently. What may work for one could break another! For instance, if you install a program that requires that particular assembly, which you may have deleted, then that program will just not run! Compressing the folder is also a no-no, as it could cause problems during WindowsUpdates or while installing a Hotfix.

The safest way to clean it is by simply uninstalling applications that you don’t require. However, this, too, is not fool-proof, as many applications still leave behind their files here, since they may be shared between other applications. So the probability of dud unused dll‘s being left behind is quite high.

We would not advise the use of WinSxS cleanup tools like WinsxsLite as you could end up breaking your Windows.

And if you are into trying out new software or installing and uninstalling frequently, you may notice that your Winsxs size is indeed large, as Windows will store multiple copies of these dll files, in order to let multiple applications without compatibility problems.

WinSxS Folder Cleanup in Windows 11/10

Windows 8.1 introduced a new command-line option for DISM.exe, /AnalyzeComponentStore. Running this command, will analyze the WinSxS folder and tell you whether a Component Store Cleanup is recommended or not. It is present in Windows 11/10, as well.

• In Windows 11/10/8.1/8, open Disk Cleanup Tool and use the Windows Update Cleanup option to clean the WinSxS.
• For Windows 7, Microsoft released an update that added the Windows Update Cleanup option to the Disk Cleanup tool.
• Windows Server users can now also clean up WinSxS in Windows Server with new the new Update.

Here are some other options you may consider to free up disk space – some routine and some extreme:

1. Run Disk Cleanup tool
2. Uninstall unused applications
3. Move Page file to another drive
4. Disable hibernation
5. Use the dedicated dump file option to capture memory dump files on another volume on the system.
6. Disable system restore points
7. Offload user profile and program file directories to another volume on the system.

Update 1 From TechNet Blogs: One of the largest changes between previous versions of Windows was a move from an INF described OS to componentization. All of the components in the operating system are found in the WinSxS folder – in fact, we call this location the component store. Each component has a unique name that includes the version, language, and processor architecture that it was built for. The WinSxS folder is the only location that the component is found on the system, all other instances of the files that you see on the system are “projected” by hard linking from the component store.

Now that you know why the store can grow to be so large, your next question is probably to ask why we don’t remove the older versions of the components. The short answer to that is reliability. The component store, along with other information on the system, allows us to determine at any given time what the best version of a component to the project is. That means that if you uninstall a security update, we can install the next highest version on the system – we no longer have an “out of order uninstall” problem. It also means that if you decide to install an optional feature, we don’t just choose the RTM version of the component, we’ll look to see what the highest available version on the system is.

The only way to safely reduce the size of the WinSxS folder is to reduce the set of possible actions that the system can take – the easiest way to do that is to remove the packages that installed the components in the first place. This can be done by uninstalling superseded versions of packages that are on your system. Service Pack 1 contains a binary called VSP1CLN.EXE, a tool that will make the Service Pack package permanent (not removable) on your system, and remove the RTM versions of all superseded components. This can only be done because by making the Service Pack permanent; we can guarantee that we won’t ever need the RTM versions.

Update 2 From E7 Blogs: “Modularizing” the operating system was an engineering goal in Windows Vista. This was to solve a number of issues in legacy Windows related to installation, servicing, and reliability. The Windows SxS directory represents the “installation and servicing state” of all system components. But in reality, it doesn’t actually consume as much disk space as it appears when using the built-in tools (DIR and Explorer) to measure disk space used. The fact that we make it tricky for you to know how much space is consumed in a directory is a fair point! The WinSxS directory also enables offline servicing, and makes Windows Vista and later “safe for imaging”.

There have been several blogs and even some “underground” tools that tell you it’s ok to delete the WinSxS directory, and it’s certainly true that after installation, you can remove it from the system, and it will appear that the system boots and runs fine. But as described above, this is a very bad practice, as you’re removing the ability to reliably service, all operating system components and the ability to update or configure optional components on your system. Windows only supports the WinSxS directory on the physical drive in its originally installed location.

Conclusion

Let the WinSxS folder be as it is!

Learn about the Sysnative folder, Panther folder and Catroot & Catroot2 folders here.

Additional reads:

Analyze Windows Component Store or WinSxS in Windows WinSxS folder cleanup in Windows Add Windows Update Cleanup option to Disk Cleanup tool in Windows Clean up WinSxS Directory on Windows Server

Related posts

• Kako koristiti alate ugrađene u Charmap i Eudcedit u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Kako omogućiti ili onemogućiti značajku arhiviranja aplikacija u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Kako mapirati mrežni pogon ili dodati FTP pogon u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Kako promijeniti jezik feeda vijesti i interesa u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Što je brzo pokretanje i kako ga omogućiti ili onemogućiti u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Kako dodati ili ukloniti teme na Vijesti i interesi u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Lokalne, LocalLow, Roaming mape u AppData na Windows 11/10

• Kako sakriti ili onemogućiti administrativne alate u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Kako otvoriti Upravljanje diskom u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Objašnjeno rezervirana pohrana u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Kako pokrenuti DISM u sustavu Windows 11/10 za popravak slike sustava Windows

• Kako stvoriti pogon za oporavak sustava u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Što je značajka zaštite od neovlaštenog pristupa u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Kako upravljati pouzdanim korijenskim certifikatima u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Kako prikazati proširenja datoteka u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Microsoft Windows usluga izvješćivanja o pogreškama u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Kako omogućiti Wake-on-LAN u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Kako stvoriti zrcaljeni volumen u sustavu Windows 11/10

• Što je Windows Feature Experience Pack u sustavu Windows 11/10?

• Savjeti i trikovi za povećalo u sustavu Windows 11/10