How to clean up WinSxS folder on Windows 2008 R2 How to clean up Windows.old on Windows Server 2012 R2 Note: If you are somehow still using Windows Server 2008 R2, installing KB2852386 after enabling Desktop Experience feature makes things a lot easy to clean up right with the Disk Cleanup Utility tool. It didn’t clean up a whole lot in my case, only claimed back a little over 1 GB space. dism /online /cleanup-image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase Then, run the following to remove superseded and unused system files from the system and reset the base so all existing updates cannot be removed after the command is completed. dism /online /cleanup-image /AnalyzeComponentStore It has a parameter /cleanup-imagethat provides a few more advanced options to reduce the size of the WinSxS folder.įirst of all, you can run the following to analyze the component store to see what’s included in there. Rather, utilizing a command-line tool called DISM, Deployment Image Servicing Management, is way more appropriate. Because it’s associated with system installation it’s not a good idea just simply deleting the folder. Therefore, the folder could become quite big over time. WinSxS, aka Windows component store, contains all the files required for a Windows installation as well as any updates to those files within the component store. Clean up WinSxS folders on Windows Server 2012 R2 If you are facing the same challenge as I do, here are the options you can take away. You probably could enable Desktop Experience feature to bring back the Disk Cleanup Utility but it won’t guarantee to clean up these two giant folders managed by the system upgrades and updates.

But, it’s not the case in Windows Server, especially the more recent versions like 2012 R2. On Windows desktop systems, both folders are easy to clean up with the built in tool Disk Cleanup Utility. A quick folder analysis using the free portable tool TreeSize revealed that both Windows.old and WinSxS folders are the ones taking most of the spaces. One of my Windows Server 2012 R2 ran out of space.

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