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Size of windows 10 folder is 75 GB??

Anonymous
2018-11-15T22:31:11+00:00

My windows 10 folder seems to have been getting out of control in the last year. It went from around 50 GB at the beginning of the year to 75/69 GB at time of posting. Windows keep trying to update and wants more space to do so, then it tries to download smaller updates, creeping up space. Back in September I updated Windows and had to come up with about 10GB of space, afte the update I had about 8-9 GB left over. That space has now been taken up by Windows where now I am sitting at 300 MB of space.

My C: is sitting at 96 GB, and I just can't keep deleting programs and user files to make space to update. I haven't been able to update the PC in about 2 months, as it has been running around low on space since. 

Edition: Windows 10 Home.

Version: 1803.

OS build: 17134.345

2 questions:

  1. What is the approximate required space for the Windows folder nowadays? When I partitioned this drive I was looking at ~30 GB for windows (windows 8 was taking 20-25 GB back in 2014) so I allocated 96GB to be on the safe side. I don't mind upgrading size if that's what it takes, but I would like to know what size to get as I only need to upgrade the C drive. 
  2. If this folder is seriously bloated, what could be causing it? How can I reduce file size? 

Thanks in advance for your feedback. 

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Performance and system failures

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-11-16T01:10:29+00:00

    Hi Graeme, 

    It looks like the WinSxS folder is not the issue. Size is around 6 GB. 

    I have also been looking for sources but no definitive answer on the matter. I would prefer not to do a clean install, as I'm probably doing something unknowingly that is causing Windows to grow out of proportion and within a few weeks it would probably be back to where it is now. All my software is installed in secondary drives, so I'm not sure why Windows is hogging all this space. 

    Can this be elevated for an official Microsoft respondent who might have more intricate details on the matter? This is a PCIE drive, now 4 years old, could there be an issue there?

    Thanks again for all the info.

    10 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2018-11-16T00:15:35+00:00

    I'm not sure why your Windows folder is so large, but try a couple other steps which may help:

    Disk Cleanup:

    • Click Start and type Disk Cleanup
    • Choose the first result, then see if Disk Cleanup can save you some space.

    Storage Sense:

    • Click Start and type Storage.
    • Click on the Storage system settings icon.
    • Turn on Storage Sense in the window that appears.

    Storage Sense is a feature that automatically cleans up unused files. It may reduce the size of the Windows folder further.

    Hopefully that makes a difference! Let me know how you go!

    7 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2018-11-15T23:59:10+00:00

    Hi Graeme, 

    About 3 GB were reclaimed with the above methods. I am quite worried that the Windows folder is almost double the size it should be. Are there any possible reasons for this?

    5 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2018-11-16T00:53:27+00:00

    Is it the winsxs folder that's taking up most of the space? If it is, try the steps under Dism.exe subheading in the link below:

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardwa...

    This article might also help:

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardwa...

    I'm struggling to find much other information about cleaning up the Windows folder other than a fresh install! Some sources say that the Windows folder will grow over time and this is normal. Anyhow, see if the above links help.

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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  5. Anonymous
    2018-11-15T22:48:13+00:00

    Hi there, thanks for your question.

    Your Windows folder size can vary, but is usually around 15-30GB.

    You could see if the Windows Update troubleshooter helps the issue:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/402732...

    You can also try resetting the Windows Update components manually to see if it reduces the size:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/971058...

    If it still doesn't help, please let me know and I'll see what else we can try! Thanks!

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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