Fix Windows Folder Size Too Large | 4 Methods

Why is my Windows folder size too large?

When you find that your c drive is in low disk space, you will go to examine the size of the C:/ Windows folder and then you may find the WinSxS folder use a lot of space. Many users reports that I don't why the Win SxS folder get too big?

That's because the WinSxS folder contains all system components of your computer. And the component files are just links to the files contained in the WinSxS folder. When your computer updates, it will keep both new Windows component and old component in the WinSxS. That's to say, every update will increase the size of this folder. But it's not limited to that. Every backup can also occupy much disk space.

What to delete from the computer?

In Windows 7/8/10/11, there are some files and folders you don't really need but Windows still keep it. Users report that I don't know what can be deleted and what can't. Here, I'll show you some files and folder which can be removed:

1. Windows Update Cleanup. This option can erase the old copies of Windows Update files.

2. Windows Upgrade log files.

3. Language resource files. This option can delete the language or keyboard layout that you don't use.

4. Recycle Bin. This folder is used to keep deleted files until you delete them permanently or restore them to your computer.

5. Temporary files. Temporary files do not be used in a long-term. You can delete it if your disk is out of space.

6. Windows.old folder. You will get a folder named Windows.old after you upgrade your computer. It allows you to restore from Windows.old folder within 30 days. If you don't want to go to the previous version of Windows, you can delete it.

7. Downloaded Program Files. This folder contains files used by Internet Explorer's ActiveX control and Java applets. However, the ActiveX is extremely outdated tech and full of security holes. If you do not use IE browser, you can remove it.

8. Created system restore point. This option allows you to restore your computer to an earlier date when your computer run into issues.

Tip：Do not try to manually delete files. You may delete some files necessary accidentally. You can use Disk Cleanup tool in Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11.

How to easily fix Windows folder too big in Windows 11/10/8/7

In the following, you can delete files you don't want in Windows 11/10/8/7 using Disk Cleanup, DISM or Storage sense. Also, you can fix Windows folder size too large by reducing the size of the backup image. Click the corresponding anchor text to learn about specific methods. Here Take Windows 10 as an example.

• Method 1: Reduce Windows folder size Windows 10 using Disk Cleanup
• Method 2: Fix Windows folder too big in Windows 10 using DISM
• Method 3: Fix Windows 10 folder size too large using Storage sense
• Method 4: Fix Windows folder size too large using backup software

Method 1: Reduce Windows folder size Windows 10 using Disk Cleanup 

You can use Disk Cleanup in Windows 7/8/10/11, but there is a little difference in Windows 10 Disk Cleanup. Windows 10 Disk Cleanup adds a new option named System Compression that is used to compress Windows binaries and program files. In a way, it can help you save disk space if you use Windows 10.

Here, I will take Windows 7 as an example and show you the detailed steps.

Step 1. Type disk cleanup in the search box and select it.

Step 2. Select the drive contains system file and click OK. Then it will calculate how much space you will be able to free.

Step 3. Under the Files to delete option, tick the above mentioned files and folders and click OK. Then, just wait and check out the size of system drive. If you cannot see Windows Update cleanup in Windows 7, you can click Clean up system files at the bottom and do as step 2.

Method 2: Fix Windows folder too big in Windows 10 using DISM 

You may know that the component store (C:\Windows\winsxs) is the main cause for Windows folder too big in Windows 10. But you cannot directly move it, because this operation may result in the inability to correctly install Windows updates, service packs, roles, or features. Thus, you could try DISM command line to reduce folder size.

Step 1. Type cmd in the search box and run it as administrator.If you are familiar with CMD, you can use DISM commands. This command-line can help you reduce the size of Windows folder.

Step 2. Type the following command and click Enter. It can clean up the files that your system is not in use.

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

Step 3. Type the command below and hit Enter. It can help you remove all superseded versions of every component in the component store.

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase

Step 4. Type the following command and hit Enter. It can reduce the amount of space occupied by a Service Pack.

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /SPSuperseded

Method 3: Fix Windows 10 folder size too large using Storage sense

Except for Disk Cleanup and DISM, Storage sense is another way to help you delete files you don't want, like temporary files and stuff in your recycle bin. The detailed steps are below.

Step 1. Go to Settings > System > Storage. 

Step 2. Turn on the Storage sense by clicking the Off button.

Also, you can manually configure files you want to delete or specific the temperary files to be deleted.

>> To configure files,  click the Configure storage sense or run it now button and select how often you expect. Then, click Clear now under the Free up space now section. 

>> To specific files you want to delete, scroll down to the Local Disk section, click Temperary files and then Remove files to delete the default selection. To delete other type of files, check the box before it and click Remove files. 

Method 4: Fix Windows folder size too large using backup software

As mentioned above, system restore point and backup can be one of the reasons why your WinSxS folder too big. You can delete it and temporarily fix the low disk space issue on your computer.

But it's not recommended. Anyway, you need a system backup to ensure the data security of the computer. Thus, it's suggested to reduce backup size as soon as possible instead of deleting it. You could use third-party Windows backup software AOMEI Backupper Professional to achieve this goal.

In AOMEI Backupper Professional, there are 4 options available here.

Option 1. Compress your backup. Click Options and Advanced. Then select Normal or High Compression level.

Option 2. Use differential backup or incremental backup instead of full backup. Click Schedule and Advanced, tick Incremental Backup or Differential Backup. 

Option 3. Delete old backup at a regular time. Click Scheme, open Enable Backup Scheme and select one of the backup schemes.

Option 4. Backup to USB , external hard drive, Google Drive, NAS, etc. To reduce the size of internal hard drive, you need to create offsite backup, which will not occupy the disk space of your local drive.

Here I give you an example to create system backup with AOMEI Backupper Professional. In the first of place, download and install it on your computer. Then, prepare an external hard drive or any storage other than the computer.

Step 1. Launch this software, click Backup and System Backup subsequently. 

Step 2. Click the folder shapped button to select the prepared device and hit Next. By default, this software will automatically select system partition and boot related partitions for you. And all the data on the system partition will also be included.

Step 3. Here you have 3 options, set compresion level in Options, enable incremental or differential backup in Schedule or delete old backup images using Scheme, select one or more of them. Then, click Start Backup to backup system without occuping much space.

The way forward

To fix Windows folder size too big, you have 4 methods. To delete files you don't want or service pack, please see Method 1 to Method 3. To reduce Windows folder size too large due to backup, please use professional backup software AOMEI Backupper Professional. For server users, you could use AOMEI Backupper Server.

In addition, it's still a disk clone software, which can greatly reduce the downtime in the event of a disaster. Because it allows you to clone disk to larger disk or clone large HDD to smaller SSD and then install on your computer directly to start Windows.