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I've noticed my windows directory takes up 21GB's of space. Normally I wouldn't mind because I'm usually on a hard drive with plenty of space, but since having purchased an SSD boot drive, I'm a bit limited as to what goes on the C:\ drive.

Here is a detailed analysis of what is taking up that space:

Size details for C:\Windows

Name File Size Files % of Parent % of Total

winsxs 7,010,870 42,338 30.8% 11.0%

Installer 4,938,526 3,947 21.7% 7.7%

assembly 3,336,223 3,191 14.7% 5.2%

System32 2,713,797 11,860 11.9% 4.2%

SysWOW64 1,259,757 4,973 5.5% 2.0%

Microsoft.NET 1,147,614 3,951 5.0% 1.8%

Anything in here that can be safely cleaned out? Log files or installer files?

JL.
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3 Answers3

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If you are running 64 bit, 20 GB is the minimum for Win 7. I wouldn't try deleting anything unless you want to risk activating some "undocumented features". :)

JNK
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You could try with customized windows installation. Unfortunately, I'm not an expert in this field, but there are ways to remove unneeded drivers and programs from windows installation.

One popular program for customizing windows installations is vLite. It was originally made for Vista, but I've heard people talking about using it with windows 7.

The other option would be to get some light version from torrents or similar, but that brings its own set of problems like finding good clean torrent and legal problems and so on.

AndrejaKo
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  • Interesting option. Wonder if you could get a light version and use your legal product key on it? – JL. Sep 12 '10 at 15:11
  • @JL - Most Lite'ed version I have found (for erm research) have had keys embedded. You could try to change the key after installation. http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/genuinewindows7/thread/ce677eb0-7d97-46d6-81df-a05dca1c2b85 – Nifle Sep 12 '10 at 15:38
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I will Mention some common methods to get some free space

1 **Delete Browser cache and unwanted cookies : Open Internet Explorer >> Tools Menu >> Internet Options >> Under General tab, click Delete >> Delete Temporary Internet Files

2) Delete %TEMP% Files : In the Start Search , type %temp% , a Window pops up, It is safe to delete all the files there. You may not be able to delete some files which are currently in use by some program. Leave those files and try deleting others.

3) Disk Cleanup : In the Start Search, type cleanmgr and clean files as necessary

4) Disable Hibernation : If don't use Hibernate option while shutting down then you can disable it. In the Start Search box, type cmd then Right click on cmd and click “Run as Administrator” option. Now administrative command prompt eopns up, type powercfg -h off to disable hibernation option

subanki
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