Reduce size of windows folder server 2008

In addition, virtual servers have become hugely popular in recent years, which means that a single server may contain dozens of copies of a single operating system. In other words, Windows is a space hog. Other than the usual growth that we expect over time from any type of software, there is also an increased need for swap file disk space, due to the growth in memory requirements.

Plus, there are several new features that use even more disk space! Here we'll take a look at Windows and provide some tips on how to reduce the appetite of this server space hog. Windows Side-by-Side Assembly stores DLLs and executables into one large library so that it can be easily accessed by Windows and other Microsoft components. This allows the server to keep multiple version of various system files, facilitating easy updating and backward compatibility.

While previous Windows versions stored many important files in a directory known as "System32," the version of this directory contains many pointers to system files that are actually stored in this WinSxS folder. This has many advantages. For example, instead of replacing DLLs in the System32 directory when an update is loaded, the new version is installed in the SxS directory, and various pointers are changed to the new version.

The disadvantage of this method is that installing a MB service pack on the system potentially means adding another MB of files that never leave the system. Even without counting service packs, there are hundreds of Windows updates released every year. This can translate to a large accumulation of files in the WinSxS directory. In addition, using this method can make it hard to analyze disk space usage, as every active DLL seems to appear on the system twice.

In addition to the normal disk space's use of the OS files, alternate OS file versions and swap file, there is one more factor that contributes to why space is eaten up on your Server system - one more hidden than all the others: System Volume Information.

Every backup can also occupy much disk space. 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:. Windows Update Cleanup. This option can erase the old copies of Windows Update files. Language resource files. This option can delete the language or keyboard layout that you don't use. Recycle Bin.

This folder is used to keep deleted files until you delete them permanently or restore them to your computer. Temporary files. Temporary files do not be used in a long-term.

You can delete it if your disk is out of space. You will get a folder named Windows. It allows you to restore from Windows.

If you don't want to go to the previous version of Windows, you can delete it. Downloaded Program Files. However, the ActiveX is extremely outdated tech and full of security holes.

If you do not use IE browser, you can remove it. Created system restore point. This option allows you to restore your computer to an earlier date when your computer run into issues.

You may delete some files necessary accidentally. 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. What all does this mean? This is due to the use of hard links by the operating system. Actual Size of the Component Store — This is the true size of the component store. Shared with Windows — This is the size that the component store would be just per Windows install whether or not the component store actually existed.

Backups and Disable Features — This is the size of the previous versions we store in the component store as well as the binaries of any roles or features you may wish to install in the future.

As shown above, as part of the analysis, it will even tell you whether component store cleanup is recommended. In this case, it is recommended. It does take a while. Be patient. After it completes, check it again:. This will cleanup previous versions of the updates installed, but still allow you to uninstall a security update or hotfix, if needed. In my. What options do they have at this point? In short, they need to use an updated source.

You must be a registered user to add a comment. If you've already registered, sign in. Otherwise, register and sign in. Products 72 Special Topics 41 Video Hub Most Active Hubs Microsoft Teams. Security, Compliance and Identity. Microsoft Edge Insider. Azure Databases. You didn't tell us how big your SSD drive is. I'm going to assume it's not sufficient for your needs. You also didn't tell us what the machine was going to be used for. Hard drive space is relatively inexpensive these days.

If you can, I would also bump up the ram in this machine. A "server" machine, on a SSD drive? What will be the main role of this server? Maybe you'd be better off with Windows 7 but it's not like it would really make the footprint smaller as you still need the x64 version which has a bigger footprint - and Visual Studio is a beast, you'll want at least 80 GB of space for that system and it will start to be annoying after a few months of updates See this document on the options for Sharepoint development.

A separate server physical or virtual is also an option. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.

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