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  4. Why are there 19863 subfolders in Windows/Winsxs/ ?

Why are there 19863 subfolders in Windows/Winsxs/ ?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Windows Development
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  • S Offline
    S Offline
    Stefan_Lang
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    I'm having trouble with my system and checked system files, only to find that the file wininet.dll in some unpronouncable folder is corrupted and couldn't be repaired. So I went to find that folder location, starting with Windows/Winsxs, only to find thousands of subfolders! Many of them appear to contain system dlls, and apparently lots of different versions of the same dlls. I could understand the need for keeping different versions of some system files - but 20K folders of files??? Is it normal to have so many? Or may that be another symptom, or even the cause of the problems I'm having? Could this be the work of a virus or other kind of malware? Or is that the result of Windows working 'normally' for a couple of years?

    GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)

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    • S Stefan_Lang

      I'm having trouble with my system and checked system files, only to find that the file wininet.dll in some unpronouncable folder is corrupted and couldn't be repaired. So I went to find that folder location, starting with Windows/Winsxs, only to find thousands of subfolders! Many of them appear to contain system dlls, and apparently lots of different versions of the same dlls. I could understand the need for keeping different versions of some system files - but 20K folders of files??? Is it normal to have so many? Or may that be another symptom, or even the cause of the problems I'm having? Could this be the work of a virus or other kind of malware? Or is that the result of Windows working 'normally' for a couple of years?

      GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)

      G Offline
      G Offline
      Graham Breach
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      I this this is fairly normal - I have just over 15,000 subfolders in mine, and I installed from scratch about a year ago. I was reading someone ranting about this the other day, but I can't remember where now. I did find this though: Clean Up the WinSxS Folder | Microsoft Docs[^]

      S 1 Reply Last reply
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      • G Graham Breach

        I this this is fairly normal - I have just over 15,000 subfolders in mine, and I installed from scratch about a year ago. I was reading someone ranting about this the other day, but I can't remember where now. I did find this though: Clean Up the WinSxS Folder | Microsoft Docs[^]

        S Offline
        S Offline
        Stefan_Lang
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Thanks, that article was rather informative - beyond the topic of the title. :thumbsup:

        GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)

        1 Reply Last reply
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        • S Stefan_Lang

          I'm having trouble with my system and checked system files, only to find that the file wininet.dll in some unpronouncable folder is corrupted and couldn't be repaired. So I went to find that folder location, starting with Windows/Winsxs, only to find thousands of subfolders! Many of them appear to contain system dlls, and apparently lots of different versions of the same dlls. I could understand the need for keeping different versions of some system files - but 20K folders of files??? Is it normal to have so many? Or may that be another symptom, or even the cause of the problems I'm having? Could this be the work of a virus or other kind of malware? Or is that the result of Windows working 'normally' for a couple of years?

          GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)

          L Offline
          L Offline
          Lost User
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Looks like you have rediscovered DLL Hell[^]. It's a real thing and still a problem in 2020 with no end in sight. Best Wishes, -David Delaune

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