How to clean WinSxS folder on Windows

I noticed recently on one computer that there was almost no free space on the system disk.
By comparing the sizes of the directories, I determined that the folder at C:/Windows/WinSxS is the largest, about 40 gigabytes.

Manual cleaning of this directory is strictly forbidden, as this may lead to system inoperability.

The size of the WinSxS folder depends on the number of installed system updates; old updated files are saved in it.

To clean the directory in Windows 7, the KB2852386 update (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2852386) must be installed, which is most likely set once the folder size is large and the system is constantly updated automatically.

The above update enables users to clear old update files.
To start cleaning, open the cleaning wizard by typing cleanmgr on the command line as the administrator or right-click on the system drive and select “Properties”, in the window that opens, click “Disk Cleanup” and in the next window “Clear system files”. Put a checkmark “Cleaning Windows Updates”, click “OK” and at the end of the cleaning restart the computer.

That’s it, the WinSxS folder will be cleaned as much as possible.

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