Where are essential Windows files located?

Posted by Dorothy on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Dorothy
Published on 2011-07-01T14:55:44Z Indexed on 2011/07/01 16:24 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 489

Filed under:

windows-7

|

windows-xp

|

windows-vista

|

file-management

I am using a Vista but I would like the answer for XP, Vista and Windows 7.

I am writing a program where I want to count the Important or Essential files of the Windows PC. It looks like the Essential files would be located somewhere in C:/Windows and after some research I found that some Essential files are located in C:/Windows/winsxs.

What and where are the Essential files for a Windows PC? Is there a folder or set of folders that contain the essential files? Are all the files in C:/Windows/winsxs Essential?

Essential Definition: Absolutely necessary; extremely important

© Super User or respective owner

Related posts about windows-7

Server 2012 DFS New Member Issue

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I am trying to add a new member to our DFS topology. We have 3 DCs (VMs - VMware) running Windows server 2012, two servers are located in or Primary site and the third at our DR site. Currently the two servers at our primary site are currently replicating DFS (full mesh) and are working fine. I have… >>> More
error in IIS7 but not on IIS6

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I have a website that is we are now deploying to windows 2008 servers that has worked in the past on IIS6 without a problem. It is using .net 2 framework. Most of the website works. Just when we create a screen report over a certain size on the server we get this error. Event code: 3005 Event… >>> More
error in IIS7 but not on IIS6

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I have a website that is we are now deploying to windows 2008 servers that has worked in the past on IIS6 without a problem. It is using .net 2 framework. Most of the website works. Just when we create a screen report over a certain size on the server we get this error. Event code: 3005 Event… >>> More
Microsoft Management Console stops working when I add snap-in to it

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I have Windows 7 Ultimate OS. I'm opening mmc.exe as administrator and trying add Certificates or any other snap-in, then while loading that snap-in MMC breaks and displays following message and after that it closes automatically once I click on close button on that message. What could be the problem… >>> More
Handling keyboard and mouse input (Win API)

as seen on Game Development - Search for 'Game Development'
There is a number of ways to catch mouse or keyboard under Windows. So I tried some of them, but every of them has some advantages and drawbacks. I want to ask you: Which method do use? I've tried these: WM_KEYDOWN/WM_KEYUP - Main disadvantage is that, I can't distinguish between left and right-handed… >>> More

Related posts about windows-xp

Windows XP - Security Update for Windows XP (KB923561) (KB946648) (KB956572) (KB958644)

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
My father's computer has Windows XP, but when I try to install the service packs it always fails. What gives? Here are the errors that I get in the event log: Date: 2/6/2010 Time: 12:02:18 AM Type: Error User: N/A Computer: EVO Source: Windows Update Agent Category: Installation Event ID: 20 Installation… >>> More
Restore Bak File created on Windows XP pro in Windows XP Pro 64

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I have a situation that I need help with. I backed up my Files on Windows XP using the System BackUp utility/wizard, and then Installed a new operating system on the machine. Now I want to restore my old files via the .bak file but it is not being recognized at all. Did I do this wrong or is there… >>> More
Installed Ubuntu 12.04.01 with Windows XP but lost access to Windows XP

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
The First time I tried to install Ubuntu the installer installed it on my D drive. This resulted in only booting to Windows XP with no access to Ubuntu. I had to download a disk partitioning program to undo all of this. A tip from the Internet said to create a partition on the C drive for Ubuntu,… >>> More
Replace dual-XP installs with single-XP install and repartition drive?

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
Hello, The Current Situation I have a hard drive that currently is split up like so: Primary Partition C: 9.77 GB NTFS Healthy (System) with XP Pro (in Polish) installed Extended Partition D: 39.82 GB NTFS Healthy (Boot) with XP Pro (in English) installed … >>> More
How do I connect two computers with a LAN cabel?

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I have two machines - Windows XP and a laptop using Windows 7. I connected them with a WLAN cable. On the Windows XP machine, I set the IP address to 192.168.0.10. On the Windows 7 laptop, I set the IP address to 192.168.0.20. The laptop can see the Windows XP machine, but Windows XP machine cannot… >>> More