Folders You Should Never Touch On Windows 10

Sneaking up where you don’t belong can end worse than you think. It is true in every scenario, whether it is your college campus or your Windows computer hidden files. Windows has a lot of private and hidden files & folders which hogs space on hard disk of your computer. You can clear caches files by following the right path. However, some default files are best to be left alone. If deleted or messed up, it could cause data loss, or unstable Windows or more.

In this post, we have listed some of the folders you should never touch. Read on!

1. Program Files (x86)

Location: C drive->Program Files or C Drive -> Program Files (x86)

As download and install an app or software, you open a exe. extension file and installs the app through it. While getting installed, the software is registering itself in the Program files’ folder, putting in registry values and completing other tasks to make it work properly on Windows. To see the programs installed on your PC, you need to navigate to Program Files folder.

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The folder contains DLL files along with other configuration info which is required in order to make the program function. You will not stumble upon a need to touch this folder ever. And if you ever start poking around, an app might not work and you end up installing the app again. So, Program files is one of the folders you should never touch

Note: Whenever you uninstall an app, you should do it using Programs & Features from Control Panel.

2. System Volume Information

Location: C:\System Volume Information

Yet another folder you should never touch is System Volume Information folder. It has various important Windows functions. You can’t even access the folder as access is denied. The folder has System Restore points that you have created to save the settings of your computer. If you want to reduce the space taken by the folder, then you need to type Restore Point in the search bar on the desktop. Now click Create a Restore Point. From the window that comes up, choose C: Drive and select Configure. On the new window, locate Max Usage bar. Drag the bar to the left to let the restore point acquire the least of space on your Windows.

Note: This change in settings, could reduce the number of options that you get to restore the settings of a PC.

Apart from this, System Volume information consists of data which Windows employs to index your drives. It also contains the Volume Shadow Copy service which is needed for file backups.

This folder should also not be touched as making any changes to the folder could cause hindrance in system performance.

3. Page File

Location: C: Drive and then go to pagefile.sys

Note: These files will only appear when you have removed the checkmark beside Hide protected OS files. To do that go to File Explorer window, click View->Options->View->Hide protected operating system files.

RAM is accountable for momentarily keeping open programs within your computer. When you launch an Excel spreadsheet, it stored in RAM for easy and quick access. That’s why when you have a bigger RAM, you can run various programs simultaneously.

If the physical RAM fills up, Windows utilizes page file or swap file. This is an allocated portion of the hard drive which function similar to RAM. If your computer has bigger RAM, you would hardly see page file take its toll.

Although, depending on it frequently will have an impact on your PC’s performance. With the third party tools, you can check the space acquired by Page file and also disable it but it is not recommended. If Page file doesn’t exist and your RAM is full, your programs might crash in order to retrieve memory, which will hinder the performance of the system.

Windows provides you with an option to manage your virtual memory if your computer’s life depends on it! However, it is better to let your Windows manage the space on its own. If you have memory issues, it is better to upgrade your RAM, then messing with this folder.

4. System32

Location: In C Drive, go to Windows Folder and then System32

When you go to C Drive, navigate to Windows folder, then locate the System32 folder. This folder includes hundreds of DLL files which are important for your computer in order to run properly. For example, files that are responsible for sound, booting into Windows, fonts display and other. The files also have executables for native Windows apps. For an example: Cacl.exe launches the calculator. So, it is better to stay away from this folder as if you mess it up, you will have to reinstall Windows. Add this one to the list of folders you should never touch.

5. WinSxS

Location:  C:->Windows->WinSxS

WinSxS aka Windows Side By Side and was formulated due to an problem because of  which working with Windows 9x versions was difficult. DLL Hell is the term which defines the issues that surface when DLL files break, conflict or replicate.

In order to fix the issue, Microsoft uses WinSxS folder to accumulate different versions of each DLL and loads them whenever your Windows runs a program. This step increases compatibility. The longer the time span is of using Windows, the bigger size of the folder becomes.

Conclusion

There is a reason due to which Windows doesn’t want you to poke around certain folders. A normal user shouldn’t loiter around these folders if they are not looking for trouble. As messing with these folders can leave your Windows PC inoperable. Also, if you decide to check which folder is important and which is not, you can check it on Google.

Before doing anything, it is always recommended to take backups so that you don’t suffer data loss.

So, these are some of the folders you should never touch on your Windows computer.

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