WinSxs folder and outdated hardware

WinSxs folder contains two of each .inf files for floppy disk and tape drive which are outdated, is it possible to delete the files?

You should never ever manually delete anything in WinSxS or you risk breaking the system. The only safe way to clean up WinSxS is with the tools MS provide.

One commonly asked question is can I delete the WinSxS folder to regain some disk space? The short answer is no. However, there are ways to reduce the size of the WinSxS folder.

Clean Up Component Store (WinSxS folder) in Windows 10

@Try3 is correct, MS deliberately backdate their drivers.

Intentionally backdating the drivers ... means that if you have a custom manufacturer-provided driver, it will retain priority over the Windows-provided driver.

Microsoft | Why are all Windows drivers dated June 21, 2006?

And why was that date in particular chosen?

Every driver we ship has the Vista RTM date, regardless of when it was last updated (we update the version number, which is the next tiebreaker if the date is the same). Since only drivers as far back as Vista are compatible with new versions of Windows, every driver should have a date newer than Vista RTM

reddit | Is Windows 10 still a polished Vista kernel? : windows

I have done all the DISM tricks; who has a floppy disk or a tape drive? Windows keeps eating up disk space without reason and it is aggravating. I went through an clean up my HD and within two days, I had lost 4gb without doing anything - no new restore points or anything, just missing space.

Hello.

Maybe you could give Driver Store Explorer a try.