{"id":551894,"date":"2023-02-14T23:30:36","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T20:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-is-the-gamingroot-file-on-windows\/"},"modified":"2023-02-14T23:30:36","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T20:30:36","slug":"what-is-the-gamingroot-file-on-windows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-the-gamingroot-file-on-windows\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Is the .GamingRoot File on Windows?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e7cfdc7af4\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e7cfdc7af4\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-the-gamingroot-file-on-windows\/#%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_the_GamingRoot_File_on_Windows%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;What Is the .GamingRoot File on Windows?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-the-gamingroot-file-on-windows\/#What_Is_the_GamingRoot_File\" >What Is the .GamingRoot File?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-the-gamingroot-file-on-windows\/#Can_You_Delete_the_GamingRoot_File\" >Can You Delete the .GamingRoot File?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-the-gamingroot-file-on-windows\/#But_Why_Is_It_GamingRoot_and_Not_GamingRoot\" >But Why Is It .GamingRoot and Not GamingRoot?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_the_GamingRoot_File_on_Windows%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;What Is the .GamingRoot File on Windows?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage size-full wp-image-872926\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/52625104159_dff20199e4_o.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Xbox Controller being used for PC Gaming.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\">Hannah Stryker \/ How-To Geek<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The .GamingRoot file is created by the Xbox <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a> on Windows 10 and Windows 11. The Xbox app uses a .GamingRoot file to identify drives it can install <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s on. You may have one or more .GamingRoot files if you use Xbox Game Pass.<\/p>\n<p>The .GamingRoot file is created by Microsoft\u2019s Xbox app on Windows 10 and Windows 11. This is a real file\u2014not a virus\u2014and you shouldn\u2019t delete it. The Xbox app uses this file to identify drives it can install games on.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_the_GamingRoot_File\"><\/span>What Is the .GamingRoot File?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Xbox app uses the .GamingRoot file to identify drives you can install games on. For example, if you have Xbox Game Pass and use the Xbox app to install PC games for Windows 10 or Windows 11, you will see one of these files on each drive you install games on.<\/p>\n<p>The .GamingRoot file is normally hidden. You won\u2019t see it unless you\u2019ve chosen to show hidden files in File Explorer.<\/p>\n<p>If you do show hidden files you will likely see a .GamingRoot file on your C: drive as well as any other drives you\u2019ve chosen to install Xbox games on. This may be a secondary internal drive or an external drive. For example, if you have a D: drive you install Xbox games on, you will also have a .GamingRoot file on your D: drive.<\/p>\n<p>The file is located in the \u201croot\u201d of your drive. In other words, it\u2019s in C:\\ or D:\\, not in another directory on that drive. While the Xbox app may be installing games to the C:\\XboxGames folder, it creates a .GamingRoot file at C:\\.GamingRoot.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-872928\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/gamingroot-file-on-c-drive.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"The GAMINGROOT file on a C: drive on Windows 11.\" width=\"730\" height=\"404\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>To see which drives you\u2019ve configured to install games, open the Xbox app, click your name, click \u201cSettings,\u201d and select the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a>\u201d category. Under \u201cGame Install Options,\u201d you\u2019ll see a dropdown menu with a list of drives. All the drives in this list will have a GamingRoot file created on them by the Xbox app.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-872927\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/xbox-app-game-drives.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Choosing a drive to install games on in the Xbox app.\" width=\"730\" height=\"300\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_You_Delete_the_GamingRoot_File\"><\/span>Can You Delete the .GamingRoot File?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We recommend against deleting this file. If you don\u2019t use the Xbox app or play games installed via the Xbox app at all, there\u2019s no downside to deleting it. However, if you do use the Xbox app or have Xbox Game Pass games installed, deleting the file may cause problems with launching your installed games or with installing new games.<\/p>\n<p>The .GamingRoot file is very small and barely takes up any space. Windows reports it takes up 28 bytes of space on our system\u2014it\u2019s almost an empty file. You won\u2019t free up any usable disk space by deleting it.<\/p>\n<p>Since file doesn\u2019t take up much space, so we recommend ignoring it. If you find it distracting, you can always tell File Explorer to hide hidden files once again. (We hear you, though: We wish Microsoft\u2019s Xbox app wasn\u2019t cluttering our drives up with this file, too.)<\/p>\n<p>While this file isn\u2019t a virus, we recommend scanning your PC with a trustworthy antivirus program if you\u2019re concerned it has a virus or other malware.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"But_Why_Is_It_GamingRoot_and_Not_GamingRoot\"><\/span>But Why Is It .GamingRoot and Not GamingRoot?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>By the way, if you\u2019re wondering why the file has a period in front of it\u2014in other words, why it\u2019s \u201c.GamingRoot\u201d and not just \u201cGamingRoot\u201d\u2014this convention is from UNIX-like operating systems like Linux and macOS rather than Windows. On Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems, files with a period in front of their name are hidden by default.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/872922\/what-is-the-gamingroot-file\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;What Is the .GamingRoot File on Windows?&#8221; Hannah Stryker \/ How-To Geek The .GamingRoot file is created by the Xbox app on Windows 10 and Windows 11. The Xbox app uses a .GamingRoot file to identify drives it can install games on. You may have one or more .GamingRoot files if you use Xbox Game&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":551895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/52625104159_dff20199e4_o.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-551894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}