The April 2025 Windows updates do a strange thing. They leave behind an empty “inetpub” folder on the C:\ drive. It shows up even when the system does not have Internet Information Services, or IIS, installed. IIS is a web server built by Microsoft. It hosts websites and web tools on Windows machines. But it isn’t part of Windows by default. You have to turn it on through the Windows Features menu.
Mysterious Folder Linked to IIS Appears Unexpectedly in System Root
When IIS is installed, it uses the C:\inetpub folder to hold web files, logs, and things a server needs. Normally, if IIS isn’t installed, that folder doesn’t exist. But now, after installing updates Windows 11 KB5055523 or Windows 10 KB5055518, and restarting the machine, that folder appears anyway. Empty and unexplained.
No IIS Enabled Yet Folder Created—Users Puzzled by Update Behavior
People checked their Windows Features. IIS (Internet Information Services) wasn’t installed. Still, the inetpub folder was there. That made folks wonder. Why now? Why this folder? The folder belongs to the SYSTEM account.
That means something with power put it there. The update did it. The one that came with April’s patch. It didn’t slow the system. Didn’t break anything. But it raised a question. Was this a new thing from Microsoft? Or just a mistake?
Microsoft Says “inetpub” Folder is Intentional, Advises Against Deletion
We tried deleting the folder. Nothing bad happened. Windows kept running fine. But Microsoft spoke to BleepingComputer. They said it was no accident. They meant to make it. And they said not to remove it. It’s just an empty folder, they said. It shouldn’t matter, even if IIS isn’t on the machine. So maybe it’s best to leave it. At least until we hear more.
Final Words
In this particular inetpub mystery, Windows users wake up one day with an empty folder on the C: drive and no idea where it came from. Microsoft’s call to leave this digital squatter alone has elicited a lot of concern among the technologically inclined people. Is it preparation for future features? A ghost of updates past? Regardless of the cause, this folder is now among the great many tech curiosities that make one wonder about the inner workings of software giants. For now, it appears that this vacant digital space is to remain a part of the game – an innocent yet enigmatic relic of the April update escapade.
