Ok, so here goes for a system32 (and Windows Folder, and Users folder, and...) slimming guide of sorts:
1) As a template, I used the following Windows XP slimming guide done by "Bold Fortune" over at Graphix An' Stuff:
http://www.graphixanstuff.com/Forum/ind ... owforum=68 - Surprisingly, despite the fact that I do not have a Windows XP install but a Windows 7 install, 99% of what he suggested to delete I was able to indeed delete without issue in Windows 7. The problem(s) are that some files he recommends deleting are not found in Windows 7/Windows 7's system32 folder, and instead are found in other places on your OS disk - most notably, if you have a 64-Bit OS (which I assume most if not all of us do), many of them will instead be found (or will have duplicates!) in the SysWoW64 folder, the winsxs folder, or elsewhere. This is similar to the Registry structure of 64-Bit versions of Windows, which tend to have duplicates and/or unique keys/values in both the HKLM\xxx\xxx\xxx etc. areas and in the HKLM\xxx\xxx\wow64node areas, for instance.
2) Please note that I am using Windows 7 64-Bit Ultimate SP1. I really cannot verify that your Win8/Server/what have you Windows install will tolerate the deletion of the files I list, nor can I guarantee they will even be there. That being said:
3) BACK UP EACH FILE YOU DELETE. I can't stress this enough. Deleting files in system32/SysWoW64/etc. can result in basic functions of Windows not working. At worst, you will get a BSOD if your Windows install depends on a particular file to boot. At the least, you may notice certain aspects of Windows simply not working - sections of the Control Panel, the Volume Manager in the System Tray, etc., etc. - it is up to you to decide what is essential for you and what isn't. Bold Fortune does a much better job at actually describing what each file is that he suggests you delete, so if you're unsure, cross-reference with his guide, or just use it instead of mine.
My own personal method of backup was as follows: right-click file, Copy, Paste file into a backup folder on another disk than the OS disk, delete file. If I made a major error and my PC would not boot, I would then use Hiren's Boot CD, which I highly recommend you download and burn a copy of, to boot from CD at restart, go into the Boot CD's Mini Win XP install, and use its Windows Explorer to drag the offending file from my backup folder on the backup disk back into system32/wherever. Always worked. Here is a link to Hiren's Boot CD, it's free:
http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/
You will also need the "Take Ownership" tweak that JC has mentioned earlier for system32/SysWoW64 in order to delete files, otherwise Permissions will block you from deleting many if not most files.
The only files I had major trouble with after deleting were:
a) tsddd.dll - this is the Windows Framebuffer Driver, and upon deletion it would cause a BSOD before Windows could get to the "Welcome" screen saying that the "video driver failed to initialize." The only way to fix this was through moving the file back to system32 from backup with Hiren's Boot CD.
b) hidclass.sys and hidparse.sys - these are drivers located in c:\windows\system32\drivers\ and upon deletion would not allow my USB mouse/keyboard to be recognized. Windows would boot, but there would be no mouse cursor and keyboard input did nothing. This may not be a problem if you are using PS/2, e.g., for your mouse/keyboard.
4) Most of the files and folders you will find inside system32, but there are some folders (especially) and files that are instead located in the c:\windows folder or the c:\users folder, with a few in c:\program files (x86). I tried to remember which was from where, but I'm just too lazy to filter them out for you, sorry. You can figure out which ones they are in the following sections of bold fortune's guide:
c:\users folder (listed as "Documents and Settings" in his guide - this is the Win 7 equivalent):
http://www.graphixanstuff.com/Forum/ind ... topic=9397
c:\windows folder:
http://www.graphixanstuff.com/Forum/ind ... topic=9395
c:\program files (x86):
http://www.graphixanstuff.com/Forum/ind ... topic=9396
Again, most of the files and folders listed are found in system32, what you will find in the other folders are usually folders to delete, with some files.
5)If I came across a file bold fortune recommended deleting but it said it was in use by Google Chrome, Windows Explorer, Network Location Awareness, etc. I would choose to not delete it. If this happens to you, I suggest you do the same, but you can try and play with registry permissions to delete them if you want, knowing you do so at your own risk.
Anyway, here's the screenshots of what I was able to delete, finally:
Here's the contents of the "drivers" folder:
All told this was about a 1.5 GB reduction.
I'll post an updated SysWoW64 list later, too, which is only about 150MB.
edit: edited for clearer and smaller images, upped to tinypic
edit 2: These NLS files can also be deleted from system32: