Sorry, yes the sections did exist in the main ini file

I was not able to find the sections in the file due to Notepad++ having a "Find" option set incorrectly.

I'm not sure what the solution was.
Was it that the sections actually do exist in the main ini file too?

Solved.

For some reason, Notepad++ somehow got set to "match case" when using Find.

After emptying the CDCache, Banners and LastFingerprints sections, my config file went from 197K to 26K. Then after I exported the settings file, it went down even further to 19.5K.

I'm having troubles trying to figure this one out...

The WinSCP.ini file in my install directory is why my configuration loads from (confirmed in Preferences / Storage). I just copy/paste that file on to my backup drive / USB key if I do major OS updates or reinstalls.

Just for the heck of it tonight, I used the "Export/Backup Configuration" tool to see what it does and I saved the WinSCP.ini file to my Desktop.

Opening that file, I see 3 new sections (CDCache, Banners, LastFingerprints) that are not present in my live working config file.

The CDCache section contains 10+ years worth of information.

What I would like to know is where is WinSCP getting that information from?