3 GB files for Symantec???

[Charles W Davis]

Computer Club member's computer.
20GB hard drive, 26% free space after a few hours of moving folders to an
external USB drive.
Can't defragment a bunch of Symantec files:
C:\Program files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\VirusDefs
Dozens of folders with 50 to 60 MB each with names such as:
20050912.024
20061511.017
20080215.021
20080621.003
Each appears to be the date created.

Do you suppose I could delete the old ones?

 

[JS]

I only have 5 folders with similar but not identical folder names/dates. I
don't it's safe to remove these as they are most likely contain the Virus
info/signatures used when scanning (some viruses have been around for awhile
and the signatures don't change) and would guess that over time some of the
folders, most likely the newer ones will be replaced as updates are
downloaded and installed. The older folders and signatures are most likely
still valid so I would not delete them.

I also noticed of bunch of temp folder (most but not all are empty)???

JS

 

[JS]

If you are trying to free up more disk space then:

Reducing the number of 'System Restore' points:
Select Start/Control Panel/System, then in the System Properties window
click on the System Restore tab.
Next select the drive letter where Windows is installed (usually C,
Then click on the Setting button
Now in the Drive Settings window move the Disk space usage slider to the
left to reduce the amount of drive space System Restore points will use.
This will remove some of the older restore points and free up some space.

Disable Hibernation and delete hiberfil.sys file (If you have it enabled):
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/...sys-hibernation-file-in-windows-xp-and-vista/
and:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/getstarted/hibernate.mspx

Next if you still need more space:
Remove the files used to uninstall updates to Windows
These folders and associated files in these folders are safe to remove,
however once deleted you will no longer be able to un-install a patch or
update that was associated with the deleted folder/files.
I would keep the most recent set (last two months just in case) of folders
and delete the older updates.
As a safety net I burned these folders to a CD before deleting them.
These files are located in the Windows folder and have folder names
like $NtUninstallKBXXXXXX$.
They are hidden folders so enable viewing of hidden files in Windows
Explorer.
Warning: One folder you should not delete is: $hf_mig$
Also See the following web pages on this issue:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

Finally - You can reduce the size of the Internet Explorer Disk Cache:
How and Why to Clear Your Cache:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/using/howto/customizing/clearcache.mspx
Just follow the instructs but instead of increasing the size (as stated in
the article) decrease it.

If you have more than one partition or drive then:
How to Change the Default Location of Mail and News Folders:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175037

Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder
(Example: move it to the D drive)
See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310147
Also:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_to_move_my_documents.htm

How to move the Spool folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q308666

JS

 

[Anteaus]

No virus database currently runs to 3GB. I would be inclined to replace
Norton with a more efficient AV system. NOD32, Avira,AVG suggest themselves.

Assuming this is a fairly low-powered machine (20GB drives were typical of
0.75-1GHz processors) then Norton will be having a huge impact on its
performance.

 

[JS]

Not even near 3GB on my PC, only takes up about 400MB and part of that could
be due to having other Symantec products installed.

JS