Can I move the C:\I386 directory?

[Rick C.]

Can I move my C:\I386 directory and its subdirectories to my D: drive?
Not sure what it's used for. I really need the extra space on C: .

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Can I move my C:\I386 directory and its subdirectories to my D: drive?
Not sure what it's used for. I really need the extra space on C: .

It's a copy of what's on your Win2000 CD. You can do with
it whatever you like.

Keep in mind that deleting it will be a temporary measure only.
You will soon run out of disk space again. Consider buying
a new disk - they are incredibly cheap!

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "Rick C." <[email protected]>

| Can I move my C:\I386 directory and its subdirectories to my D: drive?
| Not sure what it's used for. I really need the extra space on C: .

If you move the c:\i386 folder to another location such as to drive "E:" ( E:\i386 )

Then you must edit the Registry so the OS knows where to find the Windows installation
files.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Based upon the example of moving to the "E:" drive, change;
SourcePath=c:\
to
SourcePath=e:\

 

[Rick C.]

From: "Rick C." <[email protected]>

| Can I move my C:\I386 directory and its subdirectories to my D: drive?
| Not sure what it's used for. I really need the extra space on C: .

If you move the c:\i386 folder to another location such as to drive "E:" ( E:\i386 )

Then you must edit the Registry so the OS knows where to find the Windows installation
files.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Based upon the example of moving to the "E:" drive, change;
SourcePath=c:\
to
SourcePath=e:\

Thanks. Under what conditions does Windows need to access the files on
that directory?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Thanks. Under what conditions does Windows need to access the files on
that directory?

It needs access to this directory when re-installing Windows components
or when installing new Windows components. If Windows cannot find
the directory then it will prompt you for a new path, which is usually the
path to the \i386 directory of your Win2000 CD.

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "Pegasus (MVP)" <[email protected]>


|
| It needs access to this directory when re-installing Windows components
| or when installing new Windows components. If Windows cannot find
| the directory then it will prompt you for a new path, which is usually the
| path to the \i386 directory of your Win2000 CD.
|

It should also be noted that if the PC is Running Win2K SP4 and the CDROM is Win2K SP1 then
you risk installing old versions. If your PC is Running Win2K SP4 and the i386 folder has
been slip-streamed to SP4 level that risk is negated. If that i386 folder is at Win2K SP1
or other than SP4 level then it would be a good idea to slip-stream the i386 folder to SP4.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Good point.

 

[Rick C.]

From: "Pegasus (MVP)" <[email protected]>


|
| It needs access to this directory when re-installing Windows components
| or when installing new Windows components. If Windows cannot find
| the directory then it will prompt you for a new path, which is usually the
| path to the \i386 directory of your Win2000 CD.
|

It should also be noted that if the PC is Running Win2K SP4 and the CDROM is Win2K SP1 then
you risk installing old versions. If your PC is Running Win2K SP4 and the i386 folder has
been slip-streamed to SP4 level that risk is negated. If that i386 folder is at Win2K SP1
or other than SP4 level then it would be a good idea to slip-stream the i386 folder to SP4.

What does it mean to 'slip-stream' in this case?

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "Rick C." <[email protected]>


| What does it mean to 'slip-stream' in this case?

The i386 folder contains the installation files for that OS. Slip-streaming is the concept
of running the service pack EXE file such that it doesn't install into the OS, it updates
the i386 installation files to that service pack level.

Assuming your OS is at SP4 level:

You would download the following Win2K SP4 EXE file
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...f1-749f-49f4-8010-297bd6ca33a0&DisplayLang=en

Assuming the i386 folder is on the "E:" drive ( e:\i386 )
you would execute...

W2KSP4_EN.EXE -u -s:e:\