cleaning up C drive and window views

[hjl]

Two questions please.

1) My C drive is loaded with files the look
like "$NTUninstallQxxxxxxx$" with the "x"s being numbers.
What are they and can they be safely deleted?

2) I like to open some windows as thumbnails, some as
icons, some as a list, etc., but quite often they revert
on the next reboot to another type of view. Is there a
way of having them remember my preferences?

Thanks.

HJL

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

1) They are backup files for a WindowsUpdate (hotfix) and yes you can delete
them as long as you do not plan to uninstall any of the Windows Update
files. You will also find a listing for each under Add & Remove in the
Control Panel. Once you have deleted the backup, you can select the hotfix
for removal. You will get an error message followed by an option to remove
the listing. You can automate this task using a tool from the Utilties
section of www.dougknox.com

The backups are there for hotfixes that are uninstallable. This is an option
only for some updates, and it is there in case the update causes issues for
you (so you can uninstall it if necessary). If you don't plan on
uninstalling it and want to conserve drive space, there is nothing wrong
with removing them. I keep each backup for about a month before removing it.

2) WindowsXP will remember the settings of up to 400 folders, after that it
starts forgetting some. See this from MVP Kelly for a way to increase this
number:

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Line 2, increase the folder view size limit to 8000

You can also resolve this with the newest version of TweakUI. Get it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

After installing, look under explorer/customization, increase the "folders
to remember".

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Alex Nichol]

1) My C drive is loaded with files the look
like "$NTUninstallQxxxxxxx$" with the "x"s being numbers.
What are they and can they be safely deleted?

Those are there so you could *uninstall* the patches. Each corresponds
to a folder of files needed for the purpose -
Windows\$NTUninstallQnnnnnn$ for the fix described at
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;nnnnnn

If you decide you will not want to uninstall a fix (and if all is
running smoothly you probably won't) then delete the folder. If you
then try in Add/remove, to Remove that one, it will fail, and you will
be offered the option of removing the entry there

2) I like to open some windows as thumbnails, some as
icons, some as a list, etc., but quite often they revert
on the next reboot to another type of view. Is there a
way of having them remember my preferences?

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks2.htm
and in Fixes for XP one to Increase number of Folder Views that can be
stored
Be sure that in Folder Options - View you have 'remember each folder's
View settings' checked