deleting archived copies of iexplore.exe?

[RalfG]

Between the \Windows\winsxs and \SoftwareDistribution\Download folders there
are 20 unique versions of iexplore.exe stored on my computer. They run from
version numbers 6.0.6000.16386 up to 8.0.60001.18702, with each one
consuming a bit over 600K of space.

That comes to a bit over 11MB of space that could be better used for other
things so I was wondering which of those, if any, would be safe to delete?

As I think about it, the entire \winsxs folder contains over 10GB of files,
is any of that safe to delete?

 

[Leonard Grey]

Do not delete either of those folders or their contents.

If 11MB of disk space is an issue for you, what you really need is a
larger hard drive.

 

[PaulB]

See this article.

http://blogs.technet.com/askcore/ar...and-windows-vista-and-why-is-it-so-large.aspx

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Please state your current IE version and full Windows version (e.g., Vista
x64 SP2) when posting to these newsgroups (not that your question is in any
way related to IE).

You may feel free to delete or delete the contents of %windows%\Software
Distribution\Download <= this folder & reboot.

You could even delete or delete the contents of %windows%\Software
Distribution <=this folder & reboot. (If you do, however, it'll wipe your
Update History and Windows Update.)

But hands-off %windows%\Winsxs <=this folder!...

What is the WINSXS directory in Windows 2008 and Windows Vista and why is it
so large?
http://blogs.technet.com/askcore/ar...and-windows-vista-and-why-is-it-so-large.aspx

 

[Raymond Shaw]

That comes to a bit over 11MB of space that could be better used for other
things

OOOH!... if you delete them, you'll gain, like, 11 floppy discs of
space!!!

WHAT A BONANZA!

Don't do it. They are where they are for a reason.

 

[RalfG]

Thankfully I don't need the space. It's just that I noticed those files and
had an urge to clean up what seems like useless clutter.

 

[RalfG]

That settles that then. The article at blogs.technet was enlightening.

Thank-you all for your input.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Go worry about other things (e.g., whirled peas).

Thankfully I don't need the space. It's just that I noticed those files
and
had an urge to clean up what seems like useless clutter.