How to delete or relocate uninstalled folders

[phuile]

Having run some service packs and various Microsoft patches on XP, I
discovered that the windows folder has a large number of uninstalled
folders in it. What is the proper way to delete or relocate these
folders to archive them?

I found a Knowledge Base article on similar issues by for Win2000. I
want to know how to do this on XP.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Nepatsfan]

Having run some service packs and various Microsoft patches on XP, I
discovered that the windows folder has a large number of uninstalled
folders in it. What is the proper way to delete or relocate these
folders to archive them?

I found a Knowledge Base article on similar issues by for Win2000. I
want to know how to do this on XP.

Thanks for any help.

First off, it's usually a good idea to wait a few weeks before deleting any
of those folders just in case you have to uninstall the associated update.
You can also copy them to CD/DVD if you want. Do not delete the $hf_mig$
folder. Windows uses that folder whenever a new update is installed.

Here are some web sites with more info on this subject.

What are the $NTUninstall folders? Can they be deleted?
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Hotfix_backup.htm

Removes Hotfix Backup files and the Add/Remove Programs Registry entries.
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Having run some service packs and various Microsoft patches on XP, I
discovered that the windows folder has a large number of uninstalled
folders in it. What is the proper way to delete or relocate these
folders to archive them?

I found a Knowledge Base article on similar issues by for Win2000. I
want to know how to do this on XP.

Yes, you can delete them (all except the $hf_mig$ one). You will lose
the ability to ever uninstall the associated hotfix, but if you are
sure you will never need to, go ahead. Go to MVP Doug Knox's site,
http://www.dougknox.com/, click on "Win XP Utilities" on the left,
then choose "Remove Hotfix Backups"

And you can copy them to a CD before deleting them.

Personally, unless you need the disk space, I'd recommend leaving all
of them there, just in case. And if you need the space that badly,
deleting them would just be a stopgap measure anyway, and you need to
buy a larger drive.

 

[Klaus Jorgensen]

Ken Blake, MVP used his keyboard to write :

Personally, unless you need the disk space, I'd recommend leaving all
of them there, just in case.

Always wondered why Microsoft placed those folders in the Windows
folder as they just garbles up the view for those of us frequently
visiting that folder.
Would be nice if they were "hidden" in e.g. c:\windows\updates
(Same as all Microsoft programs should be placed in c:\program
files\microsoft\*** so that they occupy only one folder in the program
folders view).

 

[Elmo]

Ken Blake, MVP used his keyboard to write :

Always wondered why Microsoft placed those folders in the Windows
folder as they just garbles up the view for those of us frequently
visiting that folder.
Would be nice if they were "hidden" in e.g. c:\windows\updates
(Same as all Microsoft programs should be placed in c:\program
files\microsoft\*** so that they occupy only one folder in the program
folders view).

You could move them to a subfolder and replace them, if you find you
need to uninstall one..

 

[Tim Meddick]

These folders are set with the "hidden" attribute set by default and should
also be compressed by default so they shouldn't really be a bother anyway so
long as you have folder views set to not display hidden files and folders.

Yours, Tim Meddick, Peckham.