Microsoft "update.exe" file importance?

[Frank]

I have 4 file folders, with names containing letters and
numbers that mean nothing under my local disk, each with
a subfolder of "sp2". Under sp2 is a file "update.exe",
which says its a MS service pack setup. What are these
folders and files for, and do I leave them alone, or can
I delete them? One is 32 charactes long, and to be honest
I can't understand why MS puts them as a folder under my
hard drive. Will they go away if I leave them alone or
will they be there forever?

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

If the file names are something like

$NtUninstallKB822603$
$NtUninstallQ327696$

These are backups of files that were replaced when the corresponding
"hotfix" was installed. These folders were created, in case you decide you
need to remove the hotfix for some reason. If your system is stable, and
the hotfixes aren't causing any problems, you can remove these folders and
the associated Add/Remove Programs entries. A small utility that will do
this for you can be found at www.dougknox.com, Win XP Utilities, Remove
HotFix Backup Files.