Multiple dll files ... which to delete?

[Beau]

I have used a program called jv16 which showed that I have over 6000 duplicate files in my
c:\windows directory. There are a few files that have 4 instances in different folders. One file
like that is in c:\windows\system, c:\windows\system32, c:\windows\system32\dll cache,
and service pack folder. Are all 4 really necessary? Where would the safest folders be to
delete the "extra" files from? Thanks.

 

[Michael Burk [MSFT]]

First, let me preface this with be very careful about deleting any files out
of your Windows directory. This can cause your OS to become unusable.

C:\Windows\System32 is the directory that on most modern computers holds the
vast majority of the Windows components. These are almost always needed.

C:\Windows\System32\DLL Cache was an addition to Windows XP that protects
you against an old program replacing a DLL in the System32 directory with an
old version that would cause your system to stop working. The feature is
called System File Protection and you definitely want to leave all of these
files.

C:\Windows\System was an older store for DLLs, but some third party
applications still use this directory. It is possible that you have a third
party application which does not want to use the one in System32 and is
looking for it in here. Windows XP itself does not put anything here, but
drivers most certainly may exist in there.

A Service Pack directory is usually just the files that were downloaded when
you installed the Service Pack. Leaving this can allow you to uninstall the
Service Pack later or re-install it faster, but usually these aren't
necessary to keep around if you really need the space.

Hope this helps,

--
Michael Burk
Longhorn Shell
http://msdn.microsoft.com/longhorn
----===========================----
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[Sammy]

Michael Burk [MSFT] wrote in microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support:

First, let me preface this with be very careful about deleting any files
out of your Windows directory. This can cause your OS to become
unusable.

C:\Windows\System32 is the directory that on most modern computers holds
the vast majority of the Windows components. These are almost always
needed.

C:\Windows\System32\DLL Cache was an addition to Windows XP that
protects you against an old program replacing a DLL in the System32
directory with an old version that would cause your system to stop
working. The feature is called System File Protection and you
definitely want to leave all of these files.

C:\Windows\System was an older store for DLLs, but some third party
applications still use this directory. It is possible that you have a
third party application which does not want to use the one in System32
and is looking for it in here. Windows XP itself does not put anything
here, but drivers most certainly may exist in there.

A Service Pack directory is usually just the files that were downloaded
when you installed the Service Pack. Leaving this can allow you to
uninstall the Service Pack later or re-install it faster, but usually
these aren't necessary to keep around if you really need the space.

Hope this helps,

Thank you Michael. Yes, I'll be very careful what I delete. By deleting some files I can
gain almost 120 MB of space. On a 20GB hard drive that's almost full, that's a premium
for me.