Removing update folders

[Chris N Deuchar]

Hopefully a simple answer to this..
I am trying to clear some disc space and I have noticed that all of
the windows updates have their own folder of 'stuff'. Whilst I
obviously want to keep the updates active, can I delete what I
suspect are download folders (eg KB123456) or do I need these as
well?

Do I also need all the related folders called
'$NtUninstallKBxxxxxxx' ?

And what about the older versions of .Net?
And Java?

Thanks

Chris D

 

[Twayne]

In

Hopefully a simple answer to this..
I am trying to clear some disc space and I have noticed that all of
the windows updates have their own folder of 'stuff'. Whilst I
obviously want to keep the updates active, can I delete what I
suspect are download folders (eg KB123456) or do I need these as
well?

Do I also need all the related folders called
'$NtUninstallKBxxxxxxx' ?

And what about the older versions of .Net?
And Java?

Thanks

Chris D

No, you don't need them. Delete them if you wish. However, the space they
clear out will not do you much good; it's too little. In the end you are
going to have to get a larger hard drive or you'll battle this problem every
time you turn around.

HTH,

Twayne

 

[Jose]

Hopefully a simple answer to this..
I am trying to clear some disc space and I have noticed that all of
the windows updates have their own folder of 'stuff'. Whilst I
obviously want to keep the updates active, can I delete what I
suspect are download folders (eg KB123456) or do I need these as
well?

Do I also need all the related folders called
'$NtUninstallKBxxxxxxx' ?

And what about the older versions of .Net?
And Java?

Thanks

Chris D

My system is current XP Pro SP3 and all of my $ folders take up 696MB
of space, so that is not much on my 40GB drive. The folders contain
installation information for updates, but also contain uninstall
information, so consider that in your decision making process.
Unlikely to ever use them, but maybe someday.

You should leave the .NET stuff alone and in Add/Remove Programs,
there are probably several entries and it may look like there are "too
many" old versions, but they stack on top of each other on purpose.
Take a look here to understand why multiple .NET entries make sense:

Why so many versions of the .NET framework in Add/Remove Programs?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DotNet.svg

Reading material:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework

Most people just need the latest version of Java and the current one
is Java 6 (TM) Update 17. If you think yours is wrong, old or you
have think you have too many versions, it can get confusing and hard
to figure out so it is easier to just Remove all the javas, reboot,
make sure they are gone and download/install the latest one and you
will have no question about what you have installed:

http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp