ServicePackFiles - delete?

[Bill]

OS = Windows XP Pro - SP2 installed and working fine

As mentioned in an earlier unrelated thread, I have the following folders:

C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles
Created 10/18 2002 - 10:01:14PM
527 MB
read only

with sub files

C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386
Created 10/18 2002 - 10:01:14PM
527 MB
read only

C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386\lang
Created 10/18 2002 - 10:02:22PM
23.8MB
read only

I had done a search on Google to find out if these are deleteable (is there
such a word?) folders and gotten mixed answers. Some say "yes", some say
"no", some say "I wouldn't"
I do know many of the files in the folders are duplicated in
C:\Windows\System32

SO - I will ask this question here in the land of really cool people I have
learned to trust over the last few years.

can I delete the ServicePackFiles folder?
I love deleting stuff - so please say it is OK
TIA
Bill

 

[Torgeir Bakken \(MVP\)]

OS = Windows XP Pro - SP2 installed and working fine

As mentioned in an earlier unrelated thread, I have the following folders:

C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles
[snip]

can I delete the ServicePackFiles folder?
I love deleting stuff - so please say it is OK

Hi

Do not delete the ServicePackFiles\i386\ folder, it is used by the
system if it needs to repair files or if you install additional OS
components.

 

[Bill]

Torgeir Bakken,

Thanks for advice and explanation

Bill

OS = Windows XP Pro - SP2 installed and working fine

As mentioned in an earlier unrelated thread, I have the following folders:

C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles
[snip]

can I delete the ServicePackFiles folder?
I love deleting stuff - so please say it is OK

Hi

Do not delete the ServicePackFiles\i386\ folder, it is used by the
system if it needs to repair files or if you install additional OS
components.

 

[Rock]

OS = Windows XP Pro - SP2 installed and working fine

As mentioned in an earlier unrelated thread, I have the following folders:

C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles
Created 10/18 2002 - 10:01:14PM
527 MB
read only

with sub files

C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386
Created 10/18 2002 - 10:01:14PM
527 MB
read only

C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386\lang
Created 10/18 2002 - 10:02:22PM
23.8MB
read only

I had done a search on Google to find out if these are deleteable (is there
such a word?) folders and gotten mixed answers. Some say "yes", some say
"no", some say "I wouldn't"
I do know many of the files in the folders are duplicated in
C:\Windows\System32

SO - I will ask this question here in the land of really cool people I have
learned to trust over the last few years.

can I delete the ServicePackFiles folder?
I love deleting stuff - so please say it is OK
TIA
Bill

You can delete them if you first copy them to a CD and then edit the
registry to point to the new location on the CD. This per a post by MVP
Tom Porterfield:

Does the installation of SP2 create any archival or history files

that can be deleted to save disk space?


It creates a folder in the windows folder called
$NtServicePackUninstall$. This folder contains the files that were
replaced by SP2, and is used if you uninstall SP2. If you do not plan
on uninstall SP2, that folder can be deleted.

Also, the files of SP2 are placed in a folder in the Windows folder
called ServicePackFiles. This folder is there so that if you add a
windows component, it will use the updated SP2 files rather than the
original XP source files, insuring that your PC stays up to date even if
you add windows components after you install SP2. This folder should
not be deleted, but it can be moved to another location such as burned
to CD or DVD. Note that if you do that, you should update the registry
at
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\ServicePackSourcePath
to point to the new location.