SP 2 and backup files

[Jerry]

After I installed SP 2 I discovered that I was missing about a gig of
disk space. Since the download was supposed to be 190 megs or so why
am I losing all this disk space? If it went into backups can anyone
tell me how to find these backups so I can get rid of them? Thanks.

 

[Torgeir Bakken \(MVP\)]

After I installed SP 2 I discovered that I was missing about a gig of
disk space. Since the download was supposed to be 190 megs or so why
am I losing all this disk space? If it went into backups can anyone
tell me how to find these backups so I can get rid of them? Thanks.

Hi

Folders you can consider deleting and other disk cleanup tips
after a SP2 installation:

1)
If you are sure you don't need to uninstall SP2, you can delete
the %windir%\$NtServicePackUninstall$\ folder.

(%windir% is typically C:\Windows)

Note that the folder is marked as hidden, so to see it, you need
to have Explorer configured to show hidden files/folders.

(to remove the Add/Remove Programs entry, just click on it *after*
the $NtServicePackUninstall$ is deleted and you will get an offer
to remove it)

Alternatively (for the $NtServicePackUninstall$ folder):

If you make a backup of the folder to e.g. a CD, you can put it
back if you need to uninstall SP2. After restoring the backup,
run %windir%\$NtServicePackUninstall$\spuninst\spuninst.exe
to start the process.


2)
If you see %windir%\$NTUninstall* folders which dates back to your
SP1 installation, you can delete those. They are not removed by the
SP2 installation in case you want/need to go back to SP1 (and then
be able to uninstall the hotfixes in case you need to).

The following folders should be safe to delete:

%windir%\$xpsp1hfm$\
%windir%\$NtUninstallQ<some#>$\
%windir%\$NtUninstallKB<some#>$\

Note that the folders are marked as hidden, so to see them, you
need to have Explorer configured to show hidden files/folders.


3)
You should clean out this folder now and then (WU5's
temporary download folder):

%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Download\


4)
Stop and start System Restore to possibly regain some space (but
you will lose your current Restore points). You also may want to reduce
the amount of disk space System Restore is allowed to occupy.

How to turn on and turn off System Restore in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310405

More about System Restore here:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/newsgroups/faqsrwxp.mspx

 

[Jerry]

I didn't dare delete the $NtServicePackUninstall folder, but I did
delete the \SoftwareDistribution\Download folder and picked up almost
a gig right there and everything seems to be working ok ... thankyou
so much!

 

[Jerry]

I went ahead and deleted the $NtServicePackUninstall$ folder and I
picked up another 500 megs of hard drive space. Between that and
deleting the Software Distribution\Download files I've picked up an
extra gig and a half of hard drive space. The computer is working
fine. Thankyou.

 

[Yasperifa]

After I installed SP 2 I discovered that I was missing about a gig of
disk space. Since the download was supposed to be 190 megs or so why
am I losing all this disk space? If it went into backups can anyone
tell me how to find these backups so I can get rid of them? Thanks.

Looking for the most free space on your hard drive to do what you want to do and not what windows wants to do? Simple:

Make a Dos 6.0 boot up disc or earlier versions.
Delete c:\windows
Windows os is in this directory.
Delete c:\Program files directory.
Programs & their files are dumped here.
Delete c:\Documents & settings
Windows uses this directory for your info. [save your files on the root c:\yourname, first!]

Install dos. make a simple dos boot disk and you have 99.99999 % of your hd to use for your files w/o any windows junk in the way! Goodbye GUI, hello Disc Operating System! =D

Life will be much easier without trying to keep up with the newest junk and focus on your hobbies & projects instead. =)