SP2 folder with Update folder

[Mark W]

Hello:

I am hoping someone will be able to answer the following for me. I have XP
Pro w/ SP2 with a local C: drive, a DVD-R as my D: drive, a CD-RW as my E:
drive, and an external USB hard drive as my F: drive. I have noticed
several strange named folders on F:. They are random letters and numbers
folders, such as

4b9e584e27a96d11025633ae
37fe28f89732069cb8e71ab0024146f9
b
5a9da
etc, etc, etc.

There are an Update subfolders that contain Update.exe. Or there is a
subfolder SP2\Update, which contains a different Update.exe than the others.
When I try to delete these folders, I get the error

Error Deleting File or Folder. Cannot delete update (or folder sp2): Access
is denied. Make sure the disk is not full to write-protected and that the
file is not currently in use.

When I try to change the folder attributes from the Properties option using
the "apply changes to this folder, subfolder and files" option, I get

"An error occurred applying attributes to the file: F:\
..........\Update.exe, Access is denied".

I am performing these options as the administrator account. I have not
found anything in Microsoft's XP knowledge base about these error, nor have
I found anything from the external hard drive mfg's knowledge base.

Does anyone know why this is happening? How can I fix this? Any help will
be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Mark

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Hi Mark,

From: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=329260
( Same info applies to SP2 )

<quote>
This folder is not required after you install the service pack, and you can
safely delete this folder. When you install Windows XP SP1, this temporary
folder is created on the volume that has the most free space. The folder
name contains 20 random characters, and is not always created on the same
volume as the Windows folder. For example, this temporary folder may have
the following name:

9470bb12e8a4f3447657236478e41c5

This folder is automatically deleted by Windows XP after you install the
service pack. However, if the folder is not automatically deleted by Windows
XP, you can safely delete this folder.

</quote>

For the "Access Denied" error, take ownership of those folder and then
delete

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421

 

[Mark W]

Hello Ramesh:

The documents you provided worked for me. Thank you very much for your
help!!

Mark

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

You're welcome Mark!

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User
http://windowsxp.mvps.org

Hello Ramesh:

The documents you provided worked for me. Thank you very much for your
help!!

Mark

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