WinXP Hidden Directories

[t0rek]

I just found a lot of space used by these hidden directories:

X:\Windows Folder\Installer
X:\Windows Folder\Installer\$PatchCache$

There are a lot Microsoft installers in the first one and dunno what is the second one but if you check out the folder properties you found that it takes a considerable space. As the folder name implies, I guess that there lies a lot of Windows patchs cache.

My questions are:

1. It is safe is to remove all this crap?
2. Are any other hidden folders like this one taking useful space?

I wonder what MS hast to say in this matter as well.

 

[Poobah]

I'm just guessing, but the installers are probably there so that you can perform uninstall operations on programs that you have installed.

 

[Toasty]

Mine only contains about 62MB (the patch cache folder only contains about 11KB), which is acceptable to me. The Installer folder seems to contain some of the installers for some of the programs I've installed. I don't know what the folders are used for, but Poobah's guess seems logical. I would guess that removing them wouldn't cause any serious problems, but it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong. I don't suppose you have a free partition or an expendable Windows installation you can use as a guinea pig?

 

[Poobah]

I tried running some of them, and they are just the installers of programs that are already installed. Try renaming the folder, and if after a few days there aren't any problems, and you don't mind not being able to uninstall your programs, then it should be safe to get rid of it.

 

[Miretank]

There are lot these kind of folders inside Window's main folder. And most of them are "backup" to restore programs you have updated and stuff (and installers, just Poobah said). And that's not only in Window's Main folder, if you do chase on the Documents and settings/"your account", you'll see more of those backups hogging some MBs of Hard Drive memory.

 

[yegosimo]

Burn them on a CD as a backup... if you get in trouble, then copy from the CD...

 

[Doomulation]

If you get trouble, Windows will mostly likely not boot and that would mean you can't copy the files from the CD/DVD. Unless you try to use the Recovery Console, but it is limited in usefulness, UNLESS you unlock hat. Either way, it's a tricky thing to do.

 

[Cobrax1884]

delete them
Nah, that would be dumb to do.
Hmm, i'l try to see them .
How much doo they exactly "weight"?

 

[t0rek]

I already deleted without troubles so far

 

[yegosimo]

If you get trouble, Windows will mostly likely not boot and that would mean you can't copy the files from the CD/DVD. Unless you try to use the Recovery Console, but it is limited in usefulness, UNLESS you unlock hat. Either way, it's a tricky thing to do.

Why wouldn't the PC boot? The files are all about updates, not about the main OS...
Plus, they're not on the System32/ folder so I don't think we would get in trouble by deleting them. I mean, your system hasn't had the files forever, and how could it manage to work then?

 

[Doomulation]

Why wouldn't the PC boot? The files are all about updates, not about the main OS...
Plus, they're not on the System32/ folder so I don't think we would get in trouble by deleting them. I mean, your system hasn't had the files forever, and how could it manage to work then?

If you delete the wrong files, naturally Windows won't boot. It is that that I am assuming. Not saying that deleting some files won't cause problems but OTHERS can! Be careful.

 

[Flash]

So... it's a good thing not just to remove files from HDD, but move to another directory, or save backup copy to DVD-RW/CD-RW

 

[Doomulation]

The best thing to do is use an Imaging Software. And keep your OS on a seperate partition away from applications and games and other things to keep the image size down. Then just restore it if something goes wrong.

 

[t0rek]

nah, in that directory windows seems to keep MSI installers, I saw like 6 versions of MSN messeneger wasting space of my HDD and other stuff, it's like a temp direcoty for installers, but hidden