Delete Backup Files of update

Is it safe to delete backup files vista's update? Its taking a lot of space.

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:49:00 -0700, Myself
<> wrote:

>Is it safe to delete backup files vista's update? Its taking a lot of space.

An MVP opinion :

My personal practice is very different. These uninstall files
really take up very little room. Unless you are very short of disk
space, I think it's safer to keep them even if you think you'll never
need them, just in case.
--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User



Warning: One folder you should NOT delete is: $hf_mig$

It adds new entries into that folder when installing MS updates;
KB*, Q*.
--
BoB

Myself wrote:

> Is it safe to delete backup files vista's update? Its taking a lot of space.


Yes, but ... you can back them up *just in case* something goes awry.
Store them on an external USB drive, thumb drive, or burn them to
portable media [CD/DVD].

" Backups are a Users best friend. "

I want to Save Space and delete unnecessary files after installing a
Windows Update patch or Service Pack
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm

MowGreen [MVP 2003-2008]
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============

"Bob" wrote:

> On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:49:00 -0700, Myself
> <> wrote:
>
> >Is it safe to delete backup files vista's update? Its taking a lot of space.
>
> An MVP opinion :
>
> My personal practice is very different. These uninstall files
> really take up very little room. Unless you are very short of disk
> space, I think it's safer to keep them even if you think you'll never
> need them, just in case.
> --
> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
>
>
>
> Warning: One folder you should NOT delete is: $hf_mig$
>
> It adds new entries into that folder when installing MS updates;
> KB*, Q*.
> --
> BoB
>
>

So if I delete those backup files, is it going to hamper the future updates?
I couldn't find any folder named "$hf_mig$" in vista. Anyway thanks for the
reply.

So if I delete those backup files, is it going to hamper the future updates?
I couldn't find any folder named "$hf_mig$" in vista. Anyway thanks for the
reply.

"MowGreen [MVP]" wrote:

> Myself wrote:
>
> > Is it safe to delete backup files vista's update? Its taking a lot of space.
>
>
> Yes, but ... you can back them up *just in case* something goes awry.
> Store them on an external USB drive, thumb drive, or burn them to
> portable media [CD/DVD].
>
> " Backups are a Users best friend. "
>
> I want to Save Space and delete unnecessary files after installing a
> Windows Update patch or Service Pack
> http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
>
> MowGreen [MVP 2003-2008]
> ===============
> *-343-* FDNY
> Never Forgotten
> ===============
>

Myself wrote:
> Is it safe to delete backup files vista's update? Its taking a lot
> of space.

If you think the updates are actually using up the majority of your space -
perhaps you have too small of a hard disk drive or at least too small of a
partition for the system to be using (system being the installation and
working files of your given OS.)

Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a
size between 64MB and 128MB..

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the
following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to
something between 64MB and 128MB. (It may be MUCH larger right
now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents"
(the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10
minutes or more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet
Explorer.

You can use an application that scans your system for log files and
temporary files and use that to get rid of those:

Ccleaner (Free!)
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Other ways to free up space..

SequoiaView
http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/

JDiskReport
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html

Those can help you visually discover where all the space is being used.

If you are concerned over less than 5GB of space total at any given time
being freed up on your hard disk drive - then something is wrong and
you would be better off spending a little and putting in a drive that is
likely 3-8 times as large as what you have not and not concerning
yourself over such a small amount of space OR you seriously need
to consider what you really need on the system and what should be
archived.

Basic housekeeping 101... - in an actual home, if your storage area gets
full - you either have to decide what you really should have in the storage
area and what could go or you have to find a new place to store stuff
that will accommodate everything you need. You don't walk into a
warehouse of cars, look at the filing cabinet in the corner where
you keep all the records for the cars and decide that if you move it out of
the warehouse - you will have more room for cars. ;-)

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Very unfortunate conclusions drawn here. Maybe the OP has a very legitimate
reason for not wanting half a gig worth of garbage laying around on his
drive. What happened to the good ole days of keeping our environments clean?
I want to backup my pristine machine to a DVD and trust me, the .5 gig makes
a difference.

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

> Myself wrote:
> > Is it safe to delete backup files vista's update? Its taking a lot
> > of space.
>
> If you think the updates are actually using up the majority of your space -
> perhaps you have too small of a hard disk drive or at least too small of a
> partition for the system to be using (system being the installation and
> working files of your given OS.)
>
> Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a
> size between 64MB and 128MB..
>
> - Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
> - Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
> - Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the
> following:
> - Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
> - Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to
> something between 64MB and 128MB. (It may be MUCH larger right
> now.)
> - Click OK.
> - Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents"
> (the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10
> minutes or more.)
> - Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet
> Explorer.
>
> You can use an application that scans your system for log files and
> temporary files and use that to get rid of those:
>
> Ccleaner (Free!)
> http://www.ccleaner.com/
>
> Other ways to free up space..
>
> SequoiaView
> http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/
>
> JDiskReport
> http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html
>
> Those can help you visually discover where all the space is being used.
>
> If you are concerned over less than 5GB of space total at any given time
> being freed up on your hard disk drive - then something is wrong and
> you would be better off spending a little and putting in a drive that is
> likely 3-8 times as large as what you have not and not concerning
> yourself over such a small amount of space OR you seriously need
> to consider what you really need on the system and what should be
> archived.
>
> Basic housekeeping 101... - in an actual home, if your storage area gets
> full - you either have to decide what you really should have in the storage
> area and what could go or you have to find a new place to store stuff
> that will accommodate everything you need. You don't walk into a
> warehouse of cars, look at the filing cabinet in the corner where
> you keep all the records for the cars and decide that if you move it out of
> the warehouse - you will have more room for cars. ;-)
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>
>

Which definition of garbage are you using in terms of computer science ?

1) semantic garbage
Semantic garbage is any object or data which will never be accessed
by a running program, for any combination of inputs to the program.

2) syntactic garbage
Syntactic garbage refers to objects or data within a program's
memory space that are unreachable from the program's root set.

..5 GB on modern HDs is a trivial size.
Some browsers are set by Default to cache at least that same amount.
That's the location where the malware authors are likely to stash their
executables. Yet, the Default setting of most browsers is to *retain*
said cache when the browser closes.

IF a need arises where someone *must* uninstall an update, having the
uninstall subfolders present is handy.
In the *vast majority* of cases, deleting the uninstall subfolders is
desirable since the updates will *never* be uninstalled.

Backups can be done incrementally and what's backed up should be
completely up to the User.

*Imaging* a freshly installed HD, including all apps/programs/whatever,
is another matter entirely and NO unnecessary data should ever be included.

Otherwise ... I prefer NNTP to forums as there's less garbage there. <w>


MowGreen
================
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
================

banthecheck.com
"Security updates should *never* have *non-security content* prechecked




sgrant wrote:
> Very unfortunate conclusions drawn here. Maybe the OP has a very legitimate
> reason for not wanting half a gig worth of garbage laying around on his
> drive. What happened to the good ole days of keeping our environments clean?
> I want to backup my pristine machine to a DVD and trust me, the .5 gig makes
> a difference.

Vista doesn't use uninstall folders, does it? Instead it has the servicing
store, which is definitely not safe to muck about with.

Harry.

On 2010-03-10 12:31 p.m., MowGreen wrote:
> Which definition of garbage are you using in terms of computer science ?
>
> 1) semantic garbage
> Semantic garbage is any object or data which will never be accessed by a
> running program, for any combination of inputs to the program.
>
> 2) syntactic garbage
> Syntactic garbage refers to objects or data within a program's memory
> space that are unreachable from the program's root set.
>
> .5 GB on modern HDs is a trivial size.
> Some browsers are set by Default to cache at least that same amount.
> That's the location where the malware authors are likely to stash their
> executables. Yet, the Default setting of most browsers is to *retain*
> said cache when the browser closes.
>
> IF a need arises where someone *must* uninstall an update, having the
> uninstall subfolders present is handy.
> In the *vast majority* of cases, deleting the uninstall subfolders is
> desirable since the updates will *never* be uninstalled.
>
> Backups can be done incrementally and what's backed up should be
> completely up to the User.
>
> *Imaging* a freshly installed HD, including all apps/programs/whatever,
> is another matter entirely and NO unnecessary data should ever be included.
>
> Otherwise ... I prefer NNTP to forums as there's less garbage there. <w>
>
>
> MowGreen
> ================
> *-343-* FDNY
> Never Forgotten
> ================
>
> banthecheck.com
> "Security updates should *never* have *non-security content* prechecked
>
>
>
>
> sgrant wrote:
>> Very unfortunate conclusions drawn here. Maybe the OP has a very
>> legitimate
>> reason for not wanting half a gig worth of garbage laying around on his
>> drive. What happened to the good ole days of keeping our environments
>> clean?
>> I want to backup my pristine machine to a DVD and trust me, the .5 gig
>> makes
>> a difference.


--
Harry Johnston
http://harryjohnston.wordpress.com

IIRC, Vista/Win7 uses VSS for branch comparison and stores the uninstall
information there. Do you know something I don't, Harry ?

MowGreen
================
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
================

banthecheck.com
"Security updates should *never* have *non-security content* prechecked


Harry Johnston [MVP] wrote:
> Vista doesn't use uninstall folders, does it? Instead it has the
> servicing store, which is definitely not safe to muck about with.
>
> Harry.
>
> On 2010-03-10 12:31 p.m., MowGreen wrote:
>> Which definition of garbage are you using in terms of computer science ?
>>
>> 1) semantic garbage
>> Semantic garbage is any object or data which will never be accessed by a
>> running program, for any combination of inputs to the program.
>>
>> 2) syntactic garbage
>> Syntactic garbage refers to objects or data within a program's memory
>> space that are unreachable from the program's root set.
>>
>> .5 GB on modern HDs is a trivial size.
>> Some browsers are set by Default to cache at least that same amount.
>> That's the location where the malware authors are likely to stash their
>> executables. Yet, the Default setting of most browsers is to *retain*
>> said cache when the browser closes.
>>
>> IF a need arises where someone *must* uninstall an update, having the
>> uninstall subfolders present is handy.
>> In the *vast majority* of cases, deleting the uninstall subfolders is
>> desirable since the updates will *never* be uninstalled.
>>
>> Backups can be done incrementally and what's backed up should be
>> completely up to the User.
>>
>> *Imaging* a freshly installed HD, including all apps/programs/whatever,
>> is another matter entirely and NO unnecessary data should ever be
>> included.
>>
>> Otherwise ... I prefer NNTP to forums as there's less garbage there. <w>
>>
>>
>> MowGreen
>> ================
>> *-343-* FDNY
>> Never Forgotten
>> ================
>>
>> banthecheck.com
>> "Security updates should *never* have *non-security content* prechecked
>>
>>
>>
>>