File clutter - what can I delete?

I'm working on a friend's laptop which seems to have an awful lot of space
taken up with files whose value I don't recognise. I'm using the neat
"Treesize" utility to give me a breakdown.

The following folders seem particularly bloated - I'd be really grateful for
any guidance:

C:\Windows\winsxs (12.4 GB)
C:\SwSetup (1.6 GB)
C:\ProgramData\Apple\Installer Cache (0.7 GB)

I've cleared out the various Temp folders (before moving on to the stacks of
user data!) but I'd be glad to know if I can delete some or any of the
above.

Thanks!

Phil, London

"Philip Herlihy" <> wrote in message
news:...
> I'm working on a friend's laptop which seems to have an awful lot of space
> taken up with files whose value I don't recognise. I'm using the neat
> "Treesize" utility to give me a breakdown.
>
> The following folders seem particularly bloated - I'd be really grateful
> for any guidance:
>
> C:\Windows\winsxs (12.4 GB)
> C:\SwSetup (1.6 GB)
> C:\ProgramData\Apple\Installer Cache (0.7 GB)
>
> I've cleared out the various Temp folders (before moving on to the stacks
> of user data!) but I'd be glad to know if I can delete some or any of the
> above.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Phil, London

Just an update - another web search brought up this useful article on the
winsxs ("Windows Side by Side" folder):
http://www.winvistaclub.com/f16.html
12.4 GB still seems vast, even if a lot of the contents are supposedly hard
links! Or am I showing my age...?

Phil

"Philip Herlihy" <> wrote in message
news:...
> I'm working on a friend's laptop which seems to have an awful lot of space
> taken up with files whose value I don't recognise. I'm using the neat
> "Treesize" utility to give me a breakdown.
>
> The following folders seem particularly bloated - I'd be really grateful
> for any guidance:
>
> C:\Windows\winsxs (12.4 GB)
> C:\SwSetup (1.6 GB)
> C:\ProgramData\Apple\Installer Cache (0.7 GB)
>
> I've cleared out the various Temp folders (before moving on to the stacks
> of user data!) but I'd be glad to know if I can delete some or any of the
> above.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Phil, London

I'm not sure about the other 2, but stay away from the winsxs folder. Bad
mojo to be deleting stuff in there. Google or Bing winsxs to get an
overview of what that folder contains.
--


"Don't pick a fight with an old man.
If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you."

have a read here, great info





'Demystifying the WinSxS directory in Windows XP, Vista and Server
2003/2008 - Aaron Tiensivu's Blog'
(http://blog.tiensivu.com/aaron/archi...-20032008.html)


http://www.vistax64.com/general-disc...ws-winsxs.html

http://www.vistax64.com/vista-file-m...00-winsxs.html



this too:
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/22...anup-tool.html


--
pacinitaly

SpellCherkers aren't worth a shirt ya no

If I helped you, please tip my scales. If I have not, curse me out like
a drunken sailor

"pacinitaly" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> have a read here, great info
>
>
>
>
>
> 'Demystifying the WinSxS directory in Windows XP, Vista and Server
> 2003/2008 - Aaron Tiensivu's Blog'
> (http://blog.tiensivu.com/aaron/archi...-20032008.html)
>
>
> http://www.vistax64.com/general-disc...ws-winsxs.html
>
> http://www.vistax64.com/vista-file-m...00-winsxs.html
>
>
>
> this too:
> http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/22...anup-tool.html
>
>
> --
> pacinitaly
>
> SpellCherkers aren't worth a shirt ya no
>
> If I helped you, please tip my scales. If I have not, curse me out like
> a drunken sailor

Thanks to Michael and Pacinitaly - I'll certainly leave winsxs well alone!
I ran the SP2 cleaner and that got rid of 2.4 GB, so at 10GB it seems quite
tiny now!
Phil

your welcome:

--
pacinital

SpellCherkers aren't worth a shirt ya no

If I helped you, please tip my scales. If I have not, curse me out lik
a drunken sailor