MoJR wrote:
> My computer is running fine and I want to uninstall updates to
> recapture disc space.
> I have the following updates;
> Java
> .NET
> Dr.watson
> Office data and security
> MXMSL
> Windows XP Software updates
> Which of these can be safely unsured?
If your computer is running fine - why are you going to go messing with it?
(Running fine to me means you have no need to 'recapture disk space'...)
What version of JAVA (JRE) do you have? If there are *many* listed in your
Control Panel --> Add or Remove Programs, you can remove all of them and
only install the latest version to maintain usability.
http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp
Currently: Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 Update 11
..NET (Framework I would assume) - a little more difficult to say. At this
point you could have up to four different .NET Frameworks - and which one
you need is going to be fairly unique to your computer and the applications
installed upon it. There is no *easy way* to determine which you need and
which you don't need once they are installed. Safest bet - if they are
installed - leave them be.
Dr. Watson - leave alone.
Office data and security --> Wha? If that is an update for Microsoft
Office - leave it alone.
MXMSL --> You mean MSXML? Leave it be.
Windows XP Software updates <-- leave the entries in Add or Remove Programs
alone!
Not sure what it is you are trying to accomplish - more so given that the
list you have given would not free up an enormous amount of space in my
opinion. If you are running low on space - it can usually be explained by a
couple of things:
1) That computer is too old or too underpowered for what you are using it
for (at least the hard drive) and you need to replace it.
2) You need to go through *your* files/folders and archive (off the
computer, on external drive(s) or CD/DVD, etc) a lot of your stuff.
*(3) You just *THINK* you need more space.
* Not a reason easily supported in most cases.
Not sure what makes you think you need to free up space - but let me give
you a few tips.
If you are comfortable with the stability of your system, you can delete the
uninstall files for the patches that Windows XP has installed...
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but your
latest restore point and cleanup even more "loose files"..
How to use Disk Cleanup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312
You can turn off hibernation if it is on and you don't use it..
When you hibernate your computer, Windows saves the contents of the system's
memory to the hiberfil.sys file. As a result, the size of the hiberfil.sys
file will always equal the amount of physical memory in your system. If you
don't use the hibernate feature and want to recapture the space that Windows
uses for the hiberfil.sys file, perform the following steps:
- Start the Control Panel Power Options applet (go to Start, Settings,
Control Panel, and click Power Options).
- Select the Hibernate tab, clear the "Enable hibernation" check box, then
click OK; although you might think otherwise, selecting Never under the
"System hibernates" option on the Power Schemes tab doesn't delete the
hiberfil.sys file.
- Windows will remove the "System hibernates" option from the Power Schemes
tab and delete the hiberfil.sys file.
You can control how much space your System Restore can use...
1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. Click the System Restore tab.
3. Highlight one of your drives (or C: if you only have one) and click on
the "Settings" button.
4. Change the percentage of disk space you wish to allow.. I suggest moving
the slider until you have just about 1GB (1024MB or close to that...)
5. Click OK.. Then Click OK again.
You can control how much space your Temporary Internet Files can utilize...
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
Similar Threads
Linear Mode
