SP/3 Cleanup

What files and folders can we delete after SP/3 is installed?

In the past for SP/2 we deleted stuff after SP/2 was installed and wondered
if anyone knew if SP/3 has same that can be deleted.

This is what I got from Alex Nichol on SP/2 and looking for some of same for
SP/3:
************************************************** ***********

Tidying Up After Installing SP2
by Alex Nichol

Installing SP2 leaves a lot of space on your hard disk taken up by files you
would only ever need if you were to uninstall SP2. Once you are sure you are
happy with the upgrade, do the following:
A very big System Restore point will have been made. Once a new regular size
one has been made in the ordinary way, clean up by going to Start | All
Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Cleanup and, under 'More
Options,' click the bottom button to remove all but the most recent restore
point.
Delete the hidden folder of files that would be restored by an uninstall:
C:\Windows\$NTServicePackUninstall. Once this is done, if you try to use the
'Remove' for Service Pack 2 in Add/Remove Programs, that will fail and will
offer to delete the entry. See below on how you can remove this entry too.
This was 293 MB.
There may also be a large folder C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download,
depending on how you did the installation. That can be deleted also. This
will be around 266 MB if you downloaded this SP/2 update.
Check that the installation's temporary folder got properly removed. It will
be on the drive where you downloaded the setup files (probably C and will
have a long name of random letters. If it is still around, delete it. And
burn the downloaded file to a CD so as to have it if you ever need to
reinstall.
There will also be a large folder C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles. Do not delete
this - it will be used in future by Windows File Protection - but on an NTFS
disk you can compress it to save about 200MB of disk space. Right-click on
it, select Properties, click the Advanced button, and select Compress.
Without compressing the total size of the files is about 407 MB.

Or, you could delete it if you know you will never want to use the Windows
File Protection which is like using scanreg or something like that. If we
get that messed up we might as well do a restore or a clean install. I also
saw several messages in newsgroups that say to go ahead and delete this
folder too cause it is so big and saves a lot of space.

Also you can delete other Windows Updates Files to gain space. Go to
C:\WINDOWS and delete the files that are in blue. They all start with a $
sign and are in blue. These are windows updates you got and installed. They
are also in Add/Remove Programs.

The thing is if you delete these, you won't be able to uninstall the update
from Add/Remove Programs. So be sure your computer is running good with the
updates before deleting the uninstall for them.

You can remove those entries in Add/Remove Programs. This for removing the
Windows Updates from there. But you can also remove the SP/2 entry there
too. It is named Windows XP Service Pack.

You will see the corresponding Uninstall entries in Add/Remove Programs
list. To manually remove the hotfix entries from Add/Remove Programs, try
this:

Click Start, Run and type REGEDIT.EXE
Navigate to the the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows \ CurrentVersion \
Uninstall
Backup the branch by exporting to a REG file.
Select the corresponding sub-key (Hotfix ID) and delete the key.
Close Registry Editor.

See http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

Ed. wrote:
> What files and folders can we delete after SP/3 is installed?
>
> In the past for SP/2 we deleted stuff after SP/2 was installed and
> wondered
> if anyone knew if SP/3 has same that can be deleted.
>
> This is what I got from Alex Nichol on SP/2 and looking for some of same
> for
> SP/3:
> ************************************************** ***********
>
> Tidying Up After Installing SP2
> by Alex Nichol
>
> Installing SP2 leaves a lot of space on your hard disk taken up by files
> you
> would only ever need if you were to uninstall SP2. Once you are sure you
> are
> happy with the upgrade, do the following:
> A very big System Restore point will have been made. Once a new regular
> size
> one has been made in the ordinary way, clean up by going to Start | All
> Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Cleanup and, under 'More
> Options,' click the bottom button to remove all but the most recent
> restore
> point.
> Delete the hidden folder of files that would be restored by an uninstall:
> C:\Windows\$NTServicePackUninstall. Once this is done, if you try to use
> the
> 'Remove' for Service Pack 2 in Add/Remove Programs, that will fail and
> will
> offer to delete the entry. See below on how you can remove this entry too.
> This was 293 MB.
> There may also be a large folder C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download,
> depending on how you did the installation. That can be deleted also. This
> will be around 266 MB if you downloaded this SP/2 update.
> Check that the installation's temporary folder got properly removed. It
> will
> be on the drive where you downloaded the setup files (probably C and
> will
> have a long name of random letters. If it is still around, delete it. And
> burn the downloaded file to a CD so as to have it if you ever need to
> reinstall.
> There will also be a large folder C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles. Do not
> delete
> this - it will be used in future by Windows File Protection - but on an
> NTFS
> disk you can compress it to save about 200MB of disk space. Right-click on
> it, select Properties, click the Advanced button, and select Compress.
> Without compressing the total size of the files is about 407 MB.
>
> Or, you could delete it if you know you will never want to use the Windows
> File Protection which is like using scanreg or something like that. If we
> get that messed up we might as well do a restore or a clean install. I
> also
> saw several messages in newsgroups that say to go ahead and delete this
> folder too cause it is so big and saves a lot of space.
>
> Also you can delete other Windows Updates Files to gain space. Go to
> C:\WINDOWS and delete the files that are in blue. They all start with a $
> sign and are in blue. These are windows updates you got and installed.
> They
> are also in Add/Remove Programs.
>
> The thing is if you delete these, you won't be able to uninstall the
> update
> from Add/Remove Programs. So be sure your computer is running good with
> the
> updates before deleting the uninstall for them.
>
> You can remove those entries in Add/Remove Programs. This for removing the
> Windows Updates from there. But you can also remove the SP/2 entry there
> too. It is named Windows XP Service Pack.
>
> You will see the corresponding Uninstall entries in Add/Remove Programs
> list. To manually remove the hotfix entries from Add/Remove Programs, try
> this:
>
> Click Start, Run and type REGEDIT.EXE
> Navigate to the the following key:
> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows \ CurrentVersion \
> Uninstall
> Backup the branch by exporting to a REG file.
> Select the corresponding sub-key (Hotfix ID) and delete the key.
> Close Registry Editor.

Thank you for the reply. I went to the provided link and it basically says
what I got from Alex Nichol a couple years ago.
The provided link says this is for Service Pack 1 & 2.
I am assuming it would be same for Service Pack 3 ??
That is what I am trying to verify.

Thanks Again,
Ed.

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <> wrote in message
news:...
> See http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
> --
> ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
> MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
> AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
> DTS-L http://dts-l.net/
>
> Ed. wrote:
>> What files and folders can we delete after SP/3 is installed?
>>
>> In the past for SP/2 we deleted stuff after SP/2 was installed and
>> wondered
>> if anyone knew if SP/3 has same that can be deleted.
>>
>> This is what I got from Alex Nichol on SP/2 and looking for some of same
>> for
>> SP/3:
>> ************************************************** ***********
>>
>> Tidying Up After Installing SP2
>> by Alex Nichol
>>
>> Installing SP2 leaves a lot of space on your hard disk taken up by files
>> you
>> would only ever need if you were to uninstall SP2. Once you are sure you
>> are
>> happy with the upgrade, do the following:
>> A very big System Restore point will have been made. Once a new regular
>> size
>> one has been made in the ordinary way, clean up by going to Start | All
>> Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Cleanup and, under 'More
>> Options,' click the bottom button to remove all but the most recent
>> restore
>> point.
>> Delete the hidden folder of files that would be restored by an uninstall:
>> C:\Windows\$NTServicePackUninstall. Once this is done, if you try to use
>> the
>> 'Remove' for Service Pack 2 in Add/Remove Programs, that will fail and
>> will
>> offer to delete the entry. See below on how you can remove this entry
>> too.
>> This was 293 MB.
>> There may also be a large folder
>> C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download,
>> depending on how you did the installation. That can be deleted also. This
>> will be around 266 MB if you downloaded this SP/2 update.
>> Check that the installation's temporary folder got properly removed. It
>> will
>> be on the drive where you downloaded the setup files (probably C and
>> will
>> have a long name of random letters. If it is still around, delete it. And
>> burn the downloaded file to a CD so as to have it if you ever need to
>> reinstall.
>> There will also be a large folder C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles. Do not
>> delete
>> this - it will be used in future by Windows File Protection - but on an
>> NTFS
>> disk you can compress it to save about 200MB of disk space. Right-click
>> on
>> it, select Properties, click the Advanced button, and select Compress.
>> Without compressing the total size of the files is about 407 MB.
>>
>> Or, you could delete it if you know you will never want to use the
>> Windows
>> File Protection which is like using scanreg or something like that. If we
>> get that messed up we might as well do a restore or a clean install. I
>> also
>> saw several messages in newsgroups that say to go ahead and delete this
>> folder too cause it is so big and saves a lot of space.
>>
>> Also you can delete other Windows Updates Files to gain space. Go to
>> C:\WINDOWS and delete the files that are in blue. They all start with a
>> $
>> sign and are in blue. These are windows updates you got and installed.
>> They
>> are also in Add/Remove Programs.
>>
>> The thing is if you delete these, you won't be able to uninstall the
>> update
>> from Add/Remove Programs. So be sure your computer is running good with
>> the
>> updates before deleting the uninstall for them.
>>
>> You can remove those entries in Add/Remove Programs. This for removing
>> the
>> Windows Updates from there. But you can also remove the SP/2 entry there
>> too. It is named Windows XP Service Pack.
>>
>> You will see the corresponding Uninstall entries in Add/Remove Programs
>> list. To manually remove the hotfix entries from Add/Remove Programs, try
>> this:
>>
>> Click Start, Run and type REGEDIT.EXE
>> Navigate to the the following key:
>> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows \ CurrentVersion \
>> Uninstall
>> Backup the branch by exporting to a REG file.
>> Select the corresponding sub-key (Hotfix ID) and delete the key.
>> Close Registry Editor.
>

Yes, it'll be the same for SP3.

Look for a thread on this here: http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/


Ed. wrote:
> Thank you for the reply. I went to the provided link and it basically says
> what I got from Alex Nichol a couple years ago.
> The provided link says this is for Service Pack 1 & 2.
> I am assuming it would be same for Service Pack 3 ??
> That is what I am trying to verify.
>
> Thanks Again,
> Ed.
>
> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> See http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
>> --
>> ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
>> MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
>> AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
>> DTS-L http://dts-l.net/
>>
>> Ed. wrote:
>>> What files and folders can we delete after SP/3 is installed?
>>>
>>> In the past for SP/2 we deleted stuff after SP/2 was installed and
>>> wondered
>>> if anyone knew if SP/3 has same that can be deleted.
>>>
>>> This is what I got from Alex Nichol on SP/2 and looking for some of same
>>> for
>>> SP/3:
>>> ************************************************** ***********
>>>
>>> Tidying Up After Installing SP2
>>> by Alex Nichol
>>>
>>> Installing SP2 leaves a lot of space on your hard disk taken up by files
>>> you
>>> would only ever need if you were to uninstall SP2. Once you are sure you
>>> are
>>> happy with the upgrade, do the following:
>>> A very big System Restore point will have been made. Once a new regular
>>> size
>>> one has been made in the ordinary way, clean up by going to Start | All
>>> Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Cleanup and, under 'More
>>> Options,' click the bottom button to remove all but the most recent
>>> restore
>>> point.
>>> Delete the hidden folder of files that would be restored by an
>>> uninstall:
>>> C:\Windows\$NTServicePackUninstall. Once this is done, if you try to use
>>> the
>>> 'Remove' for Service Pack 2 in Add/Remove Programs, that will fail and
>>> will
>>> offer to delete the entry. See below on how you can remove this entry
>>> too.
>>> This was 293 MB.
>>> There may also be a large folder
>>> C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download,
>>> depending on how you did the installation. That can be deleted also.
>>> This
>>> will be around 266 MB if you downloaded this SP/2 update.
>>> Check that the installation's temporary folder got properly removed. It
>>> will
>>> be on the drive where you downloaded the setup files (probably C and
>>> will
>>> have a long name of random letters. If it is still around, delete it.
>>> And
>>> burn the downloaded file to a CD so as to have it if you ever need to
>>> reinstall.
>>> There will also be a large folder C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles. Do not
>>> delete
>>> this - it will be used in future by Windows File Protection - but on an
>>> NTFS
>>> disk you can compress it to save about 200MB of disk space. Right-click
>>> on
>>> it, select Properties, click the Advanced button, and select Compress.
>>> Without compressing the total size of the files is about 407 MB.
>>>
>>> Or, you could delete it if you know you will never want to use the
>>> Windows
>>> File Protection which is like using scanreg or something like that. If
>>> we
>>> get that messed up we might as well do a restore or a clean install. I
>>> also
>>> saw several messages in newsgroups that say to go ahead and delete this
>>> folder too cause it is so big and saves a lot of space.
>>>
>>> Also you can delete other Windows Updates Files to gain space. Go to
>>> C:\WINDOWS and delete the files that are in blue. They all start with a
>>> $
>>> sign and are in blue. These are windows updates you got and installed.
>>> They
>>> are also in Add/Remove Programs.
>>>
>>> The thing is if you delete these, you won't be able to uninstall the
>>> update
>>> from Add/Remove Programs. So be sure your computer is running good with
>>> the
>>> updates before deleting the uninstall for them.
>>>
>>> You can remove those entries in Add/Remove Programs. This for removing
>>> the
>>> Windows Updates from there. But you can also remove the SP/2 entry there
>>> too. It is named Windows XP Service Pack.
>>>
>>> You will see the corresponding Uninstall entries in Add/Remove Programs
>>> list. To manually remove the hotfix entries from Add/Remove Programs,
>>> try
>>> this:
>>>
>>> Click Start, Run and type REGEDIT.EXE
>>> Navigate to the the following key:
>>> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows \ CurrentVersion \
>>> Uninstall
>>> Backup the branch by exporting to a REG file.
>>> Select the corresponding sub-key (Hotfix ID) and delete the key.
>>> Close Registry Editor.

OK, that's good to hear and will look for the thread you mentioned and
thanks again.

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <> wrote in message
news:e$...
> Yes, it'll be the same for SP3.
>
> Look for a thread on this here: http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62
> --
> ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
> MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
> AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
> DTS-L http://dts-l.net/
>
>
> Ed. wrote:
>> Thank you for the reply. I went to the provided link and it basically
>> says
>> what I got from Alex Nichol a couple years ago.
>> The provided link says this is for Service Pack 1 & 2.
>> I am assuming it would be same for Service Pack 3 ??
>> That is what I am trying to verify.
>>
>> Thanks Again,
>> Ed.
>>
>> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>> See http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
>>> --
>>> ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
>>> MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
>>> AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
>>> DTS-L http://dts-l.net/
>>>
>>> Ed. wrote:
>>>> What files and folders can we delete after SP/3 is installed?
>>>>
>>>> In the past for SP/2 we deleted stuff after SP/2 was installed and
>>>> wondered
>>>> if anyone knew if SP/3 has same that can be deleted.
>>>>
>>>> This is what I got from Alex Nichol on SP/2 and looking for some of
>>>> same
>>>> for
>>>> SP/3:
>>>> ************************************************** ***********
>>>>
>>>> Tidying Up After Installing SP2
>>>> by Alex Nichol
>>>>
>>>> Installing SP2 leaves a lot of space on your hard disk taken up by
>>>> files
>>>> you
>>>> would only ever need if you were to uninstall SP2. Once you are sure
>>>> you
>>>> are
>>>> happy with the upgrade, do the following:
>>>> A very big System Restore point will have been made. Once a new regular
>>>> size
>>>> one has been made in the ordinary way, clean up by going to Start | All
>>>> Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Cleanup and, under 'More
>>>> Options,' click the bottom button to remove all but the most recent
>>>> restore
>>>> point.
>>>> Delete the hidden folder of files that would be restored by an
>>>> uninstall:
>>>> C:\Windows\$NTServicePackUninstall. Once this is done, if you try to
>>>> use
>>>> the
>>>> 'Remove' for Service Pack 2 in Add/Remove Programs, that will fail and
>>>> will
>>>> offer to delete the entry. See below on how you can remove this entry
>>>> too.
>>>> This was 293 MB.
>>>> There may also be a large folder
>>>> C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download,
>>>> depending on how you did the installation. That can be deleted also.
>>>> This
>>>> will be around 266 MB if you downloaded this SP/2 update.
>>>> Check that the installation's temporary folder got properly removed. It
>>>> will
>>>> be on the drive where you downloaded the setup files (probably C and
>>>> will
>>>> have a long name of random letters. If it is still around, delete it.
>>>> And
>>>> burn the downloaded file to a CD so as to have it if you ever need to
>>>> reinstall.
>>>> There will also be a large folder C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles. Do not
>>>> delete
>>>> this - it will be used in future by Windows File Protection - but on an
>>>> NTFS
>>>> disk you can compress it to save about 200MB of disk space. Right-click
>>>> on
>>>> it, select Properties, click the Advanced button, and select Compress.
>>>> Without compressing the total size of the files is about 407 MB.
>>>>
>>>> Or, you could delete it if you know you will never want to use the
>>>> Windows
>>>> File Protection which is like using scanreg or something like that. If
>>>> we
>>>> get that messed up we might as well do a restore or a clean install. I
>>>> also
>>>> saw several messages in newsgroups that say to go ahead and delete this
>>>> folder too cause it is so big and saves a lot of space.
>>>>
>>>> Also you can delete other Windows Updates Files to gain space. Go to
>>>> C:\WINDOWS and delete the files that are in blue. They all start with
>>>> a
>>>> $
>>>> sign and are in blue. These are windows updates you got and installed.
>>>> They
>>>> are also in Add/Remove Programs.
>>>>
>>>> The thing is if you delete these, you won't be able to uninstall the
>>>> update
>>>> from Add/Remove Programs. So be sure your computer is running good with
>>>> the
>>>> updates before deleting the uninstall for them.
>>>>
>>>> You can remove those entries in Add/Remove Programs. This for removing
>>>> the
>>>> Windows Updates from there. But you can also remove the SP/2 entry
>>>> there
>>>> too. It is named Windows XP Service Pack.
>>>>
>>>> You will see the corresponding Uninstall entries in Add/Remove Programs
>>>> list. To manually remove the hotfix entries from Add/Remove Programs,
>>>> try
>>>> this:
>>>>
>>>> Click Start, Run and type REGEDIT.EXE
>>>> Navigate to the the following key:
>>>> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows \ CurrentVersion \
>>>> Uninstall
>>>> Backup the branch by exporting to a REG file.
>>>> Select the corresponding sub-key (Hotfix ID) and delete the key.
>>>> Close Registry Editor.
>