SP2 HD Question

I did post this yesterday but it doesn't seem to have posted here.

Please forgive the cross post as I put this on the XP General NG but an
answer seems a little slow there and then I remembered that this group was
available.

I have got this question from one of our members who has installed SP2.

" Since I installed SP2 I have lost a lot of my free space on drive C:. The
Service Pack folder is now nearly 500MB, and I still have over 100MB in 35
uninstall folders from previous updates. Do you know if the uninstall
folders can now be deleted? The updates no longer appear in the programs
list in Control Panel. I presume that all of the files in the Service Pack
folder relate to SP2 and are needed, although I am surprised that they
weren't put into the system area, and they aren't protected "

Can anyone give me some advice on this and what he safely remove to reclaim
some of his hard drive space back please?

--

Regards
Joe
Tasmania
Remove NOT to reply

Have you tried using your Disk Cleanup yet? It usually Identifies those
previous install folders you can get rid of. Of course I only reccomend
getting rid of them if the new installs are working OK. That usally means
waiting a few weeks running the new installs. Try to only remove one at a
time and see how it works from there.

Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup
"
Joe" wrote:

> I did post this yesterday but it doesn't seem to have posted here.
>
> Please forgive the cross post as I put this on the XP General NG but an
> answer seems a little slow there and then I remembered that this group was
> available.
>
> I have got this question from one of our members who has installed SP2.
>
> " Since I installed SP2 I have lost a lot of my free space on drive C:. The
> Service Pack folder is now nearly 500MB, and I still have over 100MB in 35
> uninstall folders from previous updates. Do you know if the uninstall
> folders can now be deleted? The updates no longer appear in the programs
> list in Control Panel. I presume that all of the files in the Service Pack
> folder relate to SP2 and are needed, although I am surprised that they
> weren't put into the system area, and they aren't protected "
>
> Can anyone give me some advice on this and what he safely remove to reclaim
> some of his hard drive space back please?
>
> --
>
> Regards
> Joe
> Tasmania
> Remove NOT to reply
>
>
>

Clay,

Thank you for your reply, yes Disk Cleanup has been run. What is concerning
us is that the ServicePackFiles Folder
located in the C:\Windows directory is over .5 GB in size and we were
wondering if it would be safe to delete that folder??

The installation was done from a CD that I made following the download of
the 266 MB file. I updated mine on the 10th. of this month and all is
working fine.

I have also received this which may interest you:
"Joe, here is an interesting comparison. The Windows folder on my PC that
has been running XP for about two years is 2.26GB, but on the laptop which
has a "virgin" installation of XP + SP2, but hardly any applications yet, it
is only 1.64GB. Sure, there would be a lot of additional .dll files in the
system area from applications on the old machine, but it is still a big
difference."

A lot of our members, which is a Senior Organisation, do not have large hard
drives and they worry about losing too much space. I try to encourage them
to install this update and I have done it on about 5 machines now and there
has been no problem with any of them, excepting for the HD space concerns.
Any advice as to what we can and cannot remove would be truly appreciated.

Many thanks

--

Regards
Joe
Tasmania
Remove NOT to reply
"Clay E" <> wrote in message
news:3B4A2ED2-C7F0-49DC-9EA4-...
> Have you tried using your Disk Cleanup yet? It usually Identifies those
> previous install folders you can get rid of. Of course I only reccomend
> getting rid of them if the new installs are working OK. That usally means
> waiting a few weeks running the new installs. Try to only remove one at a
> time and see how it works from there.
>
> Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup
> "
> Joe" wrote:
>
>> I did post this yesterday but it doesn't seem to have posted here.
>>
>> Please forgive the cross post as I put this on the XP General NG but an
>> answer seems a little slow there and then I remembered that this group
>> was
>> available.
>>
>> I have got this question from one of our members who has installed SP2.
>>
>> " Since I installed SP2 I have lost a lot of my free space on drive C:.
>> The
>> Service Pack folder is now nearly 500MB, and I still have over 100MB in
>> 35
>> uninstall folders from previous updates. Do you know if the uninstall
>> folders can now be deleted? The updates no longer appear in the programs
>> list in Control Panel. I presume that all of the files in the Service
>> Pack
>> folder relate to SP2 and are needed, although I am surprised that they
>> weren't put into the system area, and they aren't protected "
>>
>> Can anyone give me some advice on this and what he safely remove to
>> reclaim
>> some of his hard drive space back please?
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>> Joe
>> Tasmania
>> Remove NOT to reply
>>
>>
>>

Joe,
I successfully installed SP2 from a CD to two computers. Checking the same
C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386 folders, I see they it have 2,121 Files and
take up 424MB of HD on both computers, The files appear to be System
Files.

"Joe" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Clay,
>
> Thank you for your reply, yes Disk Cleanup has been run. What is
> concerning us is that the ServicePackFiles Folder
> located in the C:\Windows directory is over .5 GB in size and we were
> wondering if it would be safe to delete that folder??
>
> The installation was done from a CD that I made following the download of
> the 266 MB file. I updated mine on the 10th. of this month and all is
> working fine.
>
> I have also received this which may interest you:
> "Joe, here is an interesting comparison. The Windows folder on my PC that
> has been running XP for about two years is 2.26GB, but on the laptop which
> has a "virgin" installation of XP + SP2, but hardly any applications yet,
> it is only 1.64GB. Sure, there would be a lot of additional .dll files in
> the system area from applications on the old machine, but it is still a
> big difference."
>
> A lot of our members, which is a Senior Organisation, do not have large
> hard drives and they worry about losing too much space. I try to encourage
> them to install this update and I have done it on about 5 machines now and
> there has been no problem with any of them, excepting for the HD space
> concerns. Any advice as to what we can and cannot remove would be truly
> appreciated.
>
> Many thanks
>
> --
>
> Regards
> Joe
> Tasmania
> Remove NOT to reply
> "Clay E" <> wrote in message
> news:3B4A2ED2-C7F0-49DC-9EA4-...
>> Have you tried using your Disk Cleanup yet? It usually Identifies those
>> previous install folders you can get rid of. Of course I only reccomend
>> getting rid of them if the new installs are working OK. That usally means
>> waiting a few weeks running the new installs. Try to only remove one at a
>> time and see how it works from there.
>>
>> Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup
>> "
>> Joe" wrote:
>>
>>> I did post this yesterday but it doesn't seem to have posted here.
>>>
>>> Please forgive the cross post as I put this on the XP General NG but an
>>> answer seems a little slow there and then I remembered that this group
>>> was
>>> available.
>>>
>>> I have got this question from one of our members who has installed SP2.
>>>
>>> " Since I installed SP2 I have lost a lot of my free space on drive C:.
>>> The
>>> Service Pack folder is now nearly 500MB, and I still have over 100MB in
>>> 35
>>> uninstall folders from previous updates. Do you know if the uninstall
>>> folders can now be deleted? The updates no longer appear in the
>>> programs
>>> list in Control Panel. I presume that all of the files in the Service
>>> Pack
>>> folder relate to SP2 and are needed, although I am surprised that they
>>> weren't put into the system area, and they aren't protected "
>>>
>>> Can anyone give me some advice on this and what he safely remove to
>>> reclaim
>>> some of his hard drive space back please?
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Regards
>>> Joe
>>> Tasmania
>>> Remove NOT to reply
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>

Thank you Madeleine,

I had no problems with the installations as all is going fine, but what our
members are asking me is if there is anyway that they can regain some of the
lost disk space, and as my ServicePackFiles are similar in size to yours
that seems to be the bone of contention.

Of course I realise now that the i386 files are system files so I don't
think that it would be wise to advise them to remove those. It just seems
that they will have to be content in losing half a GB of HD doesn't it,
unless of course someone comes up with something to help.

--

Regards
Joe
Tasmania
Remove NOT to reply
"Madeleine" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> Joe,
> I successfully installed SP2 from a CD to two computers. Checking the
> same
> C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386 folders, I see they it have 2,121 Files
> and
> take up 424MB of HD on both computers, The files appear to be System
> Files.
>
> "Joe" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Clay,
>>
>> Thank you for your reply, yes Disk Cleanup has been run. What is
>> concerning us is that the ServicePackFiles Folder
>> located in the C:\Windows directory is over .5 GB in size and we were
>> wondering if it would be safe to delete that folder??
>>
>> The installation was done from a CD that I made following the download of
>> the 266 MB file. I updated mine on the 10th. of this month and all is
>> working fine.
>>
>> I have also received this which may interest you:
>> "Joe, here is an interesting comparison. The Windows folder on my PC that
>> has been running XP for about two years is 2.26GB, but on the laptop
>> which
>> has a "virgin" installation of XP + SP2, but hardly any applications yet,
>> it is only 1.64GB. Sure, there would be a lot of additional .dll files in
>> the system area from applications on the old machine, but it is still a
>> big difference."
>>
>> A lot of our members, which is a Senior Organisation, do not have large
>> hard drives and they worry about losing too much space. I try to
>> encourage
>> them to install this update and I have done it on about 5 machines now
>> and
>> there has been no problem with any of them, excepting for the HD space
>> concerns. Any advice as to what we can and cannot remove would be truly
>> appreciated.
>>
>> Many thanks
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>> Joe
>> Tasmania
>> Remove NOT to reply
>> "Clay E" <> wrote in message
>> news:3B4A2ED2-C7F0-49DC-9EA4-...
>>> Have you tried using your Disk Cleanup yet? It usually Identifies those
>>> previous install folders you can get rid of. Of course I only reccomend
>>> getting rid of them if the new installs are working OK. That usally
>>> means
>>> waiting a few weeks running the new installs. Try to only remove one at
>>> a
>>> time and see how it works from there.
>>>
>>> Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup
>>> "
>>> Joe" wrote:
>>>
>>>> I did post this yesterday but it doesn't seem to have posted here.
>>>>
>>>> Please forgive the cross post as I put this on the XP General NG but an
>>>> answer seems a little slow there and then I remembered that this group
>>>> was
>>>> available.
>>>>
>>>> I have got this question from one of our members who has installed SP2.
>>>>
>>>> " Since I installed SP2 I have lost a lot of my free space on drive C:.
>>>> The
>>>> Service Pack folder is now nearly 500MB, and I still have over 100MB in
>>>> 35
>>>> uninstall folders from previous updates. Do you know if the uninstall
>>>> folders can now be deleted? The updates no longer appear in the
>>>> programs
>>>> list in Control Panel. I presume that all of the files in the Service
>>>> Pack
>>>> folder relate to SP2 and are needed, although I am surprised that they
>>>> weren't put into the system area, and they aren't protected "
>>>>
>>>> Can anyone give me some advice on this and what he safely remove to
>>>> reclaim
>>>> some of his hard drive space back please?
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> Regards
>>>> Joe
>>>> Tasmania
>>>> Remove NOT to reply
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Joe,
Just one final observation, all the files in the i386 folder appear to have
been Modified on the 4 August 04 and created on the day I did the Sp2
updates (21 Aug 04). Perhaps they are for use should we decide to return to
Sp1a.

"Joe" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Thank you Madeleine,
>
> I had no problems with the installations as all is going fine, but what
> our members are asking me is if there is anyway that they can regain some
> of the lost disk space, and as my ServicePackFiles are similar in size to
> yours that seems to be the bone of contention.
>
> Of course I realise now that the i386 files are system files so I don't
> think that it would be wise to advise them to remove those. It just seems
> that they will have to be content in losing half a GB of HD doesn't it,
> unless of course someone comes up with something to help.
>
> --
>
> Regards
> Joe
> Tasmania
> Remove NOT to reply
> "Madeleine" <> wrote in message
> news:%...
>> Joe,
>> I successfully installed SP2 from a CD to two computers. Checking the
>> same
>> C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386 folders, I see they it have 2,121 Files
>> and
>> take up 424MB of HD on both computers, The files appear to be System
>> Files.
>>
>> "Joe" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>> Clay,
>>>
>>> Thank you for your reply, yes Disk Cleanup has been run. What is
>>> concerning us is that the ServicePackFiles Folder
>>> located in the C:\Windows directory is over .5 GB in size and we were
>>> wondering if it would be safe to delete that folder??
>>>
>>> The installation was done from a CD that I made following the download
>>> of
>>> the 266 MB file. I updated mine on the 10th. of this month and all is
>>> working fine.
>>>
>>> I have also received this which may interest you:
>>> "Joe, here is an interesting comparison. The Windows folder on my PC
>>> that
>>> has been running XP for about two years is 2.26GB, but on the laptop
>>> which
>>> has a "virgin" installation of XP + SP2, but hardly any applications
>>> yet,
>>> it is only 1.64GB. Sure, there would be a lot of additional .dll files
>>> in
>>> the system area from applications on the old machine, but it is still a
>>> big difference."
>>>
>>> A lot of our members, which is a Senior Organisation, do not have large
>>> hard drives and they worry about losing too much space. I try to
>>> encourage
>>> them to install this update and I have done it on about 5 machines now
>>> and
>>> there has been no problem with any of them, excepting for the HD space
>>> concerns. Any advice as to what we can and cannot remove would be truly
>>> appreciated.
>>>
>>> Many thanks
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Regards
>>> Joe
>>> Tasmania
>>> Remove NOT to reply
>>> "Clay E" <> wrote in message
>>> news:3B4A2ED2-C7F0-49DC-9EA4-...
>>>> Have you tried using your Disk Cleanup yet? It usually Identifies those
>>>> previous install folders you can get rid of. Of course I only reccomend
>>>> getting rid of them if the new installs are working OK. That usally
>>>> means
>>>> waiting a few weeks running the new installs. Try to only remove one at
>>>> a
>>>> time and see how it works from there.
>>>>
>>>> Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup
>>>> "
>>>> Joe" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I did post this yesterday but it doesn't seem to have posted here.
>>>>>
>>>>> Please forgive the cross post as I put this on the XP General NG but
>>>>> an
>>>>> answer seems a little slow there and then I remembered that this
>>>>> group
>>>>> was
>>>>> available.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have got this question from one of our members who has installed
>>>>> SP2.
>>>>>
>>>>> " Since I installed SP2 I have lost a lot of my free space on drive
>>>>> C:.
>>>>> The
>>>>> Service Pack folder is now nearly 500MB, and I still have over 100MB
>>>>> in
>>>>> 35
>>>>> uninstall folders from previous updates. Do you know if the uninstall
>>>>> folders can now be deleted? The updates no longer appear in the
>>>>> programs
>>>>> list in Control Panel. I presume that all of the files in the Service
>>>>> Pack
>>>>> folder relate to SP2 and are needed, although I am surprised that they
>>>>> weren't put into the system area, and they aren't protected "
>>>>>
>>>>> Can anyone give me some advice on this and what he safely remove to
>>>>> reclaim
>>>>> some of his hard drive space back please?
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>>
>>>>> Regards
>>>>> Joe
>>>>> Tasmania
>>>>> Remove NOT to reply
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>

Madeleine, I did get a reply on the XP General NG from Barry Watzman, quote
'NONE of these are needed, that they were needed for the installation
process, but that once it's complete, SP2's installed files are present in
\Windows, Windows\System and \Windows\System32 folders and that the
installation folders can now be erased (although doing so might prevent you
from uninstalling later, an event which I view as highly unlikely).'

In view of that I have been wondering if it would indeed be safe to remove
those files and thus regain that amount of space. I was hopeful that we
could have had the advice of an MVP or two in relation to that. In support
of Barry's comments I find it extremely hard to imagine that I would ever
uninstall SP2 as one of the main worries would be the lessening of
securities and the question of future updates to non SP2 machines.

Leaves questions unanswered doesn't it.

--

Regards
Joe
Tasmania
Remove NOT to reply
"Madeleine" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Joe,
> Just one final observation, all the files in the i386 folder appear to
> have been Modified on the 4 August 04 and created on the day I did the Sp2
> updates (21 Aug 04). Perhaps they are for use should we decide to return
> to Sp1a.
>
> "Joe" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Thank you Madeleine,
>>
>> I had no problems with the installations as all is going fine, but what
>> our members are asking me is if there is anyway that they can regain some
>> of the lost disk space, and as my ServicePackFiles are similar in size to
>> yours that seems to be the bone of contention.
>>
>> Of course I realise now that the i386 files are system files so I don't
>> think that it would be wise to advise them to remove those. It just seems
>> that they will have to be content in losing half a GB of HD doesn't it,
>> unless of course someone comes up with something to help.
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>> Joe
>> Tasmania
>> Remove NOT to reply
>> "Madeleine" <> wrote in message
>> news:%...
>>> Joe,
>>> I successfully installed SP2 from a CD to two computers. Checking the
>>> same
>>> C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386 folders, I see they it have 2,121 Files
>>> and
>>> take up 424MB of HD on both computers, The files appear to be System
>>> Files.
>>>
>>> "Joe" <> wrote in message
>>> news:...
>>>> Clay,

Joe,
Why not try renaming the Folder, then you can quickly/easily restore the
original name if you encounter problems. If no problems after short period
of time then remove the folder.
Personally I don't have a HD space problem so I will leave mine as it is for
now.
Mady

"Joe" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Madeleine, I did get a reply on the XP General NG from Barry Watzman,
> quote 'NONE of these are needed, that they were needed for the
> installation process, but that once it's complete, SP2's installed files
> are present in \Windows, Windows\System and \Windows\System32 folders and
> that the installation folders can now be erased (although doing so might
> prevent you from uninstalling later, an event which I view as highly
> unlikely).'
>
> In view of that I have been wondering if it would indeed be safe to remove
> those files and thus regain that amount of space. I was hopeful that we
> could have had the advice of an MVP or two in relation to that. In support
> of Barry's comments I find it extremely hard to imagine that I would ever
> uninstall SP2 as one of the main worries would be the lessening of
> securities and the question of future updates to non SP2 machines.
>
> Leaves questions unanswered doesn't it.
>
> --
>
> Regards
> Joe
> Tasmania
> Remove NOT to reply
> "Madeleine" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Joe,
>> Just one final observation, all the files in the i386 folder appear to
>> have been Modified on the 4 August 04 and created on the day I did the
>> Sp2 updates (21 Aug 04). Perhaps they are for use should we decide to
>> return to Sp1a.
>>
>> "Joe" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>> Thank you Madeleine,
>>>
>>> I had no problems with the installations as all is going fine, but what
>>> our members are asking me is if there is anyway that they can regain
>>> some of the lost disk space, and as my ServicePackFiles are similar in
>>> size to yours that seems to be the bone of contention.
>>>
>>> Of course I realise now that the i386 files are system files so I don't
>>> think that it would be wise to advise them to remove those. It just
>>> seems that they will have to be content in losing half a GB of HD
>>> doesn't it, unless of course someone comes up with something to help.
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Regards
>>> Joe
>>> Tasmania
>>> Remove NOT to reply
>>> "Madeleine" <> wrote in message
>>> news:%...
>>>> Joe,
>>>> I successfully installed SP2 from a CD to two computers. Checking the
>>>> same
>>>> C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386 folders, I see they it have 2,121
>>>> Files and
>>>> take up 424MB of HD on both computers, The files appear to be System
>>>> Files.
>>>>
>>>> "Joe" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:...
>>>>> Clay,
>
>

Madeleine,

Thank you for that suggestion, I have done that and so far all seems OK. I
don't have a problem with my Hard Drive either as I still have 60+ MB free,
but I am trying to ascertain what the situation is for our other members who
have smaller drives.

I have also written to Microsoft Australia asking their views so I will be
interested in their reply.

I will post back on any further developments for the benefit of others.

--

Regards
Joe
Tasmania
Remove NOT to reply


"Madeleine" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Joe,
> Why not try renaming the Folder, then you can quickly/easily restore the
> original name if you encounter problems. If no problems after short
> period of time then remove the folder.
> Personally I don't have a HD space problem so I will leave mine as it is
> for now.
> Mady
>
> "Joe" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Madeleine, I did get a reply on the XP General NG from Barry Watzman,
>> quote 'NONE of these are needed, that they were needed for the
>> installation process, but that once it's complete, SP2's installed files
>> are present in \Windows, Windows\System and \Windows\System32 folders and
>> that the installation folders can now be erased (although doing so might
>> prevent you from uninstalling later, an event which I view as highly
>> unlikely).'
>>
>> In view of that I have been wondering if it would indeed be safe to
>> remove those files and thus regain that amount of space. I was hopeful
>> that we could have had the advice of an MVP or two in relation to that.
>> In support of Barry's comments I find it extremely hard to imagine that I
>> would ever uninstall SP2 as one of the main worries would be the
>> lessening of securities and the question of future updates to non SP2
>> machines.
>>
>> Leaves questions unanswered doesn't it.
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>> Joe
>> Tasmania
>> Remove NOT to reply
>> "Madeleine" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>> Joe,
>>> Just one final observation, all the files in the i386 folder appear to
>>> have been Modified on the 4 August 04 and created on the day I did the
>>> Sp2 updates (21 Aug 04). Perhaps they are for use should we decide to
>>> return to Sp1a.
>>>
>>> "Joe" <> wrote in message
>>> news:...
>>>> Thank you Madeleine,
>>>>
>>>> I had no problems with the installations as all is going fine, but what
>>>> our members are asking me is if there is anyway that they can regain
>>>> some of the lost disk space, and as my ServicePackFiles are similar in
>>>> size to yours that seems to be the bone of contention.
>>>>
>>>> Of course I realise now that the i386 files are system files so I don't
>>>> think that it would be wise to advise them to remove those. It just
>>>> seems that they will have to be content in losing half a GB of HD
>>>> doesn't it, unless of course someone comes up with something to help.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> Regards
>>>> Joe
>>>> Tasmania
>>>> Remove NOT to reply
>>>> "Madeleine" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:%...
>>>>> Joe,
>>>>> I successfully installed SP2 from a CD to two computers. Checking the
>>>>> same
>>>>> C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386 folders, I see they it have 2,121
>>>>> Files and
>>>>> take up 424MB of HD on both computers, The files appear to be System
>>>>> Files.
>>>>>
>>>>> "Joe" <> wrote in message
>>>>> news:...
>>>>>> Clay,
>>
>>
>
>

"Joe" <> wrote

> I still have 60+ MB free,
>
> Regards
> Joe
> Tasmania

That much? :-)

Alias