Useless Leftover Files In Windows XP

"Shenan Stanley" wrote in message
...

D. Spencer Hines wrote:

C:\WINDOWS\KB873339.log 5.11KB
snipped for brevity

But I thought we were told to delete these only AFTER making sure
we NEVER wanted to UNINSTALL ANY of these Microsoft UPDATES and
had already uninstalled the matching UNINSTALL files, of the form:

C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallKB885836$...

No - you only want to delete these DIRECTORIES when you are sure
you no longer need to worry about uninstalling these patches. The
log files - delete them at will.

There may be some disagreement on that point.

My understanding, from previous posts in this thread, is that if
one of the updates turned out to be flawed -- and perhaps
corrupting other programs -- the LOG file could be most helpful in
determining what went wrong and should therefore remain on the
system until the SA is SURE the upgrade is CLEAN and will NOT be
uninstalled.

It would only be useful for advanced users...

I made it quite clear I was talking about the System Administrator [SA] --
an advanced user.

Additional Irrelevant, Pontificatory Gibberish Deleted.

Exitus Acta Probat.

DSH

D. Spencer Hines wrote:
Fair Enough.

The Really Sound & Smart thing to do then seems to be to leave the
Uninstall Files & Logs [in C:/WINDOWS] and the Shortcuts in
Add/Remove Programs of Control Panel until the next SP -- SP3 in
this case -- will remove them for you.

They don't take up a lot of space.

THAT way one has SOME assurances [hopefully] that Microsoft has
ascertained that ALL the previous updates are IN the new SP3 or
have been superseded -- and nothing has been left as an orphan to
corrupt.
The SP's ARE cumulative -- n'est-ce pas?

That is, SP3 will also contain everything required from SP1 and SP2?

Yes - that is indeed the smart thing to do.

I really have no interest (except on woefully underpowered/undersized
machines) at removing the log or un-install directories of the Windows
patches. Yeah - there are a thousand web pages on what is/is not safe to
remove *if* you know you will not have to unsintall the patches to free up
disk space..

I am still of the attitude that if you have to remove those files to gains
space on your machine (very little space in relative terms these days) - you
have other issues. And if you are freeing up the space - it is likely to
use it up with something less valuable than your fallback from
incompatabilities. So you end up with a net gain of nothing (although you
might install that extra 200-600MB of music for that new game you got) and a
possible loss of some stability (or ability to troubleshoot and return to a
stable point.)

And yes - Service Packs are cumulative. They contain all critical patches
(including previous service packs) up until the month before they are
released in most cases. So Service Pack 3 will replace Service Pack 2 and
the 39+ (more likely by the time there is a SP3) fixes since SP2. As a
matter of fact - I don't see SP3 being much more than a roll-up. I would
bet SP2 was the "big change" and because Vista is getting closer to that
release date by the day - SP3 will have very little in the way of
improvements over just having SP2 and all the patches released after it. Of
course - that is PURE speculation.

SP3 would(will) remove whatever it includes when it is installed and leave
whatever it does not supercede.

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

Now, to the more important issue of Temporary Files.

http://personal-computer-tutor.com/d...gtempfiles.htm

What do qualified folks think of Linda's Gambit?

DSH

D. Spencer Hines wrote:
C:\WINDOWS\KB873339.log 5.11KB
snipped for brevity

But I thought we were told to delete these only AFTER making sure
we NEVER wanted to UNINSTALL ANY of these Microsoft UPDATES and
had already uninstalled the matching UNINSTALL files, of the form:

C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallKB885836$..

Shenan wrote:
No - you only want to delete these DIRECTORIES when you are sure
you no longer need to worry about uninstalling these patches. The
log files - delete them at will.

D. Spencer Hines wrote:
There may be some disagreement on that point.

My understanding, from previous posts in this thread, is that if
one of the updates turned out to be flawed -- and perhaps
corrupting other programs -- the LOG file could be most helpful in
determining what went wrong and should therefore remain on the
system until the SA is SURE the upgrade is CLEAN and will NOT be
uninstalled.

Shenan wrote:
It would only be useful for advanced users...

D. Spencer Hines wrote:
I made it quite clear I was talking about the System Administrator [SA] --
an advanced user.

Additional Irrelevant, Pontificatory Gibberish Deleted.

Actually..

The owner of the system is the "System Administrator". Not necessarily an
advanced user.
My grandmother is the system administrator of her system - because she lives
far enough away and only has dial-up - that there is no one else.
She is by far NOT an advanced user. I have many other relatives and friends
and aquaintances who are the system administrators of their systems (by
ownership and location if nothing else) and they would be less than advanced
users as well.

Therefore - your assumption that being a "System Administrator" (SA) implied
"advanced user" is a flawed one. Either that or you greatly over-estimated
your clarity on that one. =)

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

Fair Enough.

I say again:

I don't have space or power problems on my system.

That has never been my motivation.

The system is brand-new and quite powerful -- a Dell XPS System.

I just want to eliminate ash and trash.

TEMP files are the issue now.

DSH

"Shenan Stanley" wrote in message
...

D. Spencer Hines wrote:

Fair Enough.

The Really Sound & Smart thing to do then seems to be to leave the
Uninstall Files & Logs [in C:/WINDOWS] and the Shortcuts in
Add/Remove Programs of Control Panel until the next SP -- SP3 in
this case -- will remove them for you.

They don't take up a lot of space.

THAT way one has SOME assurances [hopefully] that Microsoft has
ascertained that ALL the previous updates are IN the new SP3 or
have been superseded -- and nothing has been left as an orphan to
corrupt.

The SP's ARE cumulative -- n'est-ce pas?

That is, SP3 will also contain everything required from SP1 and SP2?

Yes - that is indeed the smart thing to do.

I really have no interest (except on woefully underpowered/undersized
machines) at removing the log or un-install directories of the Windows
patches. Yeah - there are a thousand web pages on what is/is not safe to
remove *if* you know you will not have to unsintall the patches to free up
disk space..

I am still of the attitude that if you have to remove those files to gains
space on your machine (very little space in relative terms these days) -
you have other issues. And if you are freeing up the space - it is likely
to use it up with something less valuable than your fallback from
incompatabilities. So you end up with a net gain of nothing (although you
might install that extra 200-600MB of music for that new game you got) and
a possible loss of some stability (or ability to troubleshoot and return
to a stable point.)

And yes - Service Packs are cumulative. They contain all critical patches
(including previous service packs) up until the month before they are
released in most cases. So Service Pack 3 will replace Service Pack 2 and
the 39+ (more likely by the time there is a SP3) fixes since SP2. As a
matter of fact - I don't see SP3 being much more than a roll-up. I would
bet SP2 was the "big change" and because Vista is getting closer to that
release date by the day - SP3 will have very little in the way of
improvements over just having SP2 and all the patches released after it.
Of course - that is PURE speculation.

SP3 would(will) remove whatever it includes when it is installed and leave
whatever it does not supercede.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP

Grandmothers should not be taught to suck eggs -- or Grandfathers to chop
wood -- but some pogues will try to do so.

'Nuff Said.

DSH

Lux et Veritas et Libertas

I have no opinion since I have never used it.

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar
http://www.dts-l.org


"D. Spencer Hines" wrote in message
...
"Jupiter Jones [MVP]" wrote in message
...

More to the point...

What has been your experience in using "Crap Cleaner"?

DSH