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Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?



 
 
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  #16  
Old March 2nd 18, 06:21 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
ultred ragnusen
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Posts: 248
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

mechanic wrote:

HINT: Poor coding standards are in evidence galore.


Your argument seems to be with the architecture,not with the coding
standards which you can't see or evaluate unless you have access to
the source files. So you're firing at the wrong target.


You bring up a good observation which I can't deny, which is that I
generally blame coders for most of the evils of organization of the system
because coders are like the workmen who come to your house.

All the workmen prefer to dump their **** in your living room.

So you end up with coal for the furnace, in your living room.
You end up with pipes for the bathroom, in your living room.
You end up with kitchen appliances, summarily dumped in your living room.

The coders are, in most software companies I worked for, the ones who make
the decision to dump the coal in the living room.

Architects aren't generally concerned with software organization (the proof
being in the taste of the pudding), and neither is management.

So I sub consciously blame the idiot coders, of whom I've interfaced with
thousands, where they are all good guys, but where for many of them, good
enough is good enough.

Which leaves coals in the living room for us to have to clean up to bring
down to the basement, where it belongs.
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  #17  
Old March 2nd 18, 06:28 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
ultred ragnusen
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Posts: 248
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

KenW wrote:

Go back to Chrome book nothing to understand


I appreciate the attempt at humor, but you must note that all my questions
are to attempt to both increase my capabilities and to add to the overall
tribal knowledge of the group in every post, where I'm straining to find
added value in your post.

Are you making an attempt at humorously insinuating that Windows is too
complex for a normal person to manage the root directory?

If so, I disagree with your presumed premise that Windows is too complex
for the average person. In fact, I'm as average as they get with respect to
Windows, and I was able, after the noted efforts, to clean up the root

FROM THIS: http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/...ft_crap_01.jpg
TO THIS: http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/...ft_crap_05.jpg

Why let Microsoft needlessly store coal for the furnace in your living room?
  #18  
Old March 2nd 18, 06:42 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
ultred ragnusen
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Posts: 248
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

Wolf K wrote:

HINT: Poor coding standards are in evidence galore.

Leave them alone. They are all used by the OS, or by installed software,
or both.


I prefer to throw the coal away or put it in the cellar, where it belongs.

However, I understand and appreciate the sentiment that you don't touch
that which you don't understand, because fear is the driver in that regard.

But I'm too experienced to fall for the fear mongers who feel so much fear
of the software that they're afraid of touching it for fear of breaking
something.

Speaking of breaking, I work on cars a lot, since I love delving into
things, where I'm on many car forums hence I hear all the time someone use
the same fear-based sentiment that you shouldn't work on brakes because
"brakes are important". Well, guess what? Brakes are easy. Really really
really really easy.

Sure, you can screw something up - but you'd have to be pretty impressive
to screw up brakes.

Same fear mongering goes on with Windows, where I saw the fear-mongering
FUD sentiment in all the references I quoted.

It turns out that these are the salient facts about those directories:
1. $Windows.~WS (and BT) == it seems to only risk rollback to delete
2. ESD == it seems also related to installation & rollback to delete
3. MSOCache == it seems to be related to Office 2007 added options
4. output == that was just a stupid directory from some stupid program
5. PerfLogs == it seems to be generated on the fly by MS tools
6. Windows.old == it seems to only risk rollback within a month

This thread was written for the purpose of solving the problem for me, and
for helping others solve the problem for themselves, since the poorly
managed workmen seem to want to leave the coal for the furnace in the
living room - simply because it's convenient for them.

Your sentiment, which is common, so it's not wrong, because it's a feeling
of fear, where feelings are never wrong ... is to leave the coal in the
living room because moving it might break something.

I prefer to throw the coal away or put it in the cellar, where it belongs.
  #19  
Old March 2nd 18, 07:02 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
ultred ragnusen
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Posts: 248
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

Keith Nuttle wrote:

I am always amazed by these guys.


Organization 101 this is.

Your amazing sentiment is noted, where, as Wolf K just put it, fear is what
drives a lot of people's decisions. Shear fear of touching anything, where
the record will show that I screw things up as much as anyone, but fear
isn't what drives me. Knowledge is. Organization does. Functionality helps.

They get a new installation of
windows 10, or an new computer with Windows 10, and then before the know
know any thing about Windows 10 try to modify it. They never try to
learn what native Windows 10 will do and is capable of.


Again, I appreciate the sentiment, where, you might note, I'm as old as
anyone here, so I've lived the same lack of organization in operating
systems that you have lived through.

There are only two ways to handle the lack of organization.
1. Organize it (because an organized system is an efficient system)
2. Surrender (because of uncontrollable abject fear of the unknown)

There are good workmen (aka coders) and there are lazy workmen, where the
lazy ones just dump the heavy equipment for the kitchen in the living room,
simply because that's the easy thing /for them/.

There's a reason you have a living room, and it's not for storing the coal
that a lazy workman didn't feel like hauling down to the cellar where it
belongs.

Your point though, is valid, that people shouldn't move the coal where it
belongs until they're sure it won't break the system.

If that's your main point, which it seems to be, you will note that I
searched the Microsoft archives in /every/ instance of getting

From he http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/...ft_crap_01.jpg
To he http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/...ft_crap_05.jpg

Where I'm confident that the decisions made were reasonable, and, even if I
wasn't as confident as I am, I could have made a backup /before/ wiping
them out, which I could restore as needed into my root directory.

They want all kinds of functionality in the OS, but refuse to permit the
OS to establish the information that it needs to provide that functionality.


I appreciate the admonishment, but I respectfully have to raise my tone
just a bit to warn you that this sentiment you express is dead wrong.

I understand that you /think/ I'm "hindering" the OS, where I agree with
you that, for example, moving the MSOCache to a non-default location
"hinders" the ability of MS Office 2007 from updating itself ...

However ...

It's not my fault that the Microsoft workmen decided to dump the kitchen
appliances in the living room, instead of putting them in the kitchen,
where they belong.

It's not my fault that I'm forced to make a decision of:
a. Surrender (and have to daily stare at heavy equipment in my living room)
b. Do something about it (and move the heavy equipment into the kitchen)

I guess it is possible that the Original Poster, bought a computer like
I saw the other day. It had a decent processor and Windows 10. What it
did not have was main storage capacity (27 GB used out of 32GB or 5 GB
free) to do an update of the OS. The purchaser of this computer will
never have a good system as it will always be locked up trying to
install the current updates.


You bring up a good point in that the actual storage (no matter where it
is) on the root partition "could" be a problem for low-end systems, but
with my terabyte HDD costing only something like fifty bucks not even on
sale at Fryes, storage space isn't my beef with the Microsoft workmen.

My house is plenty big as it is (two floors, each a terabyte in size, where
I only "need" about 1/4 of that, if that).

My beef with Microsoft workmen is that they are lazy and they dump the
heavy equipment meant for the kitchen in my living room.

All I'm doing is either cleaning up the coal they left in my living room,
or moving the heavy equipment from the living room into the kitchen.

Why would anyone argue against that, except on the basis of fear?

They should do some research before even considering a computer like
this. MS recommends a minimum of 15 GB free, I have found for easy of
update, Windows 10 needs at least 17 GB free.


I completely agree with you that the /need/ to /delete/ the Microsoft coal
left in the living room is greater (far greater) if your house is only 500
square feet, but that's not my reason for deleting the coal that Microsoft
workmen left in my living room, and for moving the heavy equipment into the
kitchen where it belongs.

If the OP bought one of these machines and has not messed it up to
badly, he take it back to the store and get a computer with adequate
storage.


My machine has two terabytes, where I only need 1/4 of that, and it has
16GB of RAM, so I'm fine with pagefiles being large.

All your points are valid, in that there are only two approaches left to
us, the user, when the Microsoft workmen decided to leave coal and heavy
equipment in our living room simply because it's convenient for /them/.

a. Surrender to fear
b. Throw away the coal and move the kitchen equipment into the kitchen

Organization 101 this is.
  #20  
Old March 2nd 18, 07:08 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
ultred ragnusen
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Posts: 248
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

Good Guy wrote:

You are a known paedophile so **** off.


You should have called the Microsoft Store where I gave you the phone
number and the dates that they had my computer in their very hands to make
a backup so that you can contact the British authorities again and tell
them whatever your admittedly very sick mind has to fear.

You lost your chance at having them back up my entire system, and send it
to you to enjoy...


  #21  
Old March 2nd 18, 08:33 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Keith Nuttle
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Posts: 1,844
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

On 3/2/2018 1:02 PM, ultred ragnusen wrote:
Keith Nuttle wrote:

I am always amazed by these guys.


Organization 101 this is.


My machine has two terabytes, where I only need 1/4 of that, and it has
16GB of RAM, so I'm fine with pagefiles being large.

All your points are valid, in that there are only two approaches left to
us, the user, when the Microsoft workmen decided to leave coal and heavy
equipment in our living room simply because it's convenient for /them/.

a. Surrender to fear
b. Throw away the coal and move the kitchen equipment into the kitchen

Organization 101 this is.

I have TB quantities of storage on my two main computers, and find that
it is not worth the effort to "properly Organize" my disk.

First the OS takes less that 15 GB of space out of 1TB, or about 1.5% of
the TB drive. A TB drive cost less than $100, or if I can gain 0.4% by
spending hours trying to organize a drive the way I think it should be
organized, it will only save me about $0.40 in gained space. I very
rarely look at the directory of the C: drive, so it is just not worth it
to me.

A disk is not accessed like a supermarket or your living room. The
higher up in the folder hierarchy the quicker a folder can be accessed.
ie those on C:/ are faster that one buried in down in 5 sub folders. A
disk is organized by the number of times a folder is accessed. If a
folder is accessed by the OS 100 times a minute it is more prominent in
the folder hierarchy than one that is accessed at startup.

It is like your workshop, you do not put your frequently used tools like
screw drives and pliers in the back of the bottom drawer of your
workbench, but put them on the pegboard behind the work bench for easy
access.

To paraphrase a quote, add a fraction of time here and a fraction
there, and the first thing you know on a couple of thousand access, you
are seeing real increases in the time.

--
2018: The year we learn to play the great game of Euchre
  #22  
Old March 2nd 18, 09:51 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
ultred ragnusen
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Posts: 248
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

Keith Nuttle wrote:

I have TB quantities of storage on my two main computers, and find that
it is not worth the effort to "properly Organize" my disk.


We seem to disagree on the philosophy of what to do with trash.

I completely understand your stated sentiment that the trash is small, but
I think you're looking at the problem set differently than I am.
a. You seem to be thinking the problem is 'size'
b. I'm attempting to solve a /different/ problem than size.

It's as if you and I both walk into a friend's home, where there is trash
and clutter all over the place, with toilet paper spilling out of the
bathroom door and piles of coal on the living room carpet, and kitchen
appliances in the hallway, where you take the approach that it's not all
that big so just leave all that trash where the workmen left it.

It's philosophical how we differ:
a. You leave the trash because it doesn't take up much space
b. I try to recycle the trash & put the piles of coal in the cellar

We seem to disagree on the philosophy of what to do with trash.

First the OS takes less that 15 GB of space out of 1TB, or about 1.5% of
the TB drive. A TB drive cost less than $100, or if I can gain 0.4% by
spending hours trying to organize a drive the way I think it should be
organized, it will only save me about $0.40 in gained space. I very
rarely look at the directory of the C: drive, so it is just not worth it
to me.


Again, you walk into someone's house, where there is trash left by the
workmen all over the place, and your argument is to leave it becuasde it
doesn't take up much space.

I understand your sentiment, I really do. I don't even disagree with you
thyat leaving the trash where the workmen left it isn't a problem of taking
up space.

It's a philosophical issue that I'm conveying which is that coal belongs in
the cellar, refrigerators in the kitchen, and toilet paper should be thrown
away, not left in a huge pile on the living room carpet.

A disk is not accessed like a supermarket or your living room. The
higher up in the folder hierarchy the quicker a folder can be accessed.
ie those on C:/ are faster that one buried in down in 5 sub folders.


I understand your point of view that all kinds of stuff should be left by
workmen in the living room simply bequest it makes it easier for the
workmen to access it.

We don't disagree in facts; we only disagree in philosophy.

disk is organized by the number of times a folder is accessed. If a
folder is accessed by the OS 100 times a minute it is more prominent in
the folder hierarchy than one that is accessed at startup.


Same can be said for leaving the groceries on the kitchen table instead of
in the pantry on neatly organized shelves.

It is like your workshop, you do not put your frequently used tools like
screw drives and pliers in the back of the bottom drawer of your
workbench, but put them on the pegboard behind the work bench for easy
access.


I respectfully disagree with your analogy since "root" is a special area,
that is highly visible. Using your example, it's like piling all your tools
in one great big pile in the middle of the garage floor simply because
that's there the workmen left them (for their convenience, not yours).

To paraphrase a quote, add a fraction of time here and a fraction
there, and the first thing you know on a couple of thousand access, you
are seeing real increases in the time.


I don't disagree with you on the fact that the Microsoft workmen find it
far more efficient to leave their tools in the middle of your garage than
to put them away where they belong.

We only disagree on philosophy - we do not disagree on fact.
  #23  
Old March 3rd 18, 04:15 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Frank Slootweg
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Posts: 1,226
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

Paul wrote:
[...]
Start : Run : cleanmgr

Click the system files button, which will start cleanmgr
running a second time.

[...]
Don't select "Windows Update cleanup". One of the cleanup
options starts compressing files in WinSXS, and this can take
*three hours*. Um, don't do that.


Thanks for that refresher. I had used "Windows Update cleanup" before,
but now I need it to (try to) fix [1] SWMBO's broken Windows Update (on
Windows 8.1), I had forgotten where that functionality was 'hidden'.

[1] Yes, I've already tried all the other tools/fixes, such as the
'Windows Update Troubleshooter' (both the built-in and optional
downloadable one), DISM, SFC, 'Windows Repair Free' tool, etc. to no
avail.]
  #24  
Old March 3rd 18, 08:42 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
mike[_10_]
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Posts: 1,073
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

On 3/2/2018 12:23 AM, ultred ragnusen wrote:

snip

You're having an emotional tantrum.
I fully support your right to have such a tantrum.
When you calm down, consider an alternative strategy.

Somewhere around windows 98, I got tired of trying
to follow whatever tangent Microsoft was taking.
I use the OS for what an OS was intended.
Applications are not OS functions.

I use alternatively sourced apps wherever possible.
I have a window that opens on my desktop at boot.
It's filled with shortcuts to virtually everything
I ever want to do. Totalcommander replaces file explorer.

My windows 10 system "drives" almost exactly the way
my windows 98 system did.

I try to concentrate on what I want to accomplish.

I'm still frustrated over forced updates that require
me to continuously turn off stuff they re-enabled,
but that's life in win10.

You can be sure that Microsoft will eventually change
something you hold dear. Tomorrow will be different (worse) from today.
Get over it and work around it. Watch for sales at Walmart
and stock up on chill pills when they're cheap.

+1 on cleanmgr.
bleachbit cleans up web detritus.
Having a directory in a place you don't like is just emotion.

  #25  
Old March 3rd 18, 10:07 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Paul[_32_]
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Posts: 11,873
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

Frank Slootweg wrote:
Paul wrote:
[...]
Start : Run : cleanmgr

Click the system files button, which will start cleanmgr
running a second time.

[...]
Don't select "Windows Update cleanup". One of the cleanup
options starts compressing files in WinSXS, and this can take
*three hours*. Um, don't do that.


Thanks for that refresher. I had used "Windows Update cleanup" before,
but now I need it to (try to) fix [1] SWMBO's broken Windows Update (on
Windows 8.1), I had forgotten where that functionality was 'hidden'.

[1] Yes, I've already tried all the other tools/fixes, such as the
'Windows Update Troubleshooter' (both the built-in and optional
downloadable one), DISM, SFC, 'Windows Repair Free' tool, etc. to no
avail.]


It's not that kind of Cleanup.

The one you want, is the one that deletes the contents
of SoftwareDistribution. That's a typical technique used
by some people, to get an individual "stubborn" update to
install.

There are sample scripts here, and the "Troubleshooter" control panel
has a script similar to the ones here.

https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ate-reset.html

The "cleanup" in CleanMgr.exe , doesn't appear to be that sort
of thing. I was expecting (the first time I ran it), that it
would remove out-of-date WinSXS content. But the only thing
it seems to be doing, is using NTFS compression on the files.
After it has run, if you looked at (some of) the files in the
WinSXS folder, some of them, the color of the file entry
in File Explorer would be colored to indicate compression
had been applied. On most hard drive equipped desktops,
people are not that hard up for OS partition space, to be
waiting 3 hours to save a couple hundred megabytes of space.

Compressing files, should really not change anything.

Whereas the Windows Update Troubleshooter, the one that
cleans out SoftwareDistribution, that does make a difference.

My own favorite technique, is to download the failed update
from catalog.update.microsoft.com, double-click the .msu received,
and install manually. A lot of the time, this is sufficient to
solve minor log jams. If you've been pounding on and breaking
it, for some time, something that simple may not be
sufficient to get it working again.

On Windows 10, I think only once did I need to clean out
SoftwareDistribution to stop some Windows Update looping
behavior. The rest of the time, the more mild technique
(manual install) worked.

You can see in this selected snip of the log, that I
installed '518 twice. The Windows Update one failed
(nearest the bottom). Then, when I downloaded and reinstalled
that one, both now are marked as successful. I didn't need
to purge SoftwareDistribution in this run.

https://s10.postimg.org/dmpt6ebbt/Wi...pdate_test.gif

Paul
  #26  
Old March 4th 18, 03:00 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Frank Slootweg
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,226
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

Paul wrote:
Frank Slootweg wrote:
Paul wrote:
[...]
Start : Run : cleanmgr

Click the system files button, which will start cleanmgr
running a second time.

[...]
Don't select "Windows Update cleanup". One of the cleanup
options starts compressing files in WinSXS, and this can take
*three hours*. Um, don't do that.


Thanks for that refresher. I had used "Windows Update cleanup" before,
but now I need it to (try to) fix [1] SWMBO's broken Windows Update (on
Windows 8.1), I had forgotten where that functionality was 'hidden'.

[1] Yes, I've already tried all the other tools/fixes, such as the
'Windows Update Troubleshooter' (both the built-in and optional
downloadable one), DISM, SFC, 'Windows Repair Free' tool, etc. to no
avail.]


First of all, thanks for your response! Highly appreciated.

It's not that kind of Cleanup.

The one you want, is the one that deletes the contents
of SoftwareDistribution. That's a typical technique used
by some people, to get an individual "stubborn" update to
install.


Deleting the contents of SoftwareDistribution does not help, neither
with the 'Windows Update Troubleshooter'(s), nor manually.

There are sample scripts here, and the "Troubleshooter" control panel
has a script similar to the ones here.

https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ate-reset.html

The "cleanup" in CleanMgr.exe , doesn't appear to be that sort
of thing. I was expecting (the first time I ran it), that it
would remove out-of-date WinSXS content.


Yes, it - CleanMgr.exe aka 'Disk Clean-up' - says [1] that it "deletes
or compresses" superceded updates and it actually does delete superceded
updates (I used it to (try to) fix a botched 8.1 to 10 upgrade).

But the only thing
it seems to be doing, is using NTFS compression on the files.
After it has run, if you looked at (some of) the files in the
WinSXS folder, some of them, the color of the file entry
in File Explorer would be colored to indicate compression
had been applied. On most hard drive equipped desktops,
people are not that hard up for OS partition space, to be
waiting 3 hours to save a couple hundred megabytes of space.

Compressing files, should really not change anything.

Whereas the Windows Update Troubleshooter, the one that
cleans out SoftwareDistribution, that does make a difference.

My own favorite technique, is to download the failed update
from catalog.update.microsoft.com, double-click the .msu received,
and install manually. A lot of the time, this is sufficient to
solve minor log jams. If you've been pounding on and breaking
it, for some time, something that simple may not be
sufficient to get it working again.


My (SWMBO's) problem is not so much failing updates per se, but
updates which are reported as 'Succeeded' in the 'View update history'
list, but are not *actually* installed, because they do not appear in
the 'Installed Updates' list.

These updates are re-offered later. Also some updates which *are*
listed in the 'Installed Updates' list are re-offered/re-installed and
sometimes superceded updates are re-offered, for example the 2018-01
ones, when the 2018-2 ones are already available.

In short, it's a mess.

So I want to try the 'Windows Update Clean-up' part of the 'Disk
Clean-up' program. I will also try your suggestion to download failed
updates from catalog.update.microsoft.com.

Thanks again.

On Windows 10, I think only once did I need to clean out
SoftwareDistribution to stop some Windows Update looping
behavior. The rest of the time, the more mild technique
(manual install) worked.

You can see in this selected snip of the log, that I
installed '518 twice. The Windows Update one failed
(nearest the bottom). Then, when I downloaded and reinstalled
that one, both now are marked as successful. I didn't need
to purge SoftwareDistribution in this run.

https://s10.postimg.org/dmpt6ebbt/Wi...pdate_test.gif


[1]

"Description

Windows keeps copies of all installed updates from Windows update,
even after installing newer versions of updates. Windows Update
clean-up deletes or compresses older versions of updates that are no
longer needed and taking up space."
  #27  
Old March 6th 18, 01:53 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Lucifer Morningstar[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 368
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

On Thu, 1 Mar 2018 23:14:15 -0800, ultred ragnusen
wrote:

Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?
http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/...ft_crap_01.jpg

Given these are the only directories I care about:
http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/02/whatisneeded.jpg

I'm first researching if I can just delete, en masse, the Microsoft
pollution.

Do you know off hand?

For the tribal knowledge, I'll tackle this Microsoft pollution one by one.
1. $Windows.~WS (and BT)
2. ESD
3. MSOCache
4. ouput
5. PerfLogs
6. Windows.old

HINT: Poor coding standards are in evidence galore.


You don't need an OS?
  #28  
Old March 6th 18, 01:54 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Lucifer Morningstar[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 368
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

On Fri, 2 Mar 2018 07:46:52 -0000 (UTC), John Doe
wrote:

And maybe a third folder named "Recovery".
Also hidden.
The Borg will have its way. The best you can do is don't
worry about it.

https://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote2.html

I wrote:

ultred ragnusen wrote:

Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be
deleted?
http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/...ft_crap_01.jpg

Given these are the only directories I care about:
http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/02/whatisneeded.jpg

I'm first researching if I can just delete, en masse, the
Microsoft pollution.

Do you know off hand?


I think much can be avoided if you disable the drive(s) while
installing Windows. Then, Microsoft will force only two
folders onto the drive... "System Volume Information" and a
recycle bin. Those folders are neatly hidden via View in the
file manager properties.

  #29  
Old March 6th 18, 01:56 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Lucifer Morningstar[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 368
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

On Fri, 2 Mar 2018 08:11:42 -0000 (UTC), John Doe
wrote:

Yes, I know. From the beginning, I always wanted to clean up
Windows. I spent a decade trying. The mess increased with
every new version of Windows. The poster can do whatever it
wants to do, of course, but I am giving it some good advice.
Forget about it.

Yes, of course you have to have at least one drive in order
to install Windows. But seriously!


https://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote2.html




ultred ragnusen wrote:

John Doe wrote:
I think much can be avoided if you disable the drive(s) while
installing Windows. Then, Microsoft will force only two
folders onto the drive... "System Volume Information" and a
recycle bin. Those folders are neatly hidden via View in the
file manager properties.

And maybe a third folder named "Recovery".
Also hidden.
The Borg will have its way. The best you can do is don't
worry about it.


I'm not sure what you mean by "disabling the drives" while installing.
You have to have, at the bare minimum, one disk drive, right?

As for hiding the Microsoft pollution, that's /never/ the goal, as the goal
is to maintain a clean hierarchy that follows clean GUI standards, so let's
not speak of this talk of hiding pollution, which is sort of like crapping
on the floor and covering it up with toilet paper.

The goal is to clean it up as gracefully as possible.

To that end, plenty of people wish to clean up the 1st listed pollution,
which I found out by searching for just the first bit of pollution.
https://duckduckgo.com/?&q=Can+I+del....~WS+directory

For example, this implies that pollution is just a "rollback" release.
Title: What is this "$Windows.~WS" crap?
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...6-0ff8c6355d90

That same discussion suggests the "disk cleanup" tool:
c:\windows\system32\cleanmgr.exe

Hence, I ran that "Disk Cleanup for (C" tool and checked the box for
[Clean up system files], and then I checked all available options:
http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/02/disk_cleanup.jpg

[x] Windows Update Cleanup [10.0MB]
Windows keeps copies of all installed updates from Windows
Update, even after installing newer versions of updates. Windows
Update cleanup deletes or compresses older versions of upates
that are no longer needed and taking up space. (You might need
to restart your computer.)
[x] Windows Defender Antivirus [1.14MB]
Non critical files used by Windows Defender Andivirus
[x] Windows upgrade log files [260MB]
Windows upgrade log files contain information that can help
identify and troubleshoot problems that occur during Windows
installation, upgrade, or servicing. Deleting these files can make it
difficult to troubleshoot installation issues.
[x] Downloaded Program Files [0 bytes]
Downloaded Program Files are ActiveX controls and Java applets
downloaded automatically from the Internet when you view certain
pages. TGhey are temporarily stored in the Downloaded Program
Files folder on your hard disk.
[x] Temporary Internet Files [5.21 MB]
The Temporary Internet Files folder contains webpages stored on
your hard disk for quick viewing. Your personalized settings for
webpages will be left intact.
[x] System created Windows Error Reporting [166 KB]
Files used for error reporting and solution checking.
[x] DirectX Shader Cache [0 bytes]
Clean up files created by the graphics system which can speed up
application load time and improve responsiveness. They will be
re-generated as needed.
[x] Delivery Optimization Files [2.66 MB]
Delivery Optimization files are files that were previously
downloaded to your computer and can be deleted if currently
unused by the Delivery Optimization Service.
[x] Device driver packages [0 bytes]
Windows keeps copies of all previously installed device driver
packages from Windows UPdate and other sources, even after
installing newer versions of drivers. This task will remove older
versions of drivers that are no longer needed. The most current
versions of each driver package will be kept.
[x] Previous Windows installation(s) [1.61 GB]
Files from a previous Windows installation. Files and folders that
may conflict with the installation of Windows havfe been moved to
folders named Windows.old. You can access data from the
previous Winodws installation in this folder.
[x] Recycle Bin [2.49 MB]
The Recycle Bin contains files you have deleted from your
computer. These files are not permanently removed until you
empty the Recycle Bin.
[x] Temporary files [34.7 MB]
Programs sometimes store temporary information in a TEMP folder.
Before a program closes, it usually deletes this information.
You can safely delete temporary files that have not been modified
in over a week.
[x] Temporary Windows installation files [380 KB]
Installation files used by Windows setup. These files are left over
from the installation process and can be safely deleted.
[x] Thumbnails [30.1 MB]
Windows keeps a copy of all of your picture, video, and
document thumbnails so they can be displayed quickly when you
open a folder. If you delete these thumbnails, they will be
automatically recreated as needed.

There was still a ton of Microsoft new pollution but it was a bit better.
http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/...ft_crap_02.jpg

  #30  
Old March 6th 18, 05:43 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
ultred ragnusen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 248
Default Microsoft polluted my brand new disk drive - what can be deleted?

Lucifer Morningstar wrote:

HINT: Poor coding standards are in evidence galore.


You don't need an OS?


You don't need an /old/ OS, nor a bunch of cached files for an update.

In summary, the solutions proposed in this thread have been working fine,
as the root is kept as clean as I can make it, at this:
:------
C:\Winodws (this is the os, of course)
C:\Users (I don't use this, but most people do, and that's fine)
C:\ProgramData (I don't use this, but programs do, and that's fine)
C:\Program Files (I don't use this, but badly written programs do)
C:\Program Files (x86) (I don't use this, but badly written programs do)
:------
C:\data (for my data, including any app data I care about)
C:\app (for my apps, the well-written ones that is)
C:\tmp (for my scratch stuff)
:------

That's a well-organized top-level hierarchy, IMHO.
 




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