How big is your windows folder?


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  • 2 weeks later...
yeah, i know this thread hasn't been added to in over a week, but i've just discovered the joys of ntfs compression :D

360MB, for all intents and purposes.

Sweet, that is really getting down there :p

Can you tell a differance in speed now? Or is it the same?

The 168mb one I posted, was actualy NT 4 with SP6a :blush:

in all honesty, things do seem to be working better. it's really hard to tell on a 2.53GHz machine, though.

i just wish i could get the actual size down. for some reason, i can't remember how i got down to ~460MB last time :( i figure that with the compression, i could be down to almost 300MB or less, if i could get rid of all the stuff i got rid of last time (and yeah, i've deleted everything i usually delete)

  • 4 weeks later...
in all honesty, things do seem to be working better. it's really hard to tell on a 2.53GHz machine, though.

i just wish i could get the actual size down. for some reason, i can't remember how i got down to ~460MB last time :( i figure that with the compression, i could be down to almost 300MB or less, if i could get rid of all the stuff i got rid of last time (and yeah, i've deleted everything i usually delete)

You have VS.net installed? That takes up a lot of space in the windows folder :(

I've gone through the first 8 pages of this thread. Would someone kindly post a summary of what should be safe to delete from the windows folder?

Mine is currently at 1.7 gigs. I'd like to get it down to around a gig without crashing my computer lol.

Thanks a bunch. :)

From shen:

*cut and pasted from another forum i moderate*

here's what i wipe out (but keep backed up on cd):

c:\windows\cursors\

c:\windows\downloaded installations\

c:\windows\driver cache\i386\

c:\windows\help\

c:\windows\inf\

c:\windows\installer\

c:\windows\media\

c:\windows\registeredpackages\

c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386\

c:\windows\system32\dllcache\

c:\windows\system32\reinstallbackups\

c:\windows\system32\restore\

c:\windows\system32\usmt\

c:\program files\msn

c:\program files\netmeeting\

c:\windows\$Uninstall----$

the $uninstall----$ folders are used whenever you want to uninstall a windows update. i don't see any point in keeping them.

also, go through the start menu and find things you don't want (stuff in the Accessories folder) - find the programs those shortcuts link to and delete as necessary.

notes:

1) keep the directories - just delete/move the files inside

2) do this after you've installed *all* hardware, including webcams and virtual cd-rom drives, and updated all service packs/ updates.

i find little things here and there, but that's normally the stuff i go through and wipe out right after a fresh install.

I have deleted all that, and my computer is as stable as ever :p

All of this also applys to 2k if the folders exist ;)

nickg78, i would not delete those folders. it is true that they CAN be deleted, and windows will work just fine, but without the inf folder, you can't add any hardware to the computer, even some USB devices. the media folder contains all those sounds you hear in windows. and the cursors folder holds all the different cursors you can use. you could simply delete the ones you never use, but they are very small files and will yield little disk space when deleted.

From shen:
*cut and pasted from another forum i moderate*

here's what i wipe out (but keep backed up on cd):

c:\windows\cursors\

c:\windows\downloaded installations\

c:\windows\driver cache\i386\

c:\windows\help\

c:\windows\inf\

c:\windows\installer\

c:\windows\media\

c:\windows\registeredpackages\

c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386\

c:\windows\system32\dllcache\

c:\windows\system32\reinstallbackups\

c:\windows\system32\restore\

c:\windows\system32\usmt\

c:\program files\msn

c:\program files\netmeeting\

c:\windows\$Uninstall----$

the $uninstall----$ folders are used whenever you want to uninstall a windows update. i don't see any point in keeping them.

also, go through the start menu and find things you don't want (stuff in the Accessories folder) - find the programs those shortcuts link to and delete as necessary.

notes:

1) keep the directories - just delete/move the files inside

2) do this after you've installed *all* hardware, including webcams and virtual cd-rom drives, and updated all service packs/ updates.

i find little things here and there, but that's normally the stuff i go through and wipe out right after a fresh install.

I have deleted all that, and my computer is as stable as ever :p

All of this also applys to 2k if the folders exist ;)

or you can just simply use add/remove programs!

  • 3 weeks later...
nickg78, i would not delete those folders. it is true that they CAN be deleted, and windows will work just fine, but without the inf folder, you can't add any hardware to the computer, even some USB devices. the media folder contains all those sounds you hear in windows. and the cursors folder holds all the different cursors you can use. you could simply delete the ones you never use, but they are very small files and will yield little disk space when deleted.

If you delete the inf folder, you can still install any new hardware and USB devices, you will just need to locate the divers manualy :p

Personal, I just delete all the mdm*.* (modem dirvers, about 27mb) because I know I am never going to be installing a modem in my computer, and if I did I would use the drivers it came with :p

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