[Starwind51]

I recently became aware of the Windows XP Installer folder, and the 20 GB of space it was taking up on my 37.2 GB hard drive.

I need help deciding what to delete from it.

The last few items on the list were wix MIDI files that I couldn't open to listen to, so I deleted them.

The next to last items are a massive amount of Word files with .tmp extensions. Can anybody tell me why these .tmp files don't get deleted when other temp files are cleaned out by CCleaner or other cleaning programs? Since they are temp files, I'm guessing that it's safe to delete them, and am in the process of doing that. But any comments on doing this?

Is there any type of file I should be on the look out not to delete from this folder?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Updating the original message to say I have deleted all the .tmp files.

The bulk of the folder has .msp, .msi, and a few .ipi files. I'm very worried about them because hovering my cursor over doesn't reveal much information and trying to open them causes whatever they do to start installing. I really need help dealing with these files!

This post has been edited by Starwind51: 17 July 2012 - 01:12 AM

[LiveBrianD]

You can have ccleaner delete hotfix uninstallers.

Caution: you will loose the ability to, well, uninstall those hotfixes.

[Flashorn]

Hey StarWind51 !

Welcome to PCWorld Community.

Quote

The bulk of the folder has .msp, .msi, and a few .ipi files. I'm very worried about them because hovering my cursor over doesn't reveal much information and trying to open them causes whatever they do to start installing. I really need help dealing with these files!

I would be Very reluctant in deleting any of those file extensions.

When a product is installed using Windows Installer Technology, a stripped version of the original .MSI data file is stored in the Windows Installer Cache (default is C:\Windows\Installer). Every subsequent update installation for the installed products like hotfixes, cumulative updates or service packs also stores the relevant .msp or .msi file in the Windows Installer Cache.

Did you verify that the Restore Point folder is not too full as to take Lots of space ?
Please follow these instruction from my friend Bert :

http://bertk.mvps.or.../diskclean.html

OR

you can us CCleaner (the new version, update if needed) from here :

Piriform.com

to clean out the old restore points and free some hdd space.

Open CCleaner > click Tools > Choose Restore Points > Highlight Restore Point to be deleted and click Remove on the bottom left.



Again, do not touch those files with .MSI or .MSP. The .ipi files seems to be from the Windows Installer also, so don't delete them



FLASHORN.

[Starwind51]

Thanks to both of you. I was recently told about CCleaner, and I regularly remove old backup points, and also registry errors after I uninstall or delete things that might have left stubs behind.

I don't intentionally install anything new, other than updates to what I already have (such as Microsoft Security Essentials, Java, Adobe Reader - updates are another issue I'll be asking help for) and won't be installing any new games, music, videos, etc. - not to my C drive, and not any time soon anywhere else.

I do have an external hard drive that I've moved all my personal files to, and have uninstalled games and programs from my C and put them on my G, but my C drive gets so filled up (I don't know with what), that it won't let me even save changes I make to my files on the G drive. The games, by the way, didn't take a lot of space on the C drive, though I'd still like to move the rest of them to the G, and my one really big program on the C that I uninstalled and put on the G (Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006) instantly gave me 1 GB of free space on the C that within two days whittled down to about 300 MB. After taking out the temp Word files from the Installer folder I've got about 1.5 GB free on the C now.

My Toshiba, the laptop I've been discussing, is about 8 years old. There have been MANY instances of this laptop overheating and snapping off in the middle of doing something – downloading updates, installing updates, uninstalling previous versions, and the queen of them all, disk cleanup. (Overheating is yet another problem I’ll be asking for help with.)

Now that I’ve examined the Installer folder more carefully, I see that hovering over these files with the extensions I told you about, or lightly clicking on them, does reveal the name of what the file is. How do I figure out if any of these things are duplicates? Or partial duplicates resulting from partial installations, deletions, cleanups, etc?

When I cleaned out the wix MIDI files (there were only 7) I swept them into one folder and deleted the folder, and when I cleaned out the .tmp files I also swept them into folders and then deleted the folders. But I was certain I was going to delete these things. If I corral files I suspect are duplicates, to make them easier to compare, am I going to destabilize anything?

[Flashorn]

Hey StarWind51 !

I remember those smallish hdds. My first full size PC has a 17 Gig hdd from Fujitsu and that was Big.


OK, I haven't tried this program personally but it has and is still getting good reviews. At 4.8 mb, I
don't think it will impact your hdd space.

http://www.auslogics...finder/#details

Sometimes, using the drive wiper in CCleaner will help but, I never saw any difference. I guess with
today's drives, we just don't bother with finding space.

Give it a shot and see what comes up.

I would be Very careful with deleting duplicates as some might still be needed.

Try Googling some of the entries found by this program and report some of it's findings here also.
Maybe some of the other helpers could accommodate with a solution.



FLASHORN.

[Starwind51]

Thank you, Flashorn. When I got my external hard drive I nearly fainted at how much it holds! The mothership seems so tiny in comparison!

I downloaded the Auslogics Duplicate File Finder and scanned just my C drive. The results were not as hopeful as I'd... hoped. Only 7.45 MB of duplicates. Maybe that's a lot, but under my circumstances it doesn't sound like much.

Looking at the list is like a trip down memory lane. I didn't know what some of these things were when I got them, and I still don't know what they are or were because I never used them and their trial periods ended by the time I got the confidence to open them! I missed out on Funhouse photo whatever-it-was.

I'm not sure what to check on the drop down menu to delete the duplicates. I guess the short question would be, is everything on the list a duplicate? Or is the one copy to save also on the list? The choices are Select All, Select Duplicates in this Folder, Select One in Each Group, and Select All Duplicates in Each Group which is in bold, so I guess that's the supposedly desired choice. I do want each duplicate gone, though in the case of something recognizable to me, like the Funhouse, I could delete the original as well. I'm pretty sure I don't have that program anymore. I'm including a partial picture of the scan to show you what I'm not sure of in terms of "is everything on the list a duplicate?".

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