What is C:\Apps?

I don't ever remember seeing this until recently, and I couldn't find any information on it in google.

Does the date and time stamp on the folder correspond to the date something was installed?

What (if anything) is inside the folder?

The folder is not part of Windows or anything else I know. Most program normally install to program files anyway unless instructed otherwise.
Possibly, it must be a folder you created yourself or something or someone put it there for some reason. Try checking what's inside to see if something there sounds familiar to you.

I have been researching this folder and am 98% sure that it is a folder to facilitate burning a backup Windows Installation/Recovery DVD. Both Windows and Dell have this as an option for user selection. Once selected, I believe the c:\apps folder is built and then the burn process initiated to burn the contents of the top level folder.

The give away clues are 1) the autorun.inf file in the top folder level. This file is used exclusively on inserted media. 2) if you execute the setup.exe, you will see a window for the installation of Windows.

All the other Dell pc's I have checked have the c:\apps folder, but not all of the folders are populated, or even populated exactly the same. Thus, my suspicion that the folder is driven by user selection.

I don't have the time to drag off a copy, chase down the user selection, and test it. I am going with my 98% confidence and holding the space as a last resort for clearing some disk space, whereupon I'll just blow it away.

If anyone could take the time to test this to get confirmation, it would be helpful.

Addendum: I had reason to take a second look at the folder and I see also that there are separate installations for Roxio and PowerDVD. This would make the folder exclusive to Dell. My confidence is now up to 99.9% that it can just be blown away and would be recreated by Dell's Recovery processes.