Do I need all these Visual C++ packs?

[FR3E Roamers]

Please tell me which of the following Microsoft Visual C++ packages I can safely delete.

Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Microsoft Corporation 13/07/2015 300 KB 8.0.61001
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable (x64) Microsoft Corporation 13/07/2015 572 KB 8.0.61000
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x64 9.0.30729.4148 Microsoft Corporation 15/07/2015 240 KB 9.0.30729.4148
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x64 9.0.30729.6161 Microsoft Corporation 13/07/2015 788 KB 9.0.30729.6161
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.4148 Microsoft Corporation 15/07/2015 232 KB 9.0.30729.4148
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.6161 Microsoft Corporation 13/07/2015 600 KB 9.0.30729.6161
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x64 Redistributable - 10.0.40219 Microsoft Corporation 13/07/2015 13.8 MB 10.0.40219
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x86 Redistributable - 10.0.40219 Microsoft Corporation 13/07/2015 11.1 MB 10.0.40219
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x64) - 11.0.61030 Microsoft Corporation 13/07/2015 20.5 MB 11.0.61030.0
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x86) - 11.0.61030 Microsoft Corporation 13/07/2015 17.3 MB 11.0.61030.0

Thanks

 

[Mellon Head]

Don't delete any of them. They are installed by the software that you have installed on your PC, and if you delete any of them, the corresponding software will no longer work.

In other words, all of them are required.

 

[LMiller7]

One might reasonably conclude that the newer 2012 versions would supersede the older versions which could be safely deleted. Reasonable, but wrong. The problem is that applications often explicitly specify the older version they were designed for and will fail if it is not present. The x86 versions are required on a 64 bit OS for 32 bit applications.

It is possible that some packages are not needed but making this determination is not easy. The only safe thing to do is leave all of them. In any event the space consumed is quite trivial on a modern hard drive.