Windows7 HB32bit. what files are safe to delete?

[famousken]

hello people. i have purchased an Anspire4750g with windows7 homebasic 32bit. the first time i saw the file of "windows" it was 8-9gigs. and now it is 11 gig! what the heck are they putting in my folder? ) i just need your help people.

 

[Corazon]

To make a long answer short...you're not going to be able to delete much of anything. Most of that space is used by a system folder called winsxs which is the Windows side-by-side configuration cache. It serves as a provider of multiple versions of certain system DLLs and other files, so that an application requiring a specific version gets access to it. This is Microsoft's answer to the widespread "DLL Hell" problem that plagued earlier versions of Windows (especially pre-XP).

winsxs also contains the totality of all Windows features, enabled or disabled, so they're easily reinstalled if you choose to enable them again in the future...there's also the Driver Store, a database of commonly used drivers Windows will use to install many things before it starts searching for drivers online.

Sorry, I wanted to make this short. The size you see is pretty much normal for the Windows folder.

Did you install Service Pack 1 at some point, or did it already come with the computer? You might be able to remove any backup files created by the SP1 update if they are still in the winsxs folder. There's a specific command to do this from a DOS command window.

 

[famousken]

i am not installing SP1 coz many says it may somehow worsen the pc. thats what i hear. )

btw, is there any files that i can compress to save disk space? )

 

[seavixen32]

i am not installing SP1 coz many says it may somehow worsen the pc. thats what i hear. )

btw, is there any files that i can compress to save disk space? )

I wouldn't recommend compressing files as that's a recipe for further problems.

The recommended minimum disk space for Windows 7 is 16 GB so you're well within that.

As for SP1, it's best you do install it from a security standpoint.

Perhaps you could upload a screenshot of your disk management layout so that we can advise you further?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

 

[karlsnooks]

i am not installing SP1 coz many says it may somehow worsen the pc. thats what i hear. )

btw, is there any files that i can compress to save disk space? )

Well famous, now you listen to the experts: Your friends are dead wrong. You go ahead and install SP1.

Disk Space - Free Up and Recover
How to Free Up and Recover Hard Drive Space in Windows 7


Download, installl and run CCleaner. Link in my sig.

 

[famousken]

whats disk management? )

 

[karlsnooks]

Follow this procedure which will also answer your question.


HOW TO POST A SNAPSHOT OF DISK MANAGEMENT DISPLAY
Run disk management:
WIN | type DISKMGMT.MSC | ENTER
WIN is the key with the wavy flag.

Maximize the output of Disk Management:
ALT-Spacebar key combo (this pops up a menu) followed by X key (selects Maximize) |
Drag the field separators (such as between Status and Capacity) to show entire field. This is very important, otherwise, needed info is not visible.

Make a snapshot:
WIN | type SNIPPING | ENTER | New
Drag the cursor around the area you want to snip.
File | Save as | select save location and name | Save

Post the snapshot:
Upload a File or Screenshot in Seven Forums

 

[famousken]

here.

 

[karlsnooks]

With more than 560 GB free, then I'd say you need not worry about disk space at this time.

 

[seavixen32]

Well, looking at your disk layout, your Windows drive has 95% free space so you've nothing to be overly worried about.

If you get problems installing SP1, check JMH's solutions in this excellent thread.

http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-updates-activation/177156-problem-installing-sp1.html#post1506854

 

[Bill2]

The only thing you can possibly remove from the windows folder are windows updates installer files which are not removed even after the updates are installed and the installers are no longer required. Navigate to C:\windows\software distribution\download folder and delete everything inside it.

The other thing of course is to clean up temp files with CCleaner or some other tool.

 

[Corazon]

Agree with everything said above. Don't let some rumors about problems with SP1 keep you from installing it - but once you do (and it succeeds), remember to ask me or the others about how to delete backup files created by the SP1 install. In many cases, it can get you a couple gigabytes of free space back if that's your cup of tea.

 

[famousken]

@Bill2 :: seriously? i then can delete that folder location? when i looked at it, its 2 gig, it is big and does this files not important anymore? need reply ASAP )​