Hello Bill,
The folder in question is hidden by the system and that tells me that
Windows didn't intend for the average user to access it or make any changes
to it. While I can't attest to it, I recall reading somewhere, don't
remember where, that those files are associated with the Add or Remove
Programs feature in Control Panel and shouldn't be deleted. The '.msi' file
extension is the Microsoft Installer which is used by some third party
programs also.
You didn't mention the size of the drive but with the drives available
today, 290 MB is a drop in the bucket. I suggest you consider a second
drive. You can find them on sale weekly at places like BestBuy, CompUSA,
etc., at a good price after rebates. With a second drive, you could free a
lot of space by placing everything but Windows on it. The My Documents
folder, all your programs, and anything else that you created can be located
on it.
If space is not critical at this point (getting Windows warnings) I
recommend you run Disk Cleanup (Start \ (All) Programs \ Accessories \
System Tools) on a regular basis and be careful of what you save to disk.
You can reduce the allotted space for System Restore in Control Panel \
System \ System Restore tab \ Settings button. The default is 12% and
lowering that will reduce it by eliminating some older restore points.
If you have broadband, in Control Panel open Internet Options. On the
General tab for Temporary Internet files, click the "Settings..." button and
reduce the "Amount of disk space to use:" to somewhere in the neighborhood
of 20 MB. I have mine set at 5 MB. While this won't have much effect if
regular disk cleanups are performed, a large amount of space is not needed
with broadband. I don't recommend deleting Cookies. They are small text
files and occupy very little space. If you delete them, any Web sites that
knew you will not remember you and you will loose any customized Web pages.
You might inventory the programs you installed to see if there are any you
don't use or need anymore. Uninstalling them would free space. Many times
programs install extra features or "piggyback" programs that you don't need.
You may be able to uninstall them also.
Good luck,
Sven Swanson, Sr.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2005 7:47 PM
Subject: [PCBUILD] Windows Folder:Installer
Name: William Patton
Date: October13, 2005
Subject: Windows Folder:Installer
I am running Windows XP Home, SP2. I need to delete some files to make more
room on my C:/ drive. I have found a folder: C:/windows/Installer with
about 90 files many of which are quite large using 290 MB of storage. All
the files have an extension of .msi. Do I need to retain these or can I
delete them? I am guessing they may be from updating windows. Thank you.
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