Computer Gurus: what are all of these files in my c:/WINDOWS folder?

Question

They are all $NtUNINSTALL... hidden folders and the names of them are in blue, is it ok to delete them. (there are a ton of them)

Answer 1

Those are all "uninstall" files for the patches and updates that Microsoft installs on your computer throught the Automatic Update. You would only need them if for some reason you would have to uninstall one of the updates. In 15 years of doing computer support I have never had to use them. They may be deleted without harming your PC. If you are concerned about needing them to uninstall an update, them leave any that are less then 30 days old. If your PC has been running OK for 30 days with the update on it, you wil not need to uninstall it.

So, yes, it is OK to delete them. In fact, Microsoft recommends it.

Answer 2

Don't Worry I will tell you the full story.

When you install service pack, windows updates or patch file windows automatically backup your current files if something goes wrong then you can restore old files back. Those files a kept in "C:/Windows" Directory. as you said "$NtUNINSTALL" is like that.

Why it like blue.
Becase to save valuble Disk Space those files automatically Copressed.

If you are not having any issue with windows you can delete these folder. But I recomend Keep these files.

Thank you for reading

Answer 3

They are folders for the updates/hotfixes for Windows. They hold backups of the files replaced during the updates. You can delete them if you want.

Answer 4

Do not wipe any of them the uninstall ones are updates that you can removeBUT only trough the ADD and Remove Programe otherwise you end up with your Windows being unstable or unusable.DO NOT REMOVE ANY
If you don't know what it does don't touch it unless you got plenty time and money to fix it all up.
Take care!

Answer 5

Once you are sure that you have no problem with your Windows updates you can delete them. Personally, I keep them, just in case.