What are $NtUninstallKB898461$ files?

Avoriaz

What are these folders in the Windows folder of Windows XP?

$NtUninstallKB923561$
$NtUninstallKB929399$

etc

They look like they are created at installation of Windows, Service Packs etc.

They show up in blue only when “show hidden files is selected”.

Are they similar to Cabinet Files in previous Windows versions and are only needed to reinstall software.

Are they essential or can they be deleted to clear space?

A friend of mine has loads of them and badly needs to clear space as he has less than 1gb free on his 40 gb disk. I have run ccleaner for him and deleted temp files, unnecessary files etc but that only cleared about 1gb.

If I can safely delete them that will clear a huge amount of space.

Thanks

PS: I tried deleting one on my system. Windows didn't flag any warning as it would if I tried to delete a critical file. I deleted it and then undid the deletion.

dogmaryxx

These are folders that allow you to uninstall a Windows Update if it causes problems on your system. If these are more than a couple of weeks old according to the Date Modified in Details view and your PC is operating normally, they are safe to delete.

gbellamy

Yes guessed right! They are indeed created by service packs and windows updates.

busenbust

Usually safe to delete, yes. I am unsure of this, but if you delete you might not be able to un-install a problematic (corresponding) Service Pack?

Avoriaz

Thanks for all the replies.

I'll delete them all on my friends machine.

I'm going to delete the ones on my own laptop too as it has been running fine on SP3 for ages and I could use the extra space too.

My 250gb disk is full.

How the hell did I ever manage with 4gb only a few short years ago?

To be fair, most of the 250gb is mpg, avi and ts music files that I didn't have then.

rmg1

To free up disc space, I zipped all mine up.
That means I can still uninstall the updates if I need to but still saved a bit of space.

[Deleted User]

Tp free up more space you should check to see if Hibernation is enabled or not. If it is, it will reserve disk space equal to the amount of RAM installed so if it's not used it's just waste. You can also adjust the size of the Recycle Bin, along with the space allocated to System Restore points.

Rather than deleting the $NtUninstallKB folders and files, you would be wise to back them up to some form of external media should you ever have a requirement to remove them in future.

andy2004

quickest way to cleanup.
Turn of restore, recycle bin, turn off updates,<what a pain, i use APUP myself, downloads all the updates to mycomputer and then i can install them not only on my computer but also someone elses, just by copying the folder. useful if you have more than 1 computer and have limited downloaded.
also useful if you have to reformat and reinstall.
all empty IE temporary files, firefox temp, basically run CCleaner to do the above.