I'm doing some general housekeeping. In my c:\program files\windows subdirectory I have a bunch of files that start with "$NtUninstall"

I think that these are residual from 4 years of uninstalling programs. Is this correct and can I delete them? If it's not correct, what are they and can I can them?

Thanks in advance

 

" Question: In the Windows folder, there are many folders (all in blue) that start out with $NtUninstall. What are these, and can they be deleted? Answer: Yes, they can be deleted but I wouldn't do that unless you need hard drive space. Those $NtUninstall folders are created when you install a Microsoft Service Pack, a hot fix, or certain security updates.

Do you remember when you were installing that latest Microsoft Service Pack and it gave you the option of archiving the files it was replacing? Well, if you left the option on 'Yes,' then it made a $NtUninstall folder so that you could uninstall the service pack, and it would replace itself with the old files during un-installation.

Now you understand why I say to just leave them there unless you need hard drive space... nothing is more frustrating than to have to live with a problem or format a machine just because you can't uninstall a service pack or hot fix. " (Source: Lockergnome.com)

 

I agree.If it becomes a space issue just add a second hard drive.They are cheap and easy to install.

 

Personally, I leave them for a while, to make sure everything is working ok, then delete them. Then use Norton Windoctor to clean up the registry of the uninstall entries.

You can click on each one and see how long ago they were created. I would not have a problem of getting rid of them if they were old. If you are worried about them, you could back them up to CD/DVD. Some of them do take up a lot of space.

 

I clean them out after a certain amount of time.

They are your uninstall files for security patches and the like.

If you are nervous about deleteing them there are plenty more places to find funk files to delete.