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General discussion

Removing Updates, Patches, SR from add or remove program list

Dec 15, 2003 1:32AM PST

Is it safe to Remove Updates, Patches, SR, Hotfixes from add or remove program list? Do these features just allow you to undo these patches, or are they the patches themselves?

Trying to clean up and get more HD space.

Discussion is locked

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Using Add/Remove programs....
Dec 15, 2003 3:45AM PST

will back off the patches. The list in Add/Remove programs is just entries in the registry so it isn't taking up much space in itself. The fact that the patches can be backed off means there is a backup on your PC somewhere.

I would be careful about deleting things that you don't know. I just got finished repairing a PC on the weekend where someone was trying to free up space by cleaning up files in C:\Windows...

Have you run a disk usage utility to identify what is using the most disk on your hard drive?
http://www.webattack.com/freeware/system/fwdisktools.html

How big is your hard drive? Have you considered getting a larger (or second) hard drive? They're fairly inexpensive.

I'm a big fan of renaming instead of deleting. Reboot and run a test before deleting anything. Make sure you have backups, a boot disk and run/print a Belarc report. It will list a lot of info about your PC including the Windows product key (just in case you need to reinstall Windows).

Some cleanup tips from Grif...
http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6122-0.html?forumID=44&threadID=2966&messageID=35611

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Re:Removing Updates, Patches, SR from add or remove program list
Dec 15, 2003 6:24AM PST

Terry,

As Keith mentioned, the "Hotfixes" normally indicate "Windows XP Hotfix" (or the specific operating system for which the update was installed on) and although they can be uninstalled, it removes the entire update including registry entries and any files that were updated during the hotfix. The "Hotfixes" you are seeing are those "Critical Updates" that you may have installed at the Windows Update site. They are normally there for a purpose.

There have been a few that needed to be removed temporarily, but generally, it's not a good idea to remove the "Hotfixes". They're provided at the Windows Update site because they improve performance and security.

If you're having a problem with a particular one, then it shouldn't cause any issues to uninstall it. But to uninstall them all just to save space is not a good idea. Clean out the "junk" files and programs instead.

Hope this helps.

Grif