I'm going through my computer to get rid of "unneeded" stuff in my Add/Remove Programs section. I have a lot of "add-ons" that I'm not sure about. I have Windows XP. Here's a list:
- Microsoft .NET Framework (versions 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5)
- Microsoft Compression Client Pack 1.0 for XP
- Microsoft Silverlight
- MSXML 4.0 SP2 (there are 8 of these, all with different codes after them in () )
- Realtek AC'97 Audio
- Sonic VDF Reader
- Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool
Should I delete any/all of these programs? I'm not extremely computer savvy but it's my husbands computer and he is completely computer ignorant, so I'm not sure if he's downloaded stupid things that installed these add-ons or if they are really needed for the computer to work properly. I know it is difficult to have an answer for all these items but any info could help! Thanks
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So much "stuff"!! What should I delete?
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They are not doing any harm on your computer and some are needed to enhance certain features on your system. For example the .Net Framework is now used extensively by software developers, and Silverlight is Microsoft's answer to Adobe's Flash, for web site animations and similar.
It's true that you only need the latest .Net Framework, but still, I would not uninstall the others. They don't take up much disk space, and just sit there doing little to nothing.
The other items in your list are required.
Hope that helps.
Mark
Thanks for the responses guys! I actually found a lot of the info I needed through Googling the program names. I guess I'm just a "neat" freak...
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