I bought a used computer and it's low on space, less than 35 mb.

[no_hypocrisy]

I have to delete something but I don't know what.

I opened online Windows and saw about 50 of these things (in blue and with variable numbers at the end). I clicked on a couple but they tell me nothing about their reason for being. And they're loaded with megabytes. Part of me wants to delete them but not until I know they're expendable.

Could anyone please tell me what this is
$NtUninstallKB975025$. And should I stay the eff away from it and its 49 "siblings"?

[woo me with science]

1. Those are files that let you uninstall Windows updates.

If you're sure you won't have to uninstall the update (i.e., it's been there a while and works fine), you should be able to delete them with no problem.

[hobbit709]

2. First: How big is the drive?

That file is probably an update file. I wouldn't delete yet.
First clean out all the Temp and Temporary Internet Files folders. That should clear out a little space.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. I don't know and don't know how to find out.

[struggle4progress]

9. Is the operating system Windows XP? Try something like this:

~snip~

1. Click on the Start button located in the lower left corner of the Taskbar.
2. In the menu that pops up, click on My Computer to open the window.
3. Single click on the Local Disk (C:). You will see the size of the hard drive at the bottom of the blue bar on the left of the window.
4. If you do not see it, then click on Details. you will see how big the hard drive is under Total Size in GB and how much of that space is unused (Free Space)

~snip~

http://www.tech-faq.com/how-to-check-your-hard-drive-capacity-in-windows-xp.shtml

[CK_John]

3. I assume it is WinXP, step 1, I would run disk cleanup and then run CCleaner before you start

deleting any files.

[struggle4progress]

4. If this is all mess from the previous owner, why not start fresh with a clean install?

[no_hypocrisy]

5. How do I do that please?

[struggle4progress]

7. I suppose that means: you don't have CDs to install an operating system.

OK. I assume you have some version of Windows

If you only have 35mb of disk space, you may first need to reclaim some space by uninstalling some programs through your control panel before you can do much of anything

Go through the list of programs on the machine, note which ones you really don't think you'll ever use, and delete a few using the control panel

DUer Why Szyzygy once suggested the following freeware to me, which you may find useful in uninstalling stuff: http://www.revouninstaller.com/

Revo might help you uninstall some stuff left behind clogging up your disk. With some free space, you can download it and install it. Then go through the list of programs on the machine, note some more you really don't think you'll ever use, and delete them using Revo



Later you might really want to ask: do I need a bigger hard disk? and can't I start fresh?

Whether or not you want a new hard drive, think about a new installation of the OS. You'll need installation disks. You can buy these for Windows (ouch! expensive!) if you don't already have some -- or you can investigate some free operating systems like Linux Mint, which can be downloaded and burned to disk for installation. To decide here, you need to think about what actual uses you will make of the computer, whether you need Windows to run certain program, and whether a free system is compatible with your hardware: for example, if you use dial-up with a WinModem, you'll be unhappy after installing Linux, cuz your modem won't work. So a free OS can be a bit of a hassle, though in the end you might be quite happy with the results

If there's only 35 mb free space on the drive, the drive might be quite small. New hard disks are pretty cheap for recent computers; you can get a 500gb or 750gb SATA at quite reasonable prices -- though you'll want to do a little bit of research to make sure what you're getting would work. If you change the hard drive, you'll again need installation disks for an OS

[Duer 157099]

8. This is a multistep process, lots of variables

For example, the prior owner could have set up a very large Prefetch file, or a lot of disk space allocated to System Restore. So many possibilities.

First thing is to use something like CCleaner and let it get rid of all the unnecessary stuff first. Then you'll have some steps to check other settings, which we can help with as you go along.

[DainBramaged]

10. There is a GREAT tool for deleting older windows update backups....

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

When you install updates from Windows Update, backup folders are created for the files that were replaced during the update. These are created so that you can easily uninstall a particular Hotfix, if it causes problems with your system. If your system is running stable and you don't need to uninstall the hotfixes, then you can safely remove the backup files to free up disk space.

This utility will locate the Hotfixes that have created backup files on your system, and will remove those backups. It will also removes the associated Registry entries for these items in Add/Remove Programs.

NOTE: This utility does NOT remove application specific hotfix backups (Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Media player and etc.). It will only remove hotfix backups that are specific to the Windows XP operating system.

Additionally, you may not notice an immediate recovery of disk space. This is because the backup files are protected by System Restore. When they are deleted, System Restore places a copy in the most recent, or a new, restore point. As older restore points are flushed out, and new ones created, you'll see the space gain.

This is a one-way operation. If you remove the Hotfix backup files and the Registry entries, it cannot be undone, unless you back up these items manually.

Usage: Download the xp_remove_hotfix_backup.zip file and save it to your hard drive. Double-click the xp_remove_hotfix_backup.zip file and extract the EXE file inside to your hard drive. Double click xp_remove_hotfix_backup.exe to run the program.

And CCleaner does a great job of eliminating bloat safely (just select the cookies in OPTIONS you need to save for passwords etc).

Also you can delete all but the latest restore point and gain space