Updates, hotfixes and the current Service Pack 1 create a backup of the affected system files that are updated before they are installed, so that the newly installed update can be easily removed again in the event of problems. However, if you are satisfied with the SP1 or the many hotfixes that solve individual problems, you can free up hundreds of megabytes by deleting the backups. These are located directly in the Windows directory and usually look like this:
To remove these folders, you must click on Workplace and open the hard disk on which your Windows is installed. Now double-click on the Windows directory, e.g. Windows or WinXP and remove all files that are similar to those shown above.
Identify and delete defective hotfix files
If, after some time, you are sure that you want to keep installed service packs and hotfixes, you can delete all of these directories. De-installation is no longer possible after this.
Der Ordnung halber sollten Sie dann auch die Einträge aus „System control/ Software“ entfernen, indem Sie nach dem Löschen der Verzeichnisse so tun, als wollten Sie die Fixes de-installieren. Es erscheint eine Fehlermeldung, dass das Programm schon de-installiert sei. Die Frage, ob Sie den Eintrag aus der Liste entfernen wollen, bestätigen Sie dann mit „Ja“.
NOTE FOR NEW PUBLICATION: This article was produced by Sandro Villinger and comes from the Windows Tweaks archive, which has been built up since the late 1990s.
