Is it safe to delete C:windowsinstall on Windows 10?
Is it safe to delete C:windowsinstall
on Windows 10?
windows-10
add a comment |
Is it safe to delete C:windowsinstall
on Windows 10?
windows-10
3
No; Those files should not be deleted
– Ramhound
3 hours ago
add a comment |
Is it safe to delete C:windowsinstall
on Windows 10?
windows-10
Is it safe to delete C:windowsinstall
on Windows 10?
windows-10
windows-10
edited 1 hour ago
Pimp Juice IT
23.2k113969
23.2k113969
asked 3 hours ago
Christian BurgosChristian Burgos
1093
1093
3
No; Those files should not be deleted
– Ramhound
3 hours ago
add a comment |
3
No; Those files should not be deleted
– Ramhound
3 hours ago
3
3
No; Those files should not be deleted
– Ramhound
3 hours ago
No; Those files should not be deleted
– Ramhound
3 hours ago
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
According to Microsoft employee joscon in the Microsoft Technet post "Can you safely delete files in the %windir%Installer
directory?", it is not safe to delete C:windowsinstall
or any files within it, and the post explains why as well.
I've referenced and quoted the portions of the post that relate to your question and helped make it more clear and concise for the specific subject matter of your inquiry.
Can you safely delete files in the
%windir%Installer
directory?
The answer is flatly: "No".
Let's talk about why this is a bad idea:
First, it is not supported. If you remove files from this directory
and have issues, you may need to reinstall the application to get
back to a good state.
This particular directory's job is to act as a cache location for Windows installer based applications. It holds stripped down versions
of the Windows installer data files. During application install,
update of the application or application removal, this directory is
used by the application to confirm the existence of previously
installed items to determine the next steps the installer needs to
take.
- The files are different from machine to machine, so if you
expect to delete the files in the directory and then copy them over
from another machine, that would be incorrect. Removing items from
here could cause you to have application crashes, or worse, require
the re-installation and patching of the application.
The overall idea that you really should not remove items in the
Windows directory. We build and test our software based on the
existence of specific files and directories. When those files and
directories don't exist, bad things can and will happen. However, that
is a generalization that usually upsets many people so let's be more
specific.
The proper way to alleviate space pressure in this directory is to uninstall any unneeded applications.
source
add a comment |
The C:WindowsInstaller folder is where some but not all applications uninstall files and folders are stored.
If you want to remove applications, use the Control Panel Programs and Features to uninstall them. It is also possible to run Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) in elevated mode to help free up space.
That is not the location OP is asking about.
– music2myear
40 mins ago
add a comment |
get W10 in a virtual machine and try it out
New contributor
add a comment |
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
According to Microsoft employee joscon in the Microsoft Technet post "Can you safely delete files in the %windir%Installer
directory?", it is not safe to delete C:windowsinstall
or any files within it, and the post explains why as well.
I've referenced and quoted the portions of the post that relate to your question and helped make it more clear and concise for the specific subject matter of your inquiry.
Can you safely delete files in the
%windir%Installer
directory?
The answer is flatly: "No".
Let's talk about why this is a bad idea:
First, it is not supported. If you remove files from this directory
and have issues, you may need to reinstall the application to get
back to a good state.
This particular directory's job is to act as a cache location for Windows installer based applications. It holds stripped down versions
of the Windows installer data files. During application install,
update of the application or application removal, this directory is
used by the application to confirm the existence of previously
installed items to determine the next steps the installer needs to
take.
- The files are different from machine to machine, so if you
expect to delete the files in the directory and then copy them over
from another machine, that would be incorrect. Removing items from
here could cause you to have application crashes, or worse, require
the re-installation and patching of the application.
The overall idea that you really should not remove items in the
Windows directory. We build and test our software based on the
existence of specific files and directories. When those files and
directories don't exist, bad things can and will happen. However, that
is a generalization that usually upsets many people so let's be more
specific.
The proper way to alleviate space pressure in this directory is to uninstall any unneeded applications.
source
add a comment |
According to Microsoft employee joscon in the Microsoft Technet post "Can you safely delete files in the %windir%Installer
directory?", it is not safe to delete C:windowsinstall
or any files within it, and the post explains why as well.
I've referenced and quoted the portions of the post that relate to your question and helped make it more clear and concise for the specific subject matter of your inquiry.
Can you safely delete files in the
%windir%Installer
directory?
The answer is flatly: "No".
Let's talk about why this is a bad idea:
First, it is not supported. If you remove files from this directory
and have issues, you may need to reinstall the application to get
back to a good state.
This particular directory's job is to act as a cache location for Windows installer based applications. It holds stripped down versions
of the Windows installer data files. During application install,
update of the application or application removal, this directory is
used by the application to confirm the existence of previously
installed items to determine the next steps the installer needs to
take.
- The files are different from machine to machine, so if you
expect to delete the files in the directory and then copy them over
from another machine, that would be incorrect. Removing items from
here could cause you to have application crashes, or worse, require
the re-installation and patching of the application.
The overall idea that you really should not remove items in the
Windows directory. We build and test our software based on the
existence of specific files and directories. When those files and
directories don't exist, bad things can and will happen. However, that
is a generalization that usually upsets many people so let's be more
specific.
The proper way to alleviate space pressure in this directory is to uninstall any unneeded applications.
source
add a comment |
According to Microsoft employee joscon in the Microsoft Technet post "Can you safely delete files in the %windir%Installer
directory?", it is not safe to delete C:windowsinstall
or any files within it, and the post explains why as well.
I've referenced and quoted the portions of the post that relate to your question and helped make it more clear and concise for the specific subject matter of your inquiry.
Can you safely delete files in the
%windir%Installer
directory?
The answer is flatly: "No".
Let's talk about why this is a bad idea:
First, it is not supported. If you remove files from this directory
and have issues, you may need to reinstall the application to get
back to a good state.
This particular directory's job is to act as a cache location for Windows installer based applications. It holds stripped down versions
of the Windows installer data files. During application install,
update of the application or application removal, this directory is
used by the application to confirm the existence of previously
installed items to determine the next steps the installer needs to
take.
- The files are different from machine to machine, so if you
expect to delete the files in the directory and then copy them over
from another machine, that would be incorrect. Removing items from
here could cause you to have application crashes, or worse, require
the re-installation and patching of the application.
The overall idea that you really should not remove items in the
Windows directory. We build and test our software based on the
existence of specific files and directories. When those files and
directories don't exist, bad things can and will happen. However, that
is a generalization that usually upsets many people so let's be more
specific.
The proper way to alleviate space pressure in this directory is to uninstall any unneeded applications.
source
According to Microsoft employee joscon in the Microsoft Technet post "Can you safely delete files in the %windir%Installer
directory?", it is not safe to delete C:windowsinstall
or any files within it, and the post explains why as well.
I've referenced and quoted the portions of the post that relate to your question and helped make it more clear and concise for the specific subject matter of your inquiry.
Can you safely delete files in the
%windir%Installer
directory?
The answer is flatly: "No".
Let's talk about why this is a bad idea:
First, it is not supported. If you remove files from this directory
and have issues, you may need to reinstall the application to get
back to a good state.
This particular directory's job is to act as a cache location for Windows installer based applications. It holds stripped down versions
of the Windows installer data files. During application install,
update of the application or application removal, this directory is
used by the application to confirm the existence of previously
installed items to determine the next steps the installer needs to
take.
- The files are different from machine to machine, so if you
expect to delete the files in the directory and then copy them over
from another machine, that would be incorrect. Removing items from
here could cause you to have application crashes, or worse, require
the re-installation and patching of the application.
The overall idea that you really should not remove items in the
Windows directory. We build and test our software based on the
existence of specific files and directories. When those files and
directories don't exist, bad things can and will happen. However, that
is a generalization that usually upsets many people so let's be more
specific.
The proper way to alleviate space pressure in this directory is to uninstall any unneeded applications.
source
edited 59 mins ago
answered 1 hour ago
Pimp Juice ITPimp Juice IT
23.2k113969
23.2k113969
add a comment |
add a comment |
The C:WindowsInstaller folder is where some but not all applications uninstall files and folders are stored.
If you want to remove applications, use the Control Panel Programs and Features to uninstall them. It is also possible to run Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) in elevated mode to help free up space.
That is not the location OP is asking about.
– music2myear
40 mins ago
add a comment |
The C:WindowsInstaller folder is where some but not all applications uninstall files and folders are stored.
If you want to remove applications, use the Control Panel Programs and Features to uninstall them. It is also possible to run Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) in elevated mode to help free up space.
That is not the location OP is asking about.
– music2myear
40 mins ago
add a comment |
The C:WindowsInstaller folder is where some but not all applications uninstall files and folders are stored.
If you want to remove applications, use the Control Panel Programs and Features to uninstall them. It is also possible to run Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) in elevated mode to help free up space.
The C:WindowsInstaller folder is where some but not all applications uninstall files and folders are stored.
If you want to remove applications, use the Control Panel Programs and Features to uninstall them. It is also possible to run Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) in elevated mode to help free up space.
answered 1 hour ago
qi SONGqi SONG
592
592
That is not the location OP is asking about.
– music2myear
40 mins ago
add a comment |
That is not the location OP is asking about.
– music2myear
40 mins ago
That is not the location OP is asking about.
– music2myear
40 mins ago
That is not the location OP is asking about.
– music2myear
40 mins ago
add a comment |
get W10 in a virtual machine and try it out
New contributor
add a comment |
get W10 in a virtual machine and try it out
New contributor
add a comment |
get W10 in a virtual machine and try it out
New contributor
get W10 in a virtual machine and try it out
New contributor
New contributor
answered 6 mins ago
guestguest
1
1
New contributor
New contributor
add a comment |
add a comment |
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3
No; Those files should not be deleted
– Ramhound
3 hours ago