C:/Windows/Installer file bloated to over 38GB

[Guest schurmann]

My computer, using WinXP Home, warned me I was short on space on Drive C.

Investigation showed the normally hidden file Windows/Installer was 38.4GB

with nearly 100 folders similar to this:

{0EFDF2F9-836D-4EB7-A32D-038BD3F1FB2A} and several hundred

msp, msi and mst files like: 1c43380.msp or 3fb10042.mst

Can anyone tell me where these have come from and can I delete them?

With thanks for any help,

Eric Schurmann

[Guest JS]

Re: C:/Windows/Installer file bloated to over 38GB

 

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

 

It was created to fix software installations that failed during the

install process and thus leaving a bunch of files on your hard drive.

(including a file name that ends with a .msi extension)

(.msi = MicroSoft Installer).

For example a failed MS Office installation (note that I said "Failed").

See: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA011185721033.aspx

 

Windows Installer Cleanup Utility's GUI interface has the ability to

stop an application from repeatedly trying to re-install itself as

a result of botched or incomplete install. In other words you want

to kill the application's repeated install process.

 

The Cleanup Utility GUI will cure the problem by removing the file the

application uses to install itself. You do this by running the Windows

Installer

Cleanup Utility and from the list of displayed applications selecting the

offending application. Cleanup will then remove the components required

to install the problem application.

 

Note: Cleanup will not remove any other files that are part of the

application that already has been installed on your hard drive.

Cleanup only removes the components required to install the

problem application.

 

Warning: An unfortunate side effect of the Cleanup tool GUI is when you

select and remove software that is functioning properly you then will

no longer be able to install that software as it will not be in the

Add/Remove programs list.

 

You WILL NOT be using the GUI (Windows Graphical Interface)

You WILL be using a command line utility named msizap

 

Now as to why there are there so many files in C:\Windows\Installer:

You will find a good number of these .MSI files belong to software such as

Java, AV Software, Norton Ghost, Microsoft's .NET Framework, File downloaded

during a Windows Update session and so on. It would appear that some

software applications clean up after itself and deletes the files that were

in the C:\Windows\Installer folder. A failed Windows Update will create and

leave folders and files behind each time you try to install the update and

therefore you could end up with a lot of files taking up disk space.

 

There also could be a lot of orphaned (no longer needed) files located in

the C:\Windows\Installer folder.

Using the msizap command (msizap g) that is part of the Windows Installer

Cleanup tool removes any cached Windows Installer data files that have been

orphaned.

 

So download the Windows Installer Cleanup utility and the msizap utility

that is part of the cleanup utility:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

 

Warning: Do not use the GUI version of the Installer Cleanup Utility,

you will instead use the command line tool named msizap.exe

to remove the wasted space in C:\Windows\Installer

 

Open a command prompt

navigate to the folder where the cleanup utility is installed

and enter: msizap g! > cleanup.txt

 

This removes all orphaned files and generate a text file (cleanup.txt) that

contains a list of which file where deleted.

 

JS

http://www.pagestart.com

 

 

 

 

"schurmann" <schurmann@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:F10CAC74-347A-4EF0-B056-48CE36090583@microsoft.com...

> My computer, using WinXP Home, warned me I was short on space on Drive C.

> Investigation showed the normally hidden file Windows/Installer was 38.4GB

> with nearly 100 folders similar to this:

> {0EFDF2F9-836D-4EB7-A32D-038BD3F1FB2A} and several hundred

> msp, msi and mst files like: 1c43380.msp or 3fb10042.mst

> Can anyone tell me where these have come from and can I delete them?

> With thanks for any help,

> Eric Schurmann