Deleting 'C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallKB***' . . . again . . .

stockhausen

stockhausen

stockhausen

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30 Jul 2006
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Sorry to harp on about this, but the various $NtUninstallKB files take up a load of space on my system and for the life of me I don't know what use they are in practice. Incidentally, I do know that disk space is cheap and worrying about it may seem 'picky' but I want to backup my System partition to allow for future speedy clean restores.

Anyhow . . . on with the question . . .

I used CCleaner to delete the various C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallKB*** files.
I then happened to run AVG 2011 Free which told me that I had orphan registry errors and suggested that I use AVG PC Tuneup to 'fix' my registry errors.

Does anyone know of a free, reliable, safe, complete way to delete all trace of these wretched $NtUninstallKB files :confused:
 
The files are there if you need to uninstall any KB's, some of them can break application compatibility.

Registry cleaners often do more harm than good, and since the registry is so small anyway, cleaning or defragging the registry is a pointless exercise. See this article http://blogs.technet.com/b/markruss.../02/registry-junk-a-windows-fact-of-life.aspx

Also, I wouldn't try AVG to tell me what time of day it is, get rid of it


Just update ccleaner to the latest version, and tick the 'hotfix cleaner'

I take it you're still on XP?
 
$NtUninstallKB are uninstall files for Windows update.
If you delete them you won't be able to uninstall any updates, if you are not bothered about them go ahead and remove.
I would recommend you leave them though, if your PC screws up and needs a system restore, your only option would be a fresh install of Windows and you lose every thing.

Lastly, get rid of AVG, MSE is probably your best free protection.
 
Thanks for the replies :)

I do know why $NtUninstallKB*** files are on the system but doubtless more by luck than judgement, I have never yet had to uninstall a Microsoft HotFix - perhaps because I am picky about which ones I install - pretty much 'Security' only and NEVER hardware updates.

You're right, I am still on XP SP3, it seems to do pretty much everything I want; I hated Vista but from what I have seen, am quite impressed by 7.

As to AVG, I can't say that I have ever had any more problem with it than with any other ant-virus software - i.e. I am careful and they all steal CPU cycles ;)

I just resent all that useless junk cluttering up my reinstall image and would love to be able to dump it . . . again, thanks for the replies.


ps - I was using the very latest version of CCleaner - it appears NOT to amend the Registry.
 
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As much as I recommend CCleaner for cleaning out junk and temp files, the registry cleaning bit is utterly useless. They should remove it.

Having a few registry entries floating about doing nothing does not in any way affect performance.
 
Basically it's like having an extra text file in your windows dir, it won't slow your pc down one iota, but registry cleaner programs make them appear like 'errors'

It's just a dead link that will never be referenced. I used to religiously use them, now I never bother

Back in Windows 95-98 days, they made a difference
 
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