Hello

Right my problem isn't too serious but i do need some expert advice. I run windows xp home edition.

I was trawling through my programms folder and i noticed a lot of old folders from programs/games i had previously un-installed a long time ago I even found an old online game that has a folder 1.3gig in size! The thing is, none of these folders appear in the add/remove programs utility in windows and they don't have an un-install option. I'm reluctant to just delete them from the programs folder as when i did this before on a windows 98 machine i started getting blue screen messages

So my question is...Is it ok to just delete them? If not, can u suggest a means of getting rid of all these old folders?

Any help is much appreciated.

Andy

Hello bestbymoonlight,

Some programs have a file called "unwise.exe", "setup.exe", or "uninst.exe" within those folders. These programs will allow you to uninstall them properly. Otherwise, I would not remove folders unless you are sure you know what they are.

hmm i don't see any of those file names within the folders The thing is these things are taking up a lot of space so any other suggestions?? I mean if i don't use the program, would it be ok to delete the folder??

As long as your certain that the folder you delete is the actual folder, you won't have any problems. I mean, if the folder is 1.3gig in size, and the name of the folder is called "CallOfDuty" for example, then your safe!

One thing you could do if you were unsure, is to make a copy of that folder somewhere before you delete it. You have to be careful of folders like "DirectX", "Common Files", "Java" and "Internet Explorer". Nothing should be really deleted from the "Windows" or "WinNT" folder, unless it's in a folder called "Temp".

Deleting folders this way isn't the cleanest way of removing your programs, becuase there is always registry entries and related files stored in other folders. Your best bet when installing programmes in future, is firstly to you the Add/Remove programs wizard in Control Panel, and also to keep the links to uninstall in your Programs menu.

Marked as answered.