Hotfix Entries in Add/Remove Program and The Restry

Is it a good idea to remove the Wndows XP Hotfix entries in the Add/Remove Program as well as the Registry? System Info: P4 2.4ghz/WinXPpro/512mbRam/30gigHD. Thanks, On The Move

 

Maybe I miss read your post?
NO!
Add and remove programs = Why would you want to remove hot fixes, those are your updates
And if you dont understand that should'nt mess with registry

Please clarify

 

Do not do it mate. They are harmless.

 

Well... you say that... if you've installed a load of unnececary updates (like the first SP2 ones) that apply to components that you dont use AND IT SPECIFICALLY SAYS THAT IT DOES NOT APPLY OTHERWISE (i.e. you may not use IIS but updates to it are critical, as they are needed whether its running or not) you can remove them. But only if you are absolutley sure that you arnt using them.

I've found that having every update thats available can actually make your system sluggish if you arn't careful in managing them. I try to only have critical updates and a few selected recomended updates.

 

Reply to Asus, Troy, and goldfish

Thanks for the info on Hotfix....I will do nothing....I know I have alot to learn and hopefully Major Geeks will aid in the never ending process.

 

Hang on... maybe i misunderstood... you want to remove the entries in the add/remove section... but leave the hotfixes installed? Still not a good move because it might make windows think the hotfix isnt installed... and try to re-install it.

 

That was the idea... I will still do nothing

 

Once I make sure the hotfix works for me I always remove the entry from "add\remove" but I don't uninstall the actual fix (no...windows does not try to reinstall the fix). As mentioned in an earlier post, the entrys are harmless...it is just that I am obsessive\compulsive

 

Agreed i always remove the entrys myself as well

I use this handy free program here
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3973.html

 

General_Lee_Stoned I like your lead...That is exactly what I was thinking... Tks

redskydawining I'm a little obsessive/compulsive myself....the files go!

 

I have to second, no THIRD (thanks, OTM!), the General here. Here's the way I play the game:
1) Get the hotfix and install it.
2) Watch the really important forums, like Major Geeks (actually MG is the only one you have to watch--if there's a problem, we'll tell you within 24 hours), to see whether there are any hotfix-related glitches you should be aware of.
3) Compute normally for 24 hours after the fix(es), and watch to see that nothing has gone strange on you.
4) Having satisfied 1), 2), and 3), either
A) Manually delete the hotfix backup (it's in WINDOWS and marked with $ ... $ and numbered) and then go to Add-Remove and click the Remove button for the fix and say OK when you're told that the Uninstallation is not available any more (that's fine: you just DELETED it), OR
B) Use the handy, dandy program that the General gave you a link to. I, myself, use that handy utility a day or so after EVERY hotfix, just to keep the HD clean and the useless stuff to a minimum.

Why wipe 'em? Because it's GOOD COMPUTING to clean up the messes left behind by installations that don't clean up their own messes.

Why keep 'em? Beats me. If you ever actually needed to uninstall a hotfix AFTER the 24-hour delay, all you'd have to do is re-in the thing and then take it out. You NEVER, EVER get two copies of the same fix on your machine at the same time. Computers don't play the game that way. A file is a file, and you can't have two of a single file in the same folder on the same drive at any one time.

There is NO good reason I can think of to keep the uninstall ($ ... $) files in WINDOWS
and the entries in the registry that show up in Add-Remove ... at all.

 

Well... personally i keep most of the backups so that if i have a problem with the hotfix down the line (if i install a new program/driver whatever) i can uninstall the patch if there is a problem with it. But for the minor patches i delete them... saves space!

TBH i never really thought of removing the add/rem entry for hotfixes, mostly because it didnt come to mind ! After a bit of research, the "Auto Updates" looks at a different registry key to keep track of what updates are installed, and the add remove is just a link to an uninstaler application.

And it is possible for AU to try and install the same patch twice... but usually it'll just look at the file and say "its newer than the file im going to replace it with" and stop, but as with anything theres still a risk with that. I did actually install the same patch twice on a 2k server machine and it crapped out because i killed the ACPI driver.

I'll stop digging my own grave now