What should I keep?

Hey everyone,

I went through my Add/Remove Programs list recently and I've seen a few programs that look like outdated copies of another but I'm not sure if it's safe to remove them.

Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack 2
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 ATL Update kb973923 - x86 8.0.50727.4053
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.4148

MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB936181)
MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB954430)
MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB973688)
MSXML 6 Service Pack 2 (KB973686)


I know C++ is a programming language but what is the Redistributable and what does it do because I have seen these kind of installations pop up with many games.

What is MSXML? What is the Microsoft .NET Framework? What do they do and are any of these installations necessary?

Sorry for so many questions, I'm just curious

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

msxml Microsoft extended mark up language is part of the html coding for web page acess and features within the web sites such as silverlight apps.

it is a security update to prevent hackers from getting in your computer.

same for the c++ and net frameworks they are various other languages built into microsofts networking ability through network connections to the internet explorer.
plugging holes in the security and upgrades for the new operating systems.

the updates build on each other and some stand on there own while others are independant of the others the only way to know for sure is to go to microsofts downloads web site and read about each file and see if its no longer valid and can be removed.
http://www.update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us do a surch for each file here and read the info about it and then deside for yourself.

 

.NET Framework and C++ are runtime environments (like Java); they may have been installed with programs that need them. If you do not have disk space problems, I suggest to keep them.

The various versions of .NET Framework are not cumulative, so you may need to keep 2.0 and 3.0 (if some program needs them), even if you have 3.5 installed.

See this article regarding MSXML: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSXML. If you cannot decide whether you need it or not, better keep it.

 

I was going to suggest you need to keep all for the reasons mention. Are you posting to just ask a question? Were you tring to speed up your computer by removing things?

 

Nah I'm not trying to speed up anything, I suppose I just don't like unused and useless things on my computer. There's the case of Java where it can be dangerous to have outdated versions installed so I thought I'd better check with the experts

Thanks for the info, I think I'll just leave it be for now.