Dave Patrick said:
This article is very helpful but is incomplete. In some cases (for
example, the OEM WinXP Pro install on certain new Dell systems) the
files will still recreate themselves.
I have discovered *part* of the answer to this. In the C:\I386
folder, besides copies of the files themselves, there are also
copies of the files from the WinXP CD that are used to create
them in the first place. These are named the same except that
the last letter of the extension is replaced with an underscore
(for example, Msimn.ex_ for Msimn.exe). When you get to the
part of the KB article that says to delete/rename these files,
you must first delete/rename the corresponding unextracted
protofiles with the underscores. Then, when you delete the
files themselves, most of them will really be gone. A dialog
box may appear, complaining:
# Windows File Protection
#
# Files that are required for Windows to run properly have been
# replaced by unrecognized versions. To maintain system stability,
# Windows must restore the original versions of these files.
#
# Insert your Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 CD now.
#
# [ Retry ] [ More Information ] [ Cancel ]
Click on the Cancel button, and another dialog box appears:
# Windows File Protection
#
# You chose not to restore the original versions of the files.
# This may affect Windows stability.
# Are you sure you want to keep these unrecognized file versions?
# [ Yes ] [ No ]
Click Yes, and the files will be gone. Only two of the files I
was unable to remove via this method: oeimport.dll and setup50.exe
I assume there is yet another copy of these files squirrelled away
somewhere that the KB article fails to mention and I have not as
yet discovered. If anyone figures out how to remove these files,
please email me with the string "How to remove MSOE files permanently"
in the subject.
