winxp hotfix??

[mojo]

when i am in my control panel, add/remove programs...
what are the ones that say windows xp hotfix and then a
bunch of numbers beside it.. what are they and can i get
rid of them???

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

They are the Windows Updates installations. May I suggest you leave them
where are? There are a lot of Security/Critical Updates listed there!!

--

Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User


| when i am in my control panel, add/remove programs...
| what are the ones that say windows xp hotfix and then a
| bunch of numbers beside it.. what are they and can i get
| rid of them???

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi mojo,

The hotfixes in the Control Panel are a method of uninstalling incompatible
updates. Do not uninstall them unless you are having problems with a
particular update.

If you set folder options/view tab to see hidden and operating system files,
you will find corresponding $NtUninstallQxxxxxx$ folders in the \Windows
folder for each update. They hold the uninstall information for each hotfix.
If you are not going to uninstall any particular update, you can safely
delete the uninstall folder. Then go to Add & Remove and select the hotfix
for removal. You will get an error message followed by an offer to remove
the hotfix from the listings. It is not necessary to do this, I mention it
only as an option. I usually leave each hotfix alone for at least a month.

MVP Doug Knox has developed an easy method to automate this series of steps.
See WinXP Utilities on www.dougknox.com "Remove hotfix backup files".

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Windows
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

when i am in my control panel, add/remove programs...
what are the ones that say windows xp hotfix and then a
bunch of numbers beside it.. what are they and can i get
rid of them???

These are the critical updates (mostly security-oriented) that
you've been downloading all along. Do not remove these, or you
will put back the security exposures they were designed to fix.
You can however delete their backup
files. See http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm