Installing Windows XP SP3 and saving hard drive space

This is a repost of a previous question. I am hoping to get a few more
responses than I did with the last post. My apologies to those who
viewed and responded to my last post.

"I've been resisting the installation of SP3 because I've used
automatic updates for all SP2 patches. However, many posts on this NG
offer sufficient reasons to accept SP3. At last count, I have 140
Knowledge Base updates in my Windows folder. To save space on my hard
drive, would it be acceptable to uninstall all these updates and then
install SP3? Does anyone know of any problems this would create? Of
course, I would back up my hard drive before trying this routine.
Thanks in advance for your help. John E."

PA
Mon Sep 22 12:07:55 PDT 2008

If WinXP SP2's running fine and you're SURE you'd never need to uninstall
WinXP SP2 or any of the post-SP2 updates/hotfixes, see
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

Other references include:

The hard disk space requirements for WinXP SP3
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947311

WinXP SP3 - Read all prerequisites for a successful installation
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldron/archive/2008/05/08/windows-xp-sp3-read-all-prerequisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx

Free unlimited installation and compatibility support is available for
Windows XP, but only for Service Pack 3 (SP3), until 14 Apr-09. Chat and
e-mail support is available only in the United States and Canada. Go to
http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=1173 | select "Windows
XP" then select "Windows XP Service Pack 3"
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

do_not_reply1@mail.com wrote:
> This is a repost of a previous question. I am hoping to get a few more
> responses than I did with the last post. My apologies to those who
> viewed and responded to my last post.
>
> "I've been resisting the installation of SP3 because I've used
> automatic updates for all SP2 patches. However, many posts on this NG
> offer sufficient reasons to accept SP3. At last count, I have 140
> Knowledge Base updates in my Windows folder. To save space on my hard
> drive, would it be acceptable to uninstall all these updates and then
> install SP3? Does anyone know of any problems this would create? Of
> course, I would back up my hard drive before trying this routine.
> Thanks in advance for your help. John E."

TaurArian
Mon Sep 22 14:12:14 PDT 2008

Removing Old Windows Updates:-

Folders that have uninstall as part of the name (for example
$NtUninstallKB282010$ which reside in C:\windows (hidden folders) are Window
Hot Fix Update folders/files) can be safely deleted (providing you never
wish to uninstall the updates). I would recommend leaving these folders for
a period of at least a month to make sure the update is working correctly.

These updates can be deleted individually or in multiples. To find out more
about the update/s go to:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=XXXXXX
NB: XXXXXX = the actual number not including the "Q" or "KB"

Once you have deleted the uninstall folders/files, then go to Control Panel,
Add/Remove Programs. Select the matching Windows Hotfix Title relating the
update folder/file you have just deleted and select remove. You will get a
Windows error. This is because you have deleted the uninstall folder/files.
Just choose OK and the entry will be deleted from the Add/Remove Programs
Listing.

http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33827
XP SP3: Post Installation Cleanup
--

TaurArian [MVP] 2005-2009 - Update Services
http://taurarian.mvps.org
======================================
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375
Computer Maintenance: Acronis / Diskeeper / Paragon / Raxco


<do_not_reply1@mail.com> wrote in message
news:e0de8bb0-d106-438f-bccb-13474cb06862@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> This is a repost of a previous question. I am hoping to get a few more
> responses than I did with the last post. My apologies to those who
> viewed and responded to my last post.
>
> "I've been resisting the installation of SP3 because I've used
> automatic updates for all SP2 patches. However, many posts on this NG
> offer sufficient reasons to accept SP3. At last count, I have 140
> Knowledge Base updates in my Windows folder. To save space on my hard
> drive, would it be acceptable to uninstall all these updates and then
> install SP3? Does anyone know of any problems this would create? Of
> course, I would back up my hard drive before trying this routine.
> Thanks in advance for your help. John E."

do_not_reply1
Thu Sep 25 06:07:57 PDT 2008

Thanks for your input everyone. It will be very helpful in my upgrade
to SP3. John