Is it ok to delete downloaded files

Will have to low-key until i get some space more available. Thanks again, savagcl. Zander my Friend you are quite right. The two folders concerned to not appear to be movable. Actuall This is the first that I realy have paid any attention to them. So I guess that they are best left alone.

Also I was imporperly maybe thinking of other downloaded files. I just took a peak at them and they are not what I was thinking about in reference to Downloads. Hummm, I'll leave them alone until i do more researching.

I do have one more that i though i had finally gotten rid of once and for all. I uninstalled Symantec a long time ago but There is nothing in it at all but when i removed it from the registry, I couldnt get windows to boot.

The error was system config was damaged good thing i have Acronis, 12 minutes and i was back online. How about: deleting this empty folder first then remove it from the reg? Will windows still see the system config as damaged? Thoughts, ideas???

Thanks, Guys, savagcl. Part way home. Also, if you haven't already done so, you can free up more space on the drive by moving your pagefile to a different partition or drive.

The old versions of the device drivers are kept in the Device Driver Packages. When needed, you can roll back a device driver in Device Manager to solve some issues. However, if your computer and all the devices work well, you can delete Device Driver Packages in Disk Cleanup.

These are the system restore points that you have created for system restore. This is another way to empty Recycle Bin on your computer. After upgrading Windows, your computer will keep the previous Windows system files for 10 days. You can downgrade your Windows within 10 days. When you see this option in Disk Cleanup, you can manually delete them if you are not going to degrade your Windows OS.

The Windows installation and major upgrade process will generate temporary Windows installation files. If you are not in the process of a Windows installation or major update, you can feel free to delete these files. The following options are unimportant for you. You can delete them immediately to release disk space for new data.

But, it seems that the files in it are not critical for Windows Defender. They are some temporary files and you can remove them without scruple.

This folder includes ActiveX controls and Java applets that are downloaded from the Internet when you use Internet Explorer to view certain web pages. You can delete them without influencing your computer. Actually, they will be re-downloaded when visiting a web page that needs the files. These files are the browser caches that are generated when using Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge.

With these files, the web browser will load the previous opened website faster in the future. But beyond that, there will be no other influence. You can directly delete them in Disk Cleanup. Some other Windows web browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox will maintain the current situation. These are the thumbnail images for videos, pictures, documents. If you delete them, Windows will re-create them when you access a folder that contains those files again.

When you run the downloaded setup program, it copies the software onto your hard disk. I recommend you save that downloaded setup program somewhere before you delete it from your hard drive. When you have physical media, like an installation DVD, you can keep it somewhere and grab it when needed. If you routinely delete set-up files before saving them somewhere else, when it comes time to set up that program again, you might be out of luck.

The most common scenario for needing that download again is getting a new machine. The second most common scenario? The instructions for a complete reinstall are pretty simple: reinstall Windows and then reinstall all your applications. It varies, of course, depending on how you organize your life. That could be a different machine, an external hard drive, your backup drive, cloud storage, or some other storage location dedicated to the task. When I download software to my machine I currently 1 :.

I can also save space in OneDrive by making the folder, or just the file, cloud-only. In my case, since I have several computers, this practice allows me to avoid downloading the same thing multiple times. Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week.

Download right-click, Save-As Duration: — 8. It might be different yet again by the time you read this. I have some OLD downloads that are 10 to 15 years old, some of those are bough softwares, from now out of business vendors, that I still use regularly. Doing it twice, or more, a year is only for peoples that are doing researches, testing and other things that may corrupt the OS or worst or that demand a clean slate state.

He just said that he, given his very special use of his computer, regularly did clean reinstalls. Not twice a year, no, but periodically is indeed a good idea. You have great articles, and I read them often. Could you please make them less wordy. I have to read and read to get the answer. Could you just say mostly yes or no and then briefly delineate. Unfortunately answers are rarely just yes or no, and require explanation so that individuals can take the actions most appropriate to their situation.

I get that some one may like a short and sweet answer; but the reality is, I am sure there are many of us who appreciate the explanations. It helps fill in the blanks for what is or may be happening. It is huge, above 1 GB. It was modified back in Is it safe to delete it, or is it some kind of system file? In the temp folders, these files are rubbish.

They are footprints only. It is safer to use a clean up program to remove the files if you are not sure though.

Not your actual programs but your documents you have created and do not want any longer, they are ok to delete.

I have a bunch of windows sdks for windows 7. I think they are only used by developers. Can I safely delete them? If these are just files you downloaded from Microsoft then you can delete them. If you installed any of these tools on your computer they need to be uninstalled through programs in control panel. Hi Mitz hope you can help me with a problem I have. I have a 60gb ssd for my C drive and I am constantly having to look for files to delete, for some reason my space is just disappearing..

Everything I install goes on another drive. I have NO clue as to how or why my drive is filling up for no reason. Im a VB Programmer,.

Im working on a Windows Cleaner. Once it finished i will give it to you. Maybe i can get your computer in a better health level ok? I never recommend to delete any files from SYS files in Windows.

It would be far better to clean out file from my documents and downloads. I have a program that i safely removed with the uninstall, but each time I start my computer, the program still tries to start up with an erro. How can I fix that? My computer tells me I have low memory; I have Hi guys, the author said not to touch in the windows files cause it will mess your Pc up. Is it possible to re-size it? Or should I just re-install a new windows and configure the Drive C partition to be a little bigger than before?

Hi Mitz, whenever I want to install a program, I have to download the installation files to the computer and then install the program. Because they seem to take up a lot of space over time, too. Yes it is safe to get rid of the file you downloaded… Although I like to save them sometimes because it saves me from using download bandwidth..

I keep certain install files on a backup external hard drive.