\I386 folder

[sumthinelse]

This is on the root of the C: drive, win2000. It has a bunch of .cab files and compressed files with extensions like .DL_ in it. I am tempted to move to to a cdrom or other drive to save space on the C: partition. I believe it is only used when I install some windows component, for example a network adapter driver, and then it would prompt me for the location anyway. It seems like a dumb idea to have all these install images taking up space on my C: drive....

 

[starlifter]

You can safely move the \I386 folder and it's subfolders anywhere you want. Just be able to point to it's path if you make system or setup changes.... it'll prompt you for the path.

You can even write the contents to a CD-R. You can delete the \I386 directory from your C: once you have made a copy of it somewhere else.

 

[damunzy]

It only takes up about 300MB (for Nt...not sure about 2000)...which can be a lot if you don't have hardrive space but can be a real time saver if you cannot find our WinNT/2000 CD. You do not need to make a backup if you still have the original Win2000 CD as the folder is already on there.

 

[starlifter]

You do not need to make a backup if you still have the original Win2000 CD as the folder is already on there.

That depends on how the OEM did the \I386 directory. If the \I386 is not updated with a service pack, then you can use the original Win2K CD. But if the OEM updated it with a SP, then you want to back it up and use it for future system updates.

Personally, I use an updated \I386 on my machine so I won't have to install the SP separately.

 

[sumthinelse]

Thanks guys.

It's not that I don't have disk space, but I like to keep the C: partition small because I use Norton Ghost to back up the partition, and everything unnecessary on C: makes the partition image file bigger. I moved pagefile.sys to another partition. I have MS office 2000 but I didn't install it because, no matter where I tell it to install, it puts several hundred megs on the C: partition! Right now the size of the partition is just about exactly 2 gigs. The image file (compressed) is about 1.4 gigs.

About a week ago I was glad I had the partition backed up. The "windows installer" got stuck when it tried to install Mcaffee virus scan. To make a long story short, the only way I could stop the installer was to restore the C: drive from an image. After I restored the partition all my problems were solved!

 

[damunzy]

I noticed MS Office dropping a lot of stuff on C drive also... I was installing MS Office XP (2002) and because I messed up and made my C partition too small I figured I would install it on the D Drive. Well it put most of the program over there but I did notice that I lost 80 Megs on C (and that was 80 Megs I NEEDED). I have changed back to my large drive being the boot HDD and it is all good now.

 

[sumthinelse]

Success! I just moved \I386 to an external HD. Now when I back up the C: partition, with compresion, the image file is < 1 gig.

 

[Lostman]

All I can say is "openoffice.org". May MS Office die a slow death.

 

[starlifter]

All I can say is "openoffice.org". May MS Office die a slow death.

May MS Office die a painful, costly, quick death. Anyone remember MS Bob?

 

[sumthinelse]

Does Open Office use up a lot of the C: drive if you install it on another patition?