Local Disk C -- What is supposed to be on there

[Kitty33133]

Basically, I'm giving this really old computer (Windows XP) to my sister and she needs it to be a new and nice. And when my kids had it back in 2005, they downloaded a bunch of stuff and I just need to clean it up. I'm not sure what's meant to be on Local Disk C (where I'm starting) or not. It's be really helpful if someone can just give me a list of what's supposed to be there so I don't delete it.

Here's what's on my Local Disk C:

Config.Msi (File Folder)
Documents and Settings (File Folder)
installs (File Folder)
MSOCache (File Folder)
My Documents (File Folder)
Program Files (File Folder)
RECYCLER (File Folder)
System Volume Information (File Folder)
WINDOWS (File Folder)
AUTOEXE.BAT (MS-DOS Batch File)
boot.ini (Configuration Settings)
CONFIG.SYS (System File)
gdiplus.dll (Application Extension)
hiberfil.sys (System File)
IO.SYS (System File)
IPH.PH (PH File)
logfile (File)
MSDOS.SYS (System File)
ntldr (System File)
pagefile.sys (System File)
sqmdata00.sqm (SQM File)
sqmnoopt00.sqm (SQM File)
VETlog.dmp (DMP File)
VETlog.txt (Text Document)
YServer.txt (Text Document)

 

[linney]

Why don't you do a Format and clean install of XP?

What are in the folders such as Installs? You can right-click on files and look at the Properties to see if there are any clues. Things like the booting files (Boot.ini. NtDetect.com. Ntldr) are critical if you want to be able to boot. Pagefile.sys, Program Files, Windows, Documents and Settings, are all necessary.


You can't really say what should be on another persons drive with any certainty, perhaps these files and folders, maybe, could be deleted.


installs (File Folder
IPH.PH (PH File)
logfile (File
sqmdata00.sqm (SQM File)
sqmnoopt00.sqm (SQM File)
VETlog.dmp (DMP File)
VETlog.txt (Text Document)
YServer.txt (Text Document)

 

[Sympology]

Easiest way to clean up is (other than reformat)

Add > Remove programmes
Then CCleaner

Then do a Hide hidden folders and protected folders.

Now the other stuff is lower risk. that said unless you know what to remove (hence your post) don't!



Robert Wilensky:
We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

 

[flyboytim]

The OP asked for a list of contents, so here is one in alphabetical name order:

In theory, only the following files and directories in the C:\ drive should be necessary for XP:

[tt]
 * AUTOEXEC.BAT
h# boot.ini
h* CONFIG.SYS
 \ Documents and Settings
h* IO.SYS
h* MSDOS.SYS
h# NTDETECT.COM
h# ntldr
h~ pagefile.sys
 \ Program Files
h\ RECYCLER 
h\ System Volume Information
 \ WINDOWS
[/tt]

h are hidden system files and folders
* are files possibly needed to be compatible with MS DOS programs
# are files used by XP to boot up
\ are directories set up by XP to store essential files
~ is the swapfile, usually on the C:\ drive, but could be on a different drive partition, or on several partitions!
RECYCLER contains the recycle bin information and links to deleted files, found on each drive.
System Volume Information contains restore points and some other system information, also on each drive.

_ hiberfil.sys is a memory dump used by the hibernation system, so is only essential if hibernation is set as a shutdown mode

Anything else has been added by someone or some other program and could be safe to delete, but cautiously, if you must, one at a time, into the recycle bin, and not irrevocably! If after something has gone, the PC fails to boot properly, the only recourse would be to attempt to boot in safe mode and restore the article from the recycle bin if possible.

If anything has the attributes hidden or system or readonly, treat with extra caution. To see these attributes, with the explorer window at the C:\ drive, select View from the Menus then Details then View and Choose Details... and check Attributes, and in the last column, you should see RHSA against some files (possibly RHSAC if files are compressed). Good luck!

 

[karlisi]

Agree about full format and reinstall. There can be many unneeded files and folders also under 'Windows' and 'Program Files', and you newer know what exactly you can delete and what to keep. If you decide keep existing installation, don't forget to scan for viruses and malware first. Also run chkdsk /f (or /r for sure). Good luck!

===
Karlis
ECDL; MCSA

 

[goombawaho]

Agreed - I would never give a computer a fresh start in a new home without a wipe/reload. You have no idea what you might be giving to someone - either in terms of embarrassing files lurking around or hidden malware.