I registered with Piriform just so that I could reply to this.
In what I am replying to below, it says something like: without a previous file in the $hf_mig$ folder, you might end up with the wrong version on your system (according to Greenknight).
This is WORSE:
In the past, I cleaned out my KB files based on the 6 digit KB number and how much time had passed since installation. Of course, this resulted in removing files from the $hf_mig$ folder. A couple of months ago, my computer notified me that an automatic update was ready to go. I told it to go ahead. Part 3 of 3 failed (I can't find the specific KB number. I know I wrote it down somewhere). I then spent 3 hours of daytime minutes on the phone with Microsoft because every 10 minutes or so I was getting notified that an update (the same one) was ready to be installed.
The problem was that this update was NOT a new number. If it had been, there probably wouldn't be a problem. Since it was a correction of a previously established number, it got stuck when it couldn't find the old file. Microsoft had to go into my computer and tweek several things so that I would stop getting notified of an update. They also told me that I needed to try to reinstall Excel (the target of the failing part of the update) and that if I couldn't, I might have to reinstall the entire system! Since I don't use Excel much, I left it alone and it seems to be working.
I choose not to reinstall Excel, because I already have this problem with WMP11. I deleted the uninstall files for WMP4 (that's what the file said). I later had to reinstall WMP11 and the install failed (all 3 trys). WMP11 seems to be working, but the installs did not complete. I figured it would probably take more time (and money) to try to get this fixed than it would to reinstall the system. Since it SEEMS to be working, I chose to do nothing more.
For me at least, I'm not touching the $hf_mig$ folder again.
Shortly after the above, I installed CCleaner (complete coincidence). When I set it up, I didn't see an option for deleting uninstall files. Nothing unexpected has been deleted, so I guess I didn't select it. Where is this option listed?
Some people intentionally remove that folder. (From another forum)
"For example, consider the following scenario:
1. You apply a security update that installs a GDR version of File.dll with a version number of 5.2.3790.1000 and copies a hotfix version of File.dll with a version number of 5.2.3790.1000 to the %windir%\$hf_mig$ folder.
2. You apply a hotfix that includes a hotfix version of File.dll with a version number of 5.2.3790.0000.
In this scenario the hotfix installation in step 2 installs the hotfix version of File.dll (version number 5.2.3790.1000) from the %windir%\$hf_mig$ folder instead of the hotfix version of File.dll (version number 5.2.3790.0000) from the hotfix package." (Franklin)
"If I remember correctly $hf_mig$ folder is recreated when any new hotfixes are installed." (Franklin)
"As I understand it, if you install an update, then later install another update that contains an earlier version of a file that's in the previous update, then you need it to migrate the later version of the file instead of installing the earlier version. Why this would ever come up I don't know, but it's Windows, it doesn't have to make sense." (Greenknight)
I don't know how to confirm whether or not that folder gets re-installed with a hotfix. If someone knows how to confirm this, please hit us up.
I'm also interested in whether or not the cache can be rebuilt if the folder does get re-created.
I would like to add one more thing.
Even though this folder may not be as serious as we think, it's still not a hotfix uninstaller folder. Therefore, it shouldn't be cleaned by the hotfix uninstaller option.
$hf_mig$ folder
in CCleaner
Posted
I registered with Piriform just so that I could reply to this.
In what I am replying to below, it says something like: without a previous file in the $hf_mig$ folder, you might end up with the wrong version on your system (according to Greenknight).
This is WORSE:
In the past, I cleaned out my KB files based on the 6 digit KB number and how much time had passed since installation. Of course, this resulted in removing files from the $hf_mig$ folder. A couple of months ago, my computer notified me that an automatic update was ready to go. I told it to go ahead. Part 3 of 3 failed (I can't find the specific KB number. I know I wrote it down somewhere). I then spent 3 hours of daytime minutes on the phone with Microsoft because every 10 minutes or so I was getting notified that an update (the same one) was ready to be installed.
The problem was that this update was NOT a new number. If it had been, there probably wouldn't be a problem. Since it was a correction of a previously established number, it got stuck when it couldn't find the old file. Microsoft had to go into my computer and tweek several things so that I would stop getting notified of an update. They also told me that I needed to try to reinstall Excel (the target of the failing part of the update) and that if I couldn't, I might have to reinstall the entire system! Since I don't use Excel much, I left it alone and it seems to be working.
I choose not to reinstall Excel, because I already have this problem with WMP11. I deleted the uninstall files for WMP4 (that's what the file said). I later had to reinstall WMP11 and the install failed (all 3 trys). WMP11 seems to be working, but the installs did not complete. I figured it would probably take more time (and money) to try to get this fixed than it would to reinstall the system. Since it SEEMS to be working, I chose to do nothing more.
For me at least, I'm not touching the $hf_mig$ folder again.
Shortly after the above, I installed CCleaner (complete coincidence). When I set it up, I didn't see an option for deleting uninstall files. Nothing unexpected has been deleted, so I guess I didn't select it. Where is this option listed?