I386 Folder - Do I need it?

I'm not short on disk space but this is sitting on my c drive taking up 500Mb of space. So can I delete it or would that cause problems on my system? (I'm sure I had it deleted before I recently reformatted but can't remember whether I had and why.)

you need to keep it if you want your comp to work correctly. IIRC, Service pack 2 installs stuff in the i386 folder.

i386 folder is an important system folder. One of the most powerful too (in my opinion maybe). Definitely don't delete it (unless DjLizard says it's okay).

I'd be interested to see what DjLizard has to say about this. ;)

Actually, Humpty's here right now, and I'm very curious to know his response as well. He's all about slimming down XP. : )

If you deleted it, you would certainly reformat. That is the windows source file that anomg other things allows you to add/remove windows components. I'm not sure if windows WILL delete it, since it needs the file to function. You need to be careful mucking about in there. The thigh bone is connected to the leg bone....

Good XP thinning guide here.

Bold Fortune

Quote-

"C:\WINDOWS\Driver Cache\i386

I delete the drivers.cab and the sp2.cab

The Driver Cache folder contains a platform subdirectory and a copy of the driver.cab file so that new devices can be easily installed without needing the Windows XP CD. Might contain sp1.cab or sp2.cab if installing an integrated copy of the operating system (Slipstreamed CD).

Sometimes Windows Updates will replace earlier versions of files contained in these cabs with newer versions. Placing them in the i386 folder, not the cabs themselves.

You're not going to have these newer versions of files on your Installation CD.

For that reason, you might consider keeping these newer versions of individual files placed by Windows Updates in the i386 folder, and only delete drivers.cab and sp2.cab"

Good XP thinning guide here.

Bold Fortune

Quote-

"C:\WINDOWS\Driver Cache\i386

I delete the drivers.cab and the sp2.cab

The Driver Cache folder contains a platform subdirectory and a copy of the driver.cab file so that new devices can be easily installed without needing the Windows XP CD. Might contain sp1.cab or sp2.cab if installing an integrated copy of the operating system (Slipstreamed CD).

Sometimes Windows Updates will replace earlier versions of files contained in these cabs with newer versions. Placing them in the i386 folder, not the cabs themselves.

You're not going to have these newer versions of files on your Installation CD.

For that reason, you might consider keeping these newer versions of individual files placed by Windows Updates in the i386 folder, and only delete drivers.cab and sp2.cab"

I thought that the cache was important too. You haven't had any problems?

When you name a folder, give the full path to the folder.

Thanks for the replies ;)

Thanks for the replies ;)

You should PM DjLizard.

When you name a folder, give the full path to the folder.

Give this man a cookie.

On a lot of systems, there's more than one i386 folder.

If it's the i386 folder that contains all of the XP installation files, then you should keep it if you don't have the XP CD or if your computer is made by a name brand (such as Dell, Gateway, Acer, Toshiba, IBM, Compaq, HP, Sony, etc).