Permanently removing some windows program folders?

Computer Help and Discussions The Lounge
1

With help from users on this board, i was able to find out about a program called unlocker which would allow me to delete things that programs were 'holding onto' even if they weren't really.

Now unlocker works great, but when i delete a folder that windows claims to be using and it really isnt, the folder is deleted UNTIL i restart windows. Then it respawns. the respawned folder is empty, which is good, however it keeps comming back which is very annoying to me. i like to keep a organized computer as well as tidy so this bothers me.

the biggest examples of my problem are useless folders that have done nothing since windows xp was installed, all in C:\Program Files

xerox

internet explorer

Microsoft ActiveSync

microsoft frontpage

movie maker

msn gaming zone

netmeeting

outlook express

windows nt

xerox

nearly all of these folders are 0 bytes in size. i dont understand why these folders keep respawning. which service of windows keeps respawning it? i have deleted these folders in safe mode, but they still respawn anyway on the next reboot. is there anyway to permanently delete them so they dont come back?

2

I'm pretty sure there really isn't anything you can do. They will just come back no matter what you do.

There might be a way to get rid of them I just haven't really spent much time trying to.

http://ask-leo.com/what_is_program_filesxe..._rid_of_it.html

3

I delete most of the same files with success but you have to turn off windows file protection in order to do so.

I use Bold Fortune's slimming XP guide where I delete most of the mainly larger files and folders and don't or haven't got stuck into the individual dlls.

But it's up to you if you want to do as such.

One very important step before we set about deleting files together.

Create a full system backup image using a good backup program like Acronis or Ghost.

This backup image should be of a full install of XP. It should include all of your programs, drivers, setting changes, and tweaks applied...everything you normally do to make your Windows experience an enjoyable one.

So now when you set about deleting files, you'll always have a the perfect safeguard. And you should never have to say on a forum, "I deleted this, and now that doesn't work!"

Well, revert back to your backup image, and don't delete that anymore.

---------------------------------------

The first thing I do is download the "Preview Version of XPLite." It's really makes it easy to disable Windows File Protection.

Go to this page. In the upper right-hand corner click on "Download Preview".

http://www.litepc.com/xppreview.html

Open its zip folder and copy the "XPLite_TRIAL.exe" to your Desktop or a folder of your choice.

Open it and go to its "Windows File Protection" tab. Select "Disabled" and then "Apply". Close the program and reboot your computer.

Bold Fortune's Slim XP

4

I know of one program that is specifically designed to remove outlook express - it cost about ?2.50..

It can be done manually, but the process of renaming Dlls and folders (about 12 in total) never really worked for me. The main advantage of the program for me is that windows update ceased to offer you updates on a program you had uninstalled.

I still have the program but not the link to the website - when I track it down I'll let you know.

5

whoa it seems a ton of people also had this problem. i thought i was the only person who cared about it LOL. Thanks to you guys for replying to me and helping me. here is what i found so far from other people:

There are ways around this problem. The directories are being created (and held open) by WINLOGON.EXE. - Boot into safe mode. - Remove the offending directories. - Create a text file with the same name as the directory (make sure it no longer has the .txt extension). - From the command prompt, set the system and hidden attributes. (attrib +s +h "msn gaming zone") Because the files have the same name as the annoying directories, WINLOGON can't create or open directories with that name. If Windows has been set to hide protected operating system files (see Folder Options, view tab), you won't see the text files anymore. There must be a way to hack WINLOGON to prevent it from creating this worthless crud, but I haven't found it yet.

I owe this solution to 'twister', who lives/posts here:

http://www.asendtechnologies.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6868

This will give you added power over your Xtremely Pesky operating system. I did the

following and have had NO problems

Do a find on 'sfcfiles'. You need to do the advanced search option, and check 'Search

system folders', 'Search hidden files', and 'Search sub folders'.

Results will be sfcfiles.dll, in one or more places. Change all their names (highlight

the file and hit F2) to sfcfilesold.dll.

XP may tell you that you are being very very BAD, so tell XP to go piss up a rope...lol........

Restart, and voila, you can delete nwwia, xerox etc.

Windows 2000 and XP include a feature called Windows File Protection (WFP), part of the System File Checker, which is intended to avoid some of the common DLL consistency issues. This feature may also block valid attempts to change system files and it can therefore be disabled using this tweak.

Open your registry and find the key below.

Change the value of "SFCDisable" to equal "ffffff9d" to disable WFS or "0" to enable it. The other valid hexadecimal values are:

# 1 - disabled, prompt at boot to re-enable

# 2 - disabled at next boot only, no prompt to re-enable

# 4 - enabled, with popups disabled

# ffffff9d - for completely disabled

Restart Windows for the change to take effect.

Additional Steps for Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 and Windows XP

This setting is disabled in Windows 2000 SP2 and Windows XP, and needs to re-enabled using a hex editor and changing SFC.DLL (or SFC_OS.DLL for Windows XP) following these instructions:

After a reboot, you are then able to remove the folders as you normally would. Be aware that this does, however, also remove the protection of critical system files, which depending on your level of expertise, could be either good or bad. The tweak itself is harmless.

I managed to safely remove "Program files\MSN Gaming Zone" and "Program Files\xerox" and keep them removed.

Here's how:

1 - Boot in Safe Mode and delete the folders

2 - While in Safe Mode, start Notepad (or Wordpad, etc).

3 - I enter this text in the file: "This file is to prevent Winos from re-creating a directory with the same file name."

4 - Save the file as "MSN Gaming Zone" (if an extension got stuck on, remove it).

5 - Change the permissions on "MSN Gaming Zone" to "Read Only." (It can be tricky to get at the "OK" button in Safe Mode!)

6 - Reboot normally.

Now you'll have a regular read-only file named "MSN Gaming Zone," which isn't perfect, but it's better than having the silly directory.

I used the same method to remove "NetMeeting," "Frontpage," "Outlook Express," "Windows Media Player" and some other garbage.

If you ever have any problems, just delete the file you created. All this works in Win2000 and XP.

Good Luck

I've managed to get rid of a bunch of these annoying things with some real heavy artillery... I mount my windows xp drive in linux with the experimental ntfs read/write driver and delete them from there. Windows File Protection can't save you now! hahaha! Anyone who wants to do neat things like this could just get one of the "live-on-cd" linux distributions (www.knoppix.com). You don't even need to install linux permenantly.

6
I managed to safely remove "Program files\MSN Gaming Zone" and "Program Files\xerox" and keep them removed.

Here's how:

1 - Boot in Safe Mode and delete the folders

2 - While in Safe Mode, start Notepad (or Wordpad, etc).

3 - I enter this text in the file: "This file is to prevent Winos from re-creating a directory with the same file name."

4 - Save the file as "MSN Gaming Zone" (if an extension got stuck on, remove it).

5 - Change the permissions on "MSN Gaming Zone" to "Read Only." (It can be tricky to get at the "OK" button in Safe Mode!)

6 - Reboot normally.

Now you'll have a regular read-only file named "MSN Gaming Zone," which isn't perfect, but it's better than having the silly directory.

I used the same method to remove "NetMeeting," "Frontpage," "Outlook Express," "Windows Media Player" and some other garbage.

But whats the point in replacing an empty 0 byte folder with a 30-40 byte text file? :huh:

7
But whats the point in replacing an empty 0 byte folder with a 30-40 byte text file? :huh:

:blink: Thats' what I was thinki'n :blink:

8

:rolleyes: Same...

If you just want to hide the entry, try setting the 'hidden' attribute on the folders instead.

9
whoa it seems a ton of people also had this problem. i thought i was the only person who cared about it LOL. Thanks to you guys for replying to me and helping me. here is what i found so far from other people:

There are ways around this problem. The directories are being created (and held open) by WINLOGON.EXE. - Boot into safe mode. - Remove the offending directories. - Create a text file with the same name as the directory (make sure it no longer has the .txt extension). - From the command prompt, set the system and hidden attributes. (attrib +s +h "msn gaming zone") Because the files have the same name as the annoying directories, WINLOGON can't create or open directories with that name. If Windows has been set to hide protected operating system files (see Folder Options, view tab), you won't see the text files anymore. There must be a way to hack WINLOGON to prevent it from creating this worthless crud, but I haven't found it yet.

I owe this solution to 'twister', who lives/posts here:

http://www.asendtechnologies.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6868

This will give you added power over your Xtremely Pesky operating system. I did the

following and have had NO problems

Do a find on 'sfcfiles'. You need to do the advanced search option, and check 'Search

system folders', 'Search hidden files', and 'Search sub folders'.

Results will be sfcfiles.dll, in one or more places. Change all their names (highlight

the file and hit F2) to sfcfilesold.dll.

XP may tell you that you are being very very BAD, so tell XP to go piss up a rope...lol........

Restart, and voila, you can delete nwwia, xerox etc.

Windows 2000 and XP include a feature called Windows File Protection (WFP), part of the System File Checker, which is intended to avoid some of the common DLL consistency issues. This feature may also block valid attempts to change system files and it can therefore be disabled using this tweak.

Open your registry and find the key below.

Change the value of "SFCDisable" to equal "ffffff9d" to disable WFS or "0" to enable it. The other valid hexadecimal values are:

# 1 - disabled, prompt at boot to re-enable

# 2 - disabled at next boot only, no prompt to re-enable

# 4 - enabled, with popups disabled

# ffffff9d - for completely disabled

Restart Windows for the change to take effect.

Additional Steps for Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 and Windows XP

This setting is disabled in Windows 2000 SP2 and Windows XP, and needs to re-enabled using a hex editor and changing SFC.DLL (or SFC_OS.DLL for Windows XP) following these instructions:

After a reboot, you are then able to remove the folders as you normally would. Be aware that this does, however, also remove the protection of critical system files, which depending on your level of expertise, could be either good or bad. The tweak itself is harmless.

I managed to safely remove "Program files\MSN Gaming Zone" and "Program Files\xerox" and keep them removed.

Here's how:

1 - Boot in Safe Mode and delete the folders

2 - While in Safe Mode, start Notepad (or Wordpad, etc).

3 - I enter this text in the file: "This file is to prevent Winos from re-creating a directory with the same file name."

4 - Save the file as "MSN Gaming Zone" (if an extension got stuck on, remove it).

5 - Change the permissions on "MSN Gaming Zone" to "Read Only." (It can be tricky to get at the "OK" button in Safe Mode!)

6 - Reboot normally.

Now you'll have a regular read-only file named "MSN Gaming Zone," which isn't perfect, but it's better than having the silly directory.

I used the same method to remove "NetMeeting," "Frontpage," "Outlook Express," "Windows Media Player" and some other garbage.

If you ever have any problems, just delete the file you created. All this works in Win2000 and XP.

Good Luck

I've managed to get rid of a bunch of these annoying things with some real heavy artillery... I mount my windows xp drive in linux with the experimental ntfs read/write driver and delete them from there. Windows File Protection can't save you now! hahaha! Anyone who wants to do neat things like this could just get one of the "live-on-cd" linux distributions (www.knoppix.com). You don't even need to install linux permenantly.

Just curious ... why bother? These files belong to Windows ( I kjnow they are applications, as such - but they do belong to windows)

I have bee trying to delete them for years, with no (permanent) luck. If you aren't using 'MSN Gaming Zone' etc., why bother delete them (especially as they are zero bytes)?

B.