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Post XP SP3 hf_mig cleaner


Raheem

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Post XP SP3 hf_mig cleaner would be nice. Normally you shouldn't mess with $hf_mig$ folder but after you have decided to keep sp3 forever lots of its content become obsolete.

 

To be safe side this option should be shown only when SP3 is installed and $ServicePackUninstall$ is deleted.

The logic would be to delete every kb-folder from $hf_mig$ which doesn't have own key in one of the subkeys of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates

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  • 4 months later...
Post XP SP3 hf_mig cleaner would be nice. Normally you shouldn't mess with $hf_mig$ folder but after you have decided to keep sp3 forever lots of its content become obsolete.

 

To be safe side this option should be shown only when SP3 is installed and $ServicePackUninstall$ is deleted.

The logic would be to delete every kb-folder from $hf_mig$ which doesn't have own key in one of the subkeys of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates

 

Let's see if we can resurrect this item. For those users who have been methodically updating ever since they got their machines (i.e. those who have not re-installed), their $hf_mig$ folder is typically "huge". I am managing an environment in which many of the machines have 500MB to 1GB sizes for that folder. For a post-SP3 situation, in which an SP3 uninstall is no longer deemed relevant, there is no need to retain either the SP3 uninstall folder or the old KB's that have been superceded by SP3. From a cleanup perspective, it would be very desirable to remove both the SP uninstall and the KB's.

 

The logic noted in the post above makes sense in that the removal option would only be relative to the SP level that the OS is at. Thus, separate removal options for SP2 and SP3 - assuming earlier SP's are somewhat rarer and more minimal in update KB's.

 

This would represent a large untapped cleanup option for CCleaner to address..... ;)

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Very unlikely to happen because previously CCleaner did remove the contents of that folder and it caused issues.

 

Searching the forum will reveal the past. ;)

 

Yes, there can be issues (yep, I have read prior postings on this topic... :rolleyes: ) with removing KB's from the $hf_mig$ folder - but only in particular circumstances. It is my understanding that those issues are related to file versioning versus file dating. Wherein, MS issues an update or other software containing a file whose date may be newer than the file currently installed but, whose version identifier is older. In those instances the newer "version" is utilized by installing it from the $hf_mig$ folder. This condition is actually related to trapping update errors within MS's own updates or other software installations. It is worth taking a look at the MS literature on this subject... ;)

 

In the case of an SP, all of the files will be comprehensively replaced by the most up to date files irrespective of dating and versioning. Thus, retaining files from old KB's which have been "replaced" or, in fact, superceded by the SP is unnecessary. Additionally, and again my understanding, once an SP is installed, the registry links to the old KB's are in fact deleted (take a look at the HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Updates\Windows XP keys)...thus, there is in fact no way for the old KB's to be accessed in any case (it is odd that the superceded KB's are not deleted along with the links). Regardless, retaining old KB's which have been superceded by an "official" SP is even worse than redundant in that they are not only unnecessary but, would potentially conflict with other files installed from the SP.

 

Hence, a cleanup utility which coordinated removal of KB's superceded by an SP would not only be harmless but, would be beneficial. One way to illustrate the harmless aspect is to perform a clean XP-SP3 install using a fully integrated source...say, MS's own XP-SP3. This will result in no $hf_mig$ folder being created at all. Compare this with any upgraded installation - prior to performing an SP installation there will be an $hf_mig$ folder with the old KB's from prior updates. After performing an SP installation, the old KB's will remain. However, as evidenced by the clean XP-SP3 installation, those which the SP updated are obviously unnecessary....otherwise the clean XP-SP3 install would be defective since it would be missing the old KB's...

 

You are correct in that a careless removal of "all" the old KB's may create downstream issues. However, a removal that is coordinated with a given SP level would not. And, this is where an enormous amount of old "crap" can be "cleaned".... :P.... Early versions of CCleaner did "whack" the $hf_mig$ folder's contents and did result is downstream update issues...I remember those. However, "whack" is the operative action that took place then. A more careful and "surgical" deletion of superceded KB's would not re-create those problems.

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