Solved: Okay to delete old Win 95 Cab files?

[monkeymoon]

Hope I have this in the right section of the forums. I'll try to make this question as absolutely brief as possible, so as not to run on and on and annoy people.

Running Win 98 Gold and hoping to free up some space on my HD. Did all the usual clean ups, blah blah. Let Crap Cleaner do a bunch, etc.

I have been running Win98 on this old machine since Microsoft introduced the platform. I have not run Win 95 since 1997 or 98 and I have absolutely no intention of ever going back, heehee, so is it okay for sure to delete Win 95 CAB files in ZIP format?
( Windows/Options/Cabs ).

I did a search before posting this and only found one answer & it said leave the cabs alone in case you need to reinstall. I knew that, but since it's Win 95 cabs I think it's pretty safe to delete them.

Since wanting to go back to Win 95 isn't likely at this late date, and taking into consideration that I have 42 megs of Zip files there all named Win_95 02.zip through Win_95_ 28, I'm just asking for an expert opinion before I go ahead and toss them.

By deleting these 28 files I could get back 42 megs of space that I could then fill up with more useless garbage..heehee. I only have 3 total gigs and only 340 megs free. A definative answer from one of you real experts would be much appreciated, as I don't have a lot of confidence in myself right now.

Not talking about any CAB files or zips that say Win98...only the Win95 ones.

To delete or not to delete.... that is the question.

 

[flavallee]

Have you run Disk Cleanup and does the Windows 95 files appear in the list? Personally, I see no reason why you can't delete the Windows 95 CAB files.

Go into Start - Find - Files And Folders and delete everything that appears under:

*.TMP

C:\TEMP\*.* (If a C:\TEMP folder exists)

C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\*.*

*.OLD

*.BAK

*.CHK

MSCREATE.DIR

Empty the Recycle Bin afterwards to regain the hard drive space. If you feel uncomfortable about dumping it right away, hang on to it for a couple of days and run your computer. You'll find out it doesn't need any of it.

Right-click Recycle Bin, then click Properties. Set the slider from 10% to 5%, then click Apply - OK.

As long as you don't install programs that require a lot of hard drive space, and as long as you don't load it up with video and still clips, a 3.0 GB hard drive should do you fine.

 

[Hulk701]

In my personal opinion these files should only be deleted at your own risk. I used to delete my cab files and found out shortly later, when a file became corrupted, how much I missed them. I usually had to reinstall Windows as a result. Win98 is built on Win95 and you'd be surprised how often the two intersect.

Unless you don't mind having to reinstall Windows if you have a problem, Do NOT Delete is my advice...

 

[Dan Mc]

Why not burm them to CD and save that way??

 

[Bob Cerelli]

I have never seen Win98 want to use Win95's cab files. Since you have said you are not going back, they should be safe to delete. You sure don't want to delete the cab files for the OS you are using and mentioned by Hulk701.

Just make sure your Win98 version is not an upgrade version or at least have your Win95 CD available if it is. Then if you ever need to reinstall Win98, you will have the old OS source files as proof.

 

[monkeymoon]

Thanks for answering everyone!

Flavellee, I regularly run disk cleanup and delete the files you mentioned. The cabs, of course, do not show up there. I also, at least once a week or more, delete the uneccessary files you mention from my temp folder. I also empty my recycle bin daily unless I have something "iffy" in it from some by-hand deletion or incomplete uninstall or cleanup, then I wait until I make sure everything is running smoothly before flushing the "terlet". I have a lot of Real Audio files that I play regularly on my pc and several huge graphics programs that I need to keep as I do web design in my spare time. My current free space is getting so low I hesitate to download anything.

Sadly, I don't have a cd burner Dan. Wish I did.

Since I have a Win98 Retail CD Rom (full version of Win 98 Gold and not an upgrade) and ALSO have the Win95 disks that came with my pc when I purchased it, I think Bob Cerelli is probably right (and thanks, Bob for easing my mind with your explanation ) and I can safely delete them. I thought about it and what he says seems sensible. However, you others did warn me, which I appreciate, and now can only blame myself if my pc gets hinky after deleting the Win95 cab zips.

I think things will be fine, though. Thanks so much to everyone for the good answers and advice. I'll mark this solved!