WinXP recent updates don't succeed...eats up disk space

Machine info: WinXP Home SP2, IE8, Office 2007, Visual Studio 2005 SP1

Recent spate of updates have made my machine extremely irritable. The
first problem I started noticing is that my C: drive kept filling up and
running low on disk space. Yes, it was a bad partitioning choice, but I
haven't managed to correct that error. Anyway I freed up about 1.5Gb to
alleviate the low disk space error and I think some more updates did
install.

Now again today I am down to ~0.5Gb free space. Every time an install
fails, it seems the disk space goes down lower and lower. I don't think
it's any malware - I keep an eye on running processes and also run MS
Forefront Client Security.

Second problems is that if I let automatic updates install updates, the
machine never shuts down...after a few times and finding that the
machine was stuck all night at the "do not shut down your computer"
message, I decided to try and install updates one at a time, manually.

The .NET framework 2.0-3,.5 update succeed. "Security Update for
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)" failed again
(see log below). I believe it's running out of disk space again...does
it really need more than 0.5Gb to install? Remember I started off with
1.5Gb ... how can I recover all this space that I'm losing every day?

Thanks,

Himanshu


2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent *************
2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent ** START ** Agent: Installing
updates [CallerId = MicrosoftUpdate]
2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent *********
2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent * Updates to install = 1
2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 2072 c9c COMAPI - Updates to install = 1
2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 2072 c9c COMAPI <<-- SUBMITTED -- COMAPI:
Install [ClientId = MicrosoftUpdate]
2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * Title = Security Update for
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)
2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * UpdateId =
{C1BCDBBD-FD17-4032-9446-2C730A1B7F63}.102
2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * Bundles 1 updates:
2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent *
{E94C4657-5B14-4D22-A156-84403F74F5A1}.102
2009-08-02 12:32:28:187 1296 afc Handler Attempting to create remote
handler process as ASANA\Owner in session 0
2009-08-02 12:32:28:406 1296 afc DnldMgr Preparing update for install,
updateId = {E94C4657-5B14-4D22-A156-84403F74F5A1}.102.
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc =========== Logging initialized
(build: 7.2.6001.788, tz: -0400) ===========
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc = Process:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuauclt.exe
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc = Module:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuaueng.dll
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :::::::::::::
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :: START :: Handler: Command
Line Install
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler : Updates to install = 1
2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Command line
install completed. Return code = 0x00000663, Result = Failed, Reboot
required = false
2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Exit code = 0x8024200B
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :: END :: Handler: Command
Line Install
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::::::
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr *********** DnldMgr: New
download job [UpdateId = {A9E325EF-3002-4D74-9CC4-2CE1967678FB}.101]
***********
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr Regulation:
{7971F918-A847-4430-9279-4A52D1EFE18D} - Update
A9E325EF-3002-4D74-9CC4-2CE1967678FB is "PerUpdate" regulated and can
NOT download. Sequence 1528 vs AcceptRate 0.
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr * Update is not allowed to
download due to regulation.
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr *********** DnldMgr: New
download job [UpdateId = {C89B9346-9511-4C47-8C45-EBC21CE363F3}.101]
***********

JDiskReport:
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/
Shows space usage by folder and also list 50 largest files.

Then use Windows 'Disk Cleanup' to create more space on your C: drive.
Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

Also take a look at CCleaner as a tool to remove Internet history info,
cookies, temp files, auto complete and other junk.
Note that when CCleaner is first installed most if not all the options
are checked which is far too aggressive. So I recommend unchecking
all the items listed in 'Applications' tab and in the 'Windows' tab
selectively place a check mark for only those options that are of some
value in increasing the amount of free space on your PC.
The 'Analyze' button allows you preview (without actually deleting)
what and how much hard drive space you will get back.
Also available is customization, see Options/Custom to add any
other/additional folders you want files deleted from.
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Next: Empty the Recycle Bin.

If you recently installed Windows XP Service Pack 3:
Look for an odd folder name which is located here
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\cf8ec753e88561d..........\
Note: the apparent random set of letter and number may vary from my
example above but whatever the name is, it will be more than
600MB in size and can be safely deleted.
You may also see a number of other folders or files located in the:
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\ directory
They also can be deleted.

You can also free up more disk space by reducing
the number of 'System Restore' points:
Select Start/Control Panel/System, then in the System Properties window
click on the System Restore tab.
Next select the drive letter where Windows is installed (usually C:),
Then click on the Setting button
Now in the Drive Settings window move the Disk space usage slider to the
left to reduce the amount of drive space System Restore points will use.
This will remove some of the older restore points and free up some space.

Disable Hibernation and delete hiberfil.sys file (If you have it enabled):
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/1...-xp-and-vista/
and:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...hibernate.mspx
and: http://www.softwarepatch.com/tips/hiberfil-sys-xp.html

If you are using IE7 and then installed SP3 read the info below.
IE7 users will find the folders listed below on their hard drive:
$NtServicePackUninstallIDNMitigationAPIs$
$NtServicePackUninstallNLSDownlevelMapping$
They are needed to uninstall IE7. However, if you installed IE7 and
then installed XP SP3 you can no longer uninstall IE7 and these
folders can also be deleted.

Note: The recommended procedure before installing XP SP3 is to
uninstall IE7 or IE8, then install XP SP3. Now you still have the ability to
install and uninstall IE7 or IE8.

Next if you still need more space:
Remove the files used to uninstall updates to Windows
These folders and associated files in these folders are safe to remove,
however once deleted you will no longer be able to un-install a patch or
update that was associated with the deleted folder/files.
I would keep the most recent set (last two months just in case) of folders
and delete the older updates.
As a safety net I burned these folders to a CD before deleting them.
These files are located in the Windows folder and have folder names
like $NtUninstallKBXXXXXX$.
They are hidden folders so enable viewing of hidden files in Windows
Explorer.
Warning: One folder you should not delete is: $hf_mig$
Also See the following web pages on this issue:
http://www.pagestart.com/ntuninstall.html
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

You can reduce the size of the Internet Explorer Disk Cache:
How and Why to Clear Your Cache:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/...learcache.mspx
Just follow the instructions but instead of increasing the size
(as stated in the article) decrease it.

Finally: Check the Recycle Bin one more time and empty it
if necessary as some of those files you deleted in the steps
mentioned above may find there way into the recycle bin.

If you have more than one partition or drive then:
How to Change the Default Location of Mail and News Folders:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307971/en-us

Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder
(Example: move it to the D drive)
See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310147
Also:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_..._documents.htm

How to move the Spool folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q308666

MS Office: Move the Local Install Source (MSOCache) location
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825933
(See the section titled: Move LIS Cache folder to a new drive location)
Note: If your computer already had more than one hard drive or partition
when you installed MS Office, Office will place the MSOCache on the drive or
partition with the most available free space during the install process.


--
JS
http://www.pagestart.com



"Himanshu Gohel" <HimanshuG@newsgroups.nospam> wrote in message
news:uHHsbL5EKHA.4004@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Machine info: WinXP Home SP2, IE8, Office 2007, Visual Studio 2005 SP1
>
> Recent spate of updates have made my machine extremely irritable. The
> first problem I started noticing is that my C: drive kept filling up and
> running low on disk space. Yes, it was a bad partitioning choice, but I
> haven't managed to correct that error. Anyway I freed up about 1.5Gb to
> alleviate the low disk space error and I think some more updates did
> install.
>
> Now again today I am down to ~0.5Gb free space. Every time an install
> fails, it seems the disk space goes down lower and lower. I don't think
> it's any malware - I keep an eye on running processes and also run MS
> Forefront Client Security.
>
> Second problems is that if I let automatic updates install updates, the
> machine never shuts down...after a few times and finding that the machine
> was stuck all night at the "do not shut down your computer" message, I
> decided to try and install updates one at a time, manually.
>
> The .NET framework 2.0-3,.5 update succeed. "Security Update for
> Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)" failed again (see
> log below). I believe it's running out of disk space again...does it
> really need more than 0.5Gb to install? Remember I started off with 1.5Gb
> ... how can I recover all this space that I'm losing every day?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Himanshu
>
>
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent *************
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent ** START ** Agent: Installing
> updates [CallerId = MicrosoftUpdate]
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent *********
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent * Updates to install = 1
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 2072 c9c COMAPI - Updates to install = 1
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 2072 c9c COMAPI <<-- SUBMITTED -- COMAPI: Install
> [ClientId = MicrosoftUpdate]
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * Title = Security Update for
> Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * UpdateId =
> {C1BCDBBD-FD17-4032-9446-2C730A1B7F63}.102
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * Bundles 1 updates:
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent *
> {E94C4657-5B14-4D22-A156-84403F74F5A1}.102
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:187 1296 afc Handler Attempting to create remote
> handler process as ASANA\Owner in session 0
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:406 1296 afc DnldMgr Preparing update for install,
> updateId = {E94C4657-5B14-4D22-A156-84403F74F5A1}.102.
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc =========== Logging initialized
> (build: 7.2.6001.788, tz: -0400) ===========
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc = Process:
> C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuauclt.exe
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc = Module:
> C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuaueng.dll
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :::::::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :: START :: Handler: Command Line
> Install
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler : Updates to install = 1
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Command line install
> completed. Return code = 0x00000663, Result = Failed, Reboot required =
> false
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Exit code =
> 0x8024200B
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :: END :: Handler: Command Line
> Install
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr *********** DnldMgr: New
> download job [UpdateId = {A9E325EF-3002-4D74-9CC4-2CE1967678FB}.101]
> ***********
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr Regulation:
> {7971F918-A847-4430-9279-4A52D1EFE18D} - Update
> A9E325EF-3002-4D74-9CC4-2CE1967678FB is "PerUpdate" regulated and can NOT
> download. Sequence 1528 vs AcceptRate 0.
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr * Update is not allowed to
> download due to regulation.
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr *********** DnldMgr: New
> download job [UpdateId = {C89B9346-9511-4C47-8C45-EBC21CE363F3}.101]
> ***********

Himanshu Gohel wrote:
> Machine info: WinXP Home SP2, IE8, Office 2007, Visual Studio 2005
> SP1
> Recent spate of updates have made my machine extremely irritable. The
> first problem I started noticing is that my C: drive kept
> filling up and running low on disk space. Yes, it was a bad
> partitioning choice, but I haven't managed to correct that error. Anyway I
> freed up about 1.5Gb to alleviate the low disk space error
> and I think some more updates did install.
>
> Now again today I am down to ~0.5Gb free space. Every time an
> install fails, it seems the disk space goes down lower and lower. I don't
> think it's any malware - I keep an eye on running processes
> and also run MS Forefront Client Security.
>
> Second problems is that if I let automatic updates install updates,
> the machine never shuts down...after a few times and finding that
> the machine was stuck all night at the "do not shut down your computer"
> message, I decided to try and install updates one at a time,
> manually.
> The .NET framework 2.0-3,.5 update succeed. "Security Update for
> Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)" failed again
> (see log below). I believe it's running out of disk space
> again...does it really need more than 0.5Gb to install? Remember I
> started off
> with 1.5Gb ... how can I recover all this space that I'm losing every
> day?
<snipped>

Clear up as much space as possible first - using these instructions (and by
moving as much stuff as you can out of your "My Documents" and "Desktop" <-
the usual culprits --> to some external storage):

If you are comfortable with the stability of your system, you can delete the
uninstall files for the patches that Windows XP has installed...
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
( Particularly of interest here - #4 )
( Alternative: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm )

You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but your
latest restore point and cleanup even more "loose files"..

How to use Disk Cleanup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

You can turn off hibernation if it is on and you don't use it..

When you hibernate your computer, Windows saves the contents of the system's
memory to the hiberfil.sys file. As a result, the size of the hiberfil.sys
file will always equal the amount of physical memory in your system. If you
don't use the hibernate feature and want to recapture the space that Windows
uses for the hiberfil.sys file, perform the following steps:

- Start the Control Panel Power Options applet (go to Start, Settings,
Control Panel, and click Power Options).
- Select the Hibernate tab, clear the "Enable hibernation" check box, then
click OK; although you might think otherwise, selecting Never under the
"System hibernates" option on the Power Schemes tab doesn't delete the
hiberfil.sys file.
- Windows will remove the "System hibernates" option from the Power Schemes
tab and delete the hiberfil.sys file.

You can control how much space your System Restore can use...

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. Click the System Restore tab.
3. Highlight one of your drives (or C: if you only have one) and click on
the "Settings" button.
4. Change the percentage of disk space you wish to allow.. I suggest moving
the slider until you have just about 1GB (1024MB or close to that...)
5. Click OK.. Then Click OK again.

You can control how much space your Temporary Internet Files can utilize...

Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a
size between 64MB and 128MB..

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the
following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to
something between 64MB and 128MB. (It may be MUCH larger right
now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents"
(the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10
minutes or more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet
Explorer.

You can use an application that scans your system for log files and
temporary files and use that to get rid of those:

Ccleaner (Free!)
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Other ways to free up space..

SequoiaView
http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/

JDiskReport
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html

Those can help you visually discover where all the space is being used.

In the end - a standard Windows XP installation with all sorts of extras
will not likely be above about 4.5GB to 9GB in size. If you have more space
than that (likely do on a modern machine) and most of it seems to be used -
likely you need to move *your stuff* off and/or find a better way to manage
it.

And - well - unfortunately - you may well be seing this problem because you
should/want to install SP3 and you have such an extremely small system
partition (I recommend at least 15GB for a system you plan to utilize in
multiple ways - although Windows XP itself and an assortment of other
applications would only take up 4-10GB in total.)

Hard disk space requirements for Windows XP Service Pack 3
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947311

In general, make sure that you have a minimum of 1500 MB of free hard disk
space in order to successfully install SP3 - however you could need as much
as 1765MB - so have 2GB free before trying in any way and you should meet
all requirements.


Then cleanup and update your Windows Update system and install the latest
updates:

Fix your file/registry permissions...

Ignore the title and follow the sub-section under "Advanced Troubleshooting"
titled, "Method 1: Reset the registry and the file permissions"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377
*will take time

Reboot and ...

Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan (separately) with the
following two applications (freeware versions are the ones to use for this):

SuperAntiSpyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/

MalwareBytes
http://www.malwarebytes.com/

After performing a full scan with one and then the other and removing
whatever they both find completely, you may uninstall these products,
if you wish.

Download and run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/ma...e/default.mspx

Reboot.

Download/Install the latest Windows Installer (for your OS):
( Windows XP 32-bit : WindowsXP-KB942288-v3-x86.exe )
http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/d...displaylang=en

Reboot.

and...

Download the latest version of the Windows Update agent from here (x86):
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=91237
.... and save it to the root of your C:\ drive. After saving it to the root
of the C:\ drive, do the following:

Close all Internet Explorer windows and other applications.

Start button --> RUN and type in:
%SystemDrive%\windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe /WUFORCE
--> Click OK.

(If asked, select "Run.) --> Click on NEXT --> Select "I agree" and click on
NEXT --> When it finishes installing, click on "Finish"...

Reboot.

Then follow the instructions here:

How do I reset Windows Update components?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971058

Reboot.

Now for SP3...

Suggestions:

1) Download the full SP3 installation file.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 Network Installation Package for
IT Professionals and Developers (works just as well for you.)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

2) Ensure (as well as plausible) you have no spyware/malware by doing a full
scan with SuperAntiSpyware and MalwareBytes. If you are following
along, you have already done this!

3) CHKDSK
How to scan your disks for errors
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
* will take time

4) Defragment
How to Defragment your hard drives
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848
* will take time

5) Ensure your hardware drivers are up to date (from the hardware
manufacturer's respective web pages.)

6) Reboot right before you try to install SP3.

7) Disconnect from the internet before installing (physically disconnect -
pull the network cable or disable the router/modem.)

8) Disable your antivirus and antispyware applications when you are about to
install SP3. Usually right-click on the icon in the taskbar gives you
a choice to do so.

Install SP3 by running the downloaded executable. Reboot when requested to
do so. Logon and let the machine 'settle' for about 10 minutes. Reboot.
Give it 5 minutes after logon to 'settle' - reboot.

After that - there will be more updates.

Log on as an user with administrative rights and open Internet Explorer
and visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and select to do a
CUSTOM scan...

Every time you are about to click on something while at these web pages -
first press and hold down the CTRL key while you click on it. You can
release the CTRL key after clicking each time.

Once the scan is done, select just _ONE_ of the high priority updates
(deselect any others) and install it.

Reboot again.

If it did work - try the web page again - selecting no more than 3-5 at a
time. Rebooting as needed.

The Optional Software updates are generally safe - although I recommend
against the "Windows Search" one and any of the "Office Live" ones or
"Windows Live" ones fornow. I would completely avoid the
Optional Hardware updates. Also - I do not see any urgent need to install
Internet Explorer 8 at this time.

Come back - let us know if that worked.
.... Really - come back and let everyone know if that worked.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Hello JS & Shenan:

Thanks for the detailed disk clean-up options. Although I didn't
specify in my post, I have done almost everything you recommended
(details below). One thing I had not done yet, is remove the
$NtUninstallKBXXXXXX$ folders from the Windows directory. That freed up
another 300MBGB of disk space.

More importantly, I downloaded JDiskReport that you suggested, and I
liked the Top-50 largest files report that it gave me. It validated my
suspicion that Windows update is to blame for the recent disk-full
episodes. In particular this what I found:

1. Two copies of a 455MB patch(?) dated Dec 7, 2006. Files are named
"ba08cb.msp" and "1770e67.msp" in C:\Windows\Installer. Are these safe
to delete? This is a total of 900MB!

2. FOUR copies of the recent Visual Studio 2005 patch 282MB (remember
this is the one that kept failing installation): One in
C:\Windows\Temp\ZNWAD, C:\Windows\Temp\ZNW5A, and two in
C:\Windows\Installer, named "40064d.msp" and "139aebc.msp" This is a
total of 1.05GB!

3. Two *more* copies of the VS2005 patch, but of a different size, 249MB
each, in C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\Install and
C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download. Total is 500MB. Again, are
these safe to delete?

4. "14831f.msp" 219MB from Oct 14, 2007 in C:\Windows\Installer.

All these together would free up about 2.75GB of disk space on my C
driver. So are these files safe to delete and then try the
installations again?


About the other things you suggested:

* Disk clean runs weekly on my PC and except for compressing old files,
I allow it to clean up mostly everything else

* Explorer is set to show all hidden files & folders and there are no
particularly large or unexpected files that I can see.

* Recycle bin is almost always empty.

* My system is WinXP SP2, so SP3 suggestion not yet applicable

* System Restore is completely turned off on all disks

* All users' IE & Firefox cache sizes are very limited - almost the
first thing I do when I set up a new account on the system

* Office MSO cache was just recently deleted by my, which freed up about
300MB or so.

Thanks,

Himanshu

<snip>

H Gohel wrote:
> Thanks for the detailed disk clean-up options. Although I didn't
> specify in my post, I have done almost everything you recommended
> (details below). One thing I had not done yet, is remove the
> $NtUninstallKBXXXXXX$ folders from the Windows directory. That
> freed up another 300MBGB of disk space.
>
> More importantly, I downloaded JDiskReport that you suggested, and I
> liked the Top-50 largest files report that it gave me. It
> validated my suspicion that Windows update is to blame for the
> recent disk-full episodes. In particular this what I found:
>
> 1. Two copies of a 455MB patch(?) dated Dec 7, 2006. Files are
> named "ba08cb.msp" and "1770e67.msp" in C:\Windows\Installer. Are
> these safe to delete? This is a total of 900MB!
>
> 2. FOUR copies of the recent Visual Studio 2005 patch 282MB
> (remember this is the one that kept failing installation): One in
> C:\Windows\Temp\ZNWAD, C:\Windows\Temp\ZNW5A, and two in
> C:\Windows\Installer, named "40064d.msp" and "139aebc.msp" This is
> a total of 1.05GB!
>
> 3. Two *more* copies of the VS2005 patch, but of a different size,
> 249MB each, in C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\Install and
> C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download. Total is 500MB. Again,
> are these safe to delete?
>
> 4. "14831f.msp" 219MB from Oct 14, 2007 in C:\Windows\Installer.
>
> All these together would free up about 2.75GB of disk space on my C
> driver. So are these files safe to delete and then try the
> installations again?
>
>
> About the other things you suggested:
>
> * Disk clean runs weekly on my PC and except for compressing old
> files, I allow it to clean up mostly everything else
>
> * Explorer is set to show all hidden files & folders and there are
> no particularly large or unexpected files that I can see.
>
> * Recycle bin is almost always empty.
>
> * My system is WinXP SP2, so SP3 suggestion not yet applicable
>
> * System Restore is completely turned off on all disks
>
> * All users' IE & Firefox cache sizes are very limited - almost the
> first thing I do when I set up a new account on the system
>
> * Office MSO cache was just recently deleted by my, which freed up
> about 300MB or so.

First - I would do this:
Download/install this...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN --> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.

(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)

Then - check again for the files you found with JDiskReport and the answers
are below (the safest way of getting rid of the garbage is above - if still
there after doing the above, take the following answers.)

1) Yes - delete away.
2) Yes - delete away.
3) Yes - delete away.
4) Yes - delete away.

I would still follow my advice about installing the latest Windows Installer
and Windows Update as well as resetting your Windows Update components
afterwards. Then - after doing all that - with the associated reboots -
visit the web page version of Windows Updates and do a customer
installation.

SP3 suggestion is to *install* SP3. ;-)

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Shenan Stanley wrote:
>
> H Gohel wrote:
>>
>> More importantly, I downloaded JDiskReport that you suggested, and I
>> liked the Top-50 largest files report that it gave me. It
>> validated my suspicion that Windows update is to blame for the
>> recent disk-full episodes. In particular this what I found:
( list of duplicate msp files deleted )
>> All these together would free up about 2.75GB of disk space on my C
>> driver. So are these files safe to delete and then try the
>> installations again?

> First - I would do this:
> Download/install this...
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

Shenan,

Thanks for the suggestion - I followed your instructions and just
running that cleaned up the disk and freed up almost 2Gb on the drive.

> I would still follow my advice about installing the latest Windows Installer
> and Windows Update as well as resetting your Windows Update components
> afterwards. Then - after doing all that - with the associated reboots -
> visit the web page version of Windows Updates and do a customer
> installation.

So I now have Windows installer 4.5, and because of the fiasco with the
automatic updates, last two-three days I've been going to the web page &
attempting updates. It hasn't prompted me to download anything new, so
I assume I do have the latest Windows update.

What did all this get me?

Armed with 2.21Gb of free space, I first installed "Security Update for
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)" via the web
page. Free space at one point went down to 0.85Gb, then completed
install, and showed 1.22Gb. After a reboot it showed 1.47Gb free space.
This patch apparently chewed up 800MB of disk space.

Next I installed Office 2007 SP2 using a downloaded exe I had from MSDN.
During installation free space went way down to 263MB at one point,
then after install it came back up to 1.2Gb, and after reboot it is
showing 1.16Gb down from the previous reboot at 1.47Gb. So Office SP2
chewed up about 400MB of disk space.

Lesson learned - with major patches/service packs like this, 2Gb seems
like the minimum free-space requirement although with automatic updates
one would not find that out.

> SP3 suggestion is to *install* SP3. ;-)

I can't afford to kill this machine like SP3 did with another PC I had
so I'd like to leave well-enough alone! Topic for another thread though.

Thanks JS and Shenan for your help.

--
Himanshu

> Machine info: WinXP Home SP2, IE8...

Why isn't WinXP SP3 installed yet?

About IE7 & IE8 and Windows XP Service Pack 3
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/200...and-xpsp3.aspx

> Now again today I am down to ~0.5Gb free space. Every time an install
> fails, it seems the disk space goes down lower and lower.

I suppose that might answer my question:

The hard disk space requirements for WinXP SP3
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947311

You receive error messages if there is insufficient free disk space on the
system drive to install the Windows XP SP3
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956894

How to reclaim disk space on a Windows XP-based computer that has a hard
disk capacity of 4 GB or less
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956324

Error message when you try to install Windows XP SP3: "You do not have
enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to archive the uninstall files"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949375

Before installing SP3, you might want to see
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

> The .NET framework 2.0-3,.5 update succeed. "Security Update for
> Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)" failed again
> I believe it's running out of disk space

The reference to Regulation in the log suggests otherwise. See...

Updates are not downloaded or the "Automatic Updates" icon does not display
the status of downloads when you enable the Automatic Updates service
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/910340

You may be able install the updates via Windows/Microsoft Update website
(WinXP): Understand that by doing so, you're pushing all other Automatic
Updates users further back in the queue (which may explain, at least in
part, why Automatic Updates hasn't brought them in for you yet).

If you have any problem installing KB971090, see the "How to obtain help"
section of http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971090
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002


Himanshu Gohel wrote:
> Machine info: WinXP Home SP2, IE8, Office 2007, Visual Studio 2005 SP1
>
> Recent spate of updates have made my machine extremely irritable. The
> first problem I started noticing is that my C: drive kept filling up and
> running low on disk space. Yes, it was a bad partitioning choice, but I
> haven't managed to correct that error. Anyway I freed up about 1.5Gb to
> alleviate the low disk space error and I think some more updates did
> install.
>
> Now again today I am down to ~0.5Gb free space. Every time an install
> fails, it seems the disk space goes down lower and lower. I don't think
> it's any malware - I keep an eye on running processes and also run MS
> Forefront Client Security.
>
> Second problems is that if I let automatic updates install updates, the
> machine never shuts down...after a few times and finding that the
> machine was stuck all night at the "do not shut down your computer"
> message, I decided to try and install updates one at a time, manually.
>
> The .NET framework 2.0-3,.5 update succeed. "Security Update for
> Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)" failed again
> (see log below). I believe it's running out of disk space again...does
> it really need more than 0.5Gb to install? Remember I started off with
> 1.5Gb ... how can I recover all this space that I'm losing every day?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Himanshu
>
>
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent *************
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent ** START ** Agent: Installing
> updates [CallerId = MicrosoftUpdate]
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent *********
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent * Updates to install = 1
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 2072 c9c COMAPI - Updates to install = 1
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 2072 c9c COMAPI <<-- SUBMITTED -- COMAPI:
> Install [ClientId = MicrosoftUpdate]
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * Title = Security Update for
> Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * UpdateId =
> {C1BCDBBD-FD17-4032-9446-2C730A1B7F63}.102
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * Bundles 1 updates:
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent *
> {E94C4657-5B14-4D22-A156-84403F74F5A1}.102
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:187 1296 afc Handler Attempting to create remote
> handler process as ASANA\Owner in session 0
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:406 1296 afc DnldMgr Preparing update for install,
> updateId = {E94C4657-5B14-4D22-A156-84403F74F5A1}.102.
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc =========== Logging initialized
> (build: 7.2.6001.788, tz: -0400) ===========
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc = Process:
> C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuauclt.exe
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc = Module:
> C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuaueng.dll
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :::::::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :: START :: Handler: Command
> Line Install
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler : Updates to install = 1
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Command line
> install completed. Return code = 0x00000663, Result = Failed, Reboot
> required = false
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Exit code =
> 0x8024200B
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :: END :: Handler: Command
> Line Install
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr *********** DnldMgr: New
> download job [UpdateId = {A9E325EF-3002-4D74-9CC4-2CE1967678FB}.101]
> ***********
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr Regulation:
> {7971F918-A847-4430-9279-4A52D1EFE18D} - Update
> A9E325EF-3002-4D74-9CC4-2CE1967678FB is "PerUpdate" regulated and can
> NOT download. Sequence 1528 vs AcceptRate 0.
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr * Update is not allowed to
> download due to regulation.
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr *********** DnldMgr: New
> download job [UpdateId = {C89B9346-9511-4C47-8C45-EBC21CE363F3}.101]
> ***********

My issue has been resolved, and the cause was clearly low disk space.
I've posted that in a separate thread, but I'd like to thank you for
your suggestions and am providing some responses below:

PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
>> Machine info: WinXP Home SP2, IE8...
>
> Why isn't WinXP SP3 installed yet?

I alluded to this in my other post, but at this point I think this isn't
the cause of the disk-full and security patches not being applied
successfully, so I'll leave it for later.

>> Now again today I am down to ~0.5Gb free space. Every time an install
>> fails, it seems the disk space goes down lower and lower.
>
> I suppose that might answer my question:
>
> The hard disk space requirements for WinXP SP3
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947311

I don't believe that WinXP SP3 is being applied - I've asked Windows
Update to not apply SP3 and not remind me about it. The three sets that
were being applied were the .NET framework security update, the VS2005
SP1 security update and Office 2007 SP2.

The VS2005 SP1 security patch was the most troublesome. In the end my
guesstimate says this required about 1.5Gb of free disk space to
install, and 800Mb of permanent disk space, which was wasn't available
when the patch installation was failing.

>> The .NET framework 2.0-3,.5 update succeed. "Security Update for
>> Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)" failed again
>> I believe it's running out of disk space
>
> The reference to Regulation in the log suggests otherwise. See...
>
> Updates are not downloaded or the "Automatic Updates" icon does not
> display the status of downloads when you enable the Automatic Updates
> service
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/910340

I'm not sure I completely understand this KB, but I believe the
references to regulation in my windows update log are outside the
start/end markers for the VS2005 security update patch. Specifically
for the VS2005 update failure the error code was:

2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Command line
install completed. Return code = 0x00000663, Result = Failed, Reboot
required = false
2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Exit code = 0x8024200B
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :: END :: Handler: Command
Line Install

> You may be able install the updates via Windows/Microsoft Update website
> (WinXP):

This failed too, until I cleared 2.2Gb of disk space on the C drive and
then the patch was installed.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

--
Himanshu

> I don't believe that WinXP SP3 is being applied - I've asked Windows
> Update to not apply SP3 and not remind me about it

You may wish to reconsider: If SP3 isn't installed by early next year, the
SP2 computer will not be offered any further critical security updates.
Soon after that, you won't even be able to access/use Windows Update website
without SP3 installed.

If SP3 is installed, critical security updates will continue into 2014.

WinXP SP3 - Read all prerequisites for a successful installation
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldron...tallation.aspx

Back on-topic...

> I'm not sure I completely understand this KB, but I believe the
> references to regulation in my windows update log are outside the
> start/end markers for the VS2005 security update patch...

While disk space may have been an issue, the 0x8024200B error in the section
of the log you posted was most definitely pointing to the "Update is not
allowed to download due to regulation" reference just below (and 30
milliseconds after) it.


Himanshu Gohel wrote:
> My issue has been resolved, and the cause was clearly low disk space.
> I've posted that in a separate thread, but I'd like to thank you for
> your suggestions and am providing some responses below:
>
> PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
>>> Machine info: WinXP Home SP2, IE8...
>>
>> Why isn't WinXP SP3 installed yet?
>
> I alluded to this in my other post, but at this point I think this isn't
> the cause of the disk-full and security patches not being applied
> successfully, so I'll leave it for later.
>
>>> Now again today I am down to ~0.5Gb free space. Every time an install
>>> fails, it seems the disk space goes down lower and lower.
>>
>> I suppose that might answer my question:
>>
>> The hard disk space requirements for WinXP SP3
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947311
>
> I don't believe that WinXP SP3 is being applied - I've asked Windows
> Update to not apply SP3 and not remind me about it. The three sets that
> were being applied were the .NET framework security update, the VS2005
> SP1 security update and Office 2007 SP2.
>
> The VS2005 SP1 security patch was the most troublesome. In the end my
> guesstimate says this required about 1.5Gb of free disk space to
> install, and 800Mb of permanent disk space, which was wasn't available
> when the patch installation was failing.
>
>>> The .NET framework 2.0-3,.5 update succeed. "Security Update for
>>> Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)" failed again
>>> I believe it's running out of disk space
>>
>> The reference to Regulation in the log suggests otherwise. See...
>>
>> Updates are not downloaded or the "Automatic Updates" icon does not
>> display the status of downloads when you enable the Automatic Updates
>> service
>> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/910340
>
> I'm not sure I completely understand this KB, but I believe the
> references to regulation in my windows update log are outside the
> start/end markers for the VS2005 security update patch. Specifically
> for the VS2005 update failure the error code was:
>
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Command line
> install completed. Return code = 0x00000663, Result = Failed, Reboot
> required = false
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Exit code =
> 0x8024200B
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :: END :: Handler: Command
> Line Install
>
>> You may be able install the updates via Windows/Microsoft Update website
>> (WinXP):
>
> This failed too, until I cleared 2.2Gb of disk space on the C drive and
> then the patch was installed.
>
> Thanks again for your suggestions.
<paste>
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent *************
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent ** START ** Agent: Installing
> updates [CallerId = MicrosoftUpdate]
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent *********
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent * Updates to install = 1
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 2072 c9c COMAPI - Updates to install = 1
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 2072 c9c COMAPI <<-- SUBMITTED -- COMAPI:
> Install [ClientId = MicrosoftUpdate]
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * Title = Security Update for
> Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * UpdateId =
> {C1BCDBBD-FD17-4032-9446-2C730A1B7F63}.102
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * Bundles 1 updates:
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent *
> {E94C4657-5B14-4D22-A156-84403F74F5A1}.102
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:187 1296 afc Handler Attempting to create remote
> handler process as ASANA\Owner in session 0
> 2009-08-02 12:32:28:406 1296 afc DnldMgr Preparing update for install,
> updateId = {E94C4657-5B14-4D22-A156-84403F74F5A1}.102.
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc =========== Logging initialized
> (build: 7.2.6001.788, tz: -0400) ===========
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc = Process:
> C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuauclt.exe
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc = Module:
> C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuaueng.dll
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :::::::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :: START :: Handler: Command
> Line Install
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler : Updates to install = 1
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Command line
> install completed. Return code = 0x00000663, Result = Failed, Reboot
> required = false
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Exit code =
> 0x8024200B
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :: END :: Handler: Command
> Line Install
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::::::
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr *********** DnldMgr: New
> download job [UpdateId = {A9E325EF-3002-4D74-9CC4-2CE1967678FB}.101]
> ***********
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr Regulation:
> {7971F918-A847-4430-9279-4A52D1EFE18D} - Update
> A9E325EF-3002-4D74-9CC4-2CE1967678FB is "PerUpdate" regulated and can
> NOT download. Sequence 1528 vs AcceptRate 0.
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr * Update is not allowed to
> download due to regulation.
> 2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr *********** DnldMgr: New
> download job [UpdateId = {C89B9346-9511-4C47-8C45-EBC21CE363F3}.101]
> ***********

You're welcome, sorry I could not
reply back sooner but had 3 power outages
today, all at unexpected times!

Now as to why there are there are so many files in C:\Windows\Installer:
You will find a good number of these .MSI files belong to software such as
Java, AV Software, Norton Ghost, Microsoft's .NET Framework, File downloaded
during a Windows Update session and so on. It would appear that some
software will clean up after itself and deletes it's file that were in the
C:\Windows\Installer folder. A failed Windows Update will create and leave
folders and files behind each time you try to install the update and
therefore you could end up with a lot of files taking up disk space.

There also could be a lot of orphaned (no longer needed) files.
Using the msizap command (msizap g) removes any cached Windows Installer
data files that have been orphaned.

--
JS
http://www.pagestart.com



"Himanshu Gohel" <HimanshuG@newsgroups.nospam> wrote in message
news:O0wRrK7EKHA.1376@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>
> Shenan Stanley wrote:
>>
>> H Gohel wrote:
>>>
>>> More importantly, I downloaded JDiskReport that you suggested, and I
>>> liked the Top-50 largest files report that it gave me. It
>>> validated my suspicion that Windows update is to blame for the
>>> recent disk-full episodes. In particular this what I found:
> ( list of duplicate msp files deleted )
>>> All these together would free up about 2.75GB of disk space on my C
>>> driver. So are these files safe to delete and then try the
>>> installations again?
>
>> First - I would do this:
>> Download/install this...
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301
>
> Shenan,
>
> Thanks for the suggestion - I followed your instructions and just running
> that cleaned up the disk and freed up almost 2Gb on the drive.
>
>> I would still follow my advice about installing the latest Windows
>> Installer and Windows Update as well as resetting your Windows Update
>> components afterwards. Then - after doing all that - with the associated
>> reboots - visit the web page version of Windows Updates and do a customer
>> installation.
>
> So I now have Windows installer 4.5, and because of the fiasco with the
> automatic updates, last two-three days I've been going to the web page &
> attempting updates. It hasn't prompted me to download anything new, so I
> assume I do have the latest Windows update.
>
> What did all this get me?
>
> Armed with 2.21Gb of free space, I first installed "Security Update for
> Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)" via the web page.
> Free space at one point went down to 0.85Gb, then completed install, and
> showed 1.22Gb. After a reboot it showed 1.47Gb free space. This patch
> apparently chewed up 800MB of disk space.
>
> Next I installed Office 2007 SP2 using a downloaded exe I had from MSDN.
> During installation free space went way down to 263MB at one point, then
> after install it came back up to 1.2Gb, and after reboot it is showing
> 1.16Gb down from the previous reboot at 1.47Gb. So Office SP2 chewed up
> about 400MB of disk space.
>
> Lesson learned - with major patches/service packs like this, 2Gb seems
> like the minimum free-space requirement although with automatic updates
> one would not find that out.
>
>> SP3 suggestion is to *install* SP3. ;-)
>
> I can't afford to kill this machine like SP3 did with another PC I had so
> I'd like to leave well-enough alone! Topic for another thread though.
>
> Thanks JS and Shenan for your help.
>
> --
> Himanshu

I got the same problem to Himanshu Gohel and I'm so greatful seeing your useful advices. Now, my disk space increase from 144mb sometimes even 77.5mb(Jesus!) to more than 2gb. Anyway, just wanna say thanks a lot!

Have a great day!



JS wrote:

You're welcome, sorry I could notreply back sooner but had 3 power
02-Aug-09

You're welcome, sorry I could not
reply back sooner but had 3 power outages
today, all at unexpected times!

Now as to why there are there are so many files in C:\Windows\Installer:
You will find a good number of these .MSI files belong to software such as
Java, AV Software, Norton Ghost, Microsoft's .NET Framework, File downloaded
during a Windows Update session and so on. It would appear that some
software will clean up after itself and deletes it is file that were in the
C:\Windows\Installer folder. A failed Windows Update will create and leave
folders and files behind each time you try to install the update and
therefore you could end up with a lot of files taking up disk space.

There also could be a lot of orphaned (no longer needed) files.
Using the msizap command (msizap g) removes any cached Windows Installer
data files that have been orphaned.

--
JS
http://www.pagestart.com

Previous Posts In This Thread:

On Sunday, August 02, 2009 1:01 PM
Himanshu Gohel wrote:

WinXP recent updates don't succeed...eats up disk space
Machine info: WinXP Home SP2, IE8, Office 2007, Visual Studio 2005 SP1

Recent spate of updates have made my machine extremely irritable. The
first problem I started noticing is that my C: drive kept filling up and
running low on disk space. Yes, it was a bad partitioning choice, but I
have not managed to correct that error. Anyway I freed up about 1.5Gb to
alleviate the low disk space error and I think some more updates did
install.

Now again today I am down to ~0.5Gb free space. Every time an install
fails, it seems the disk space goes down lower and lower. I do not think
it is any malware - I keep an eye on running processes and also run MS
Forefront Client Security.

Second problems is that if I let automatic updates install updates, the
machine never shuts down...after a few times and finding that the
machine was stuck all night at the "do not shut down your computer"
message, I decided to try and install updates one at a time, manually.

The .NET framework 2.0-3,.5 update succeed. "Security Update for
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)" failed again
(see log below). I believe it is running out of disk space again...does
it really need more than 0.5Gb to install? Remember I started off with
1.5Gb ... how can I recover all this space that I am losing every day?

Thanks,

Himanshu


2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent *************
2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent ** START ** Agent: Installing
updates [CallerId = MicrosoftUpdate]
2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent *********
2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 1296 afc Agent * Updates to install = 1
2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 2072 c9c COMAPI - Updates to install = 1
2009-08-02 12:32:28:140 2072 c9c COMAPI <<-- SUBMITTED -- COMAPI:
Install [ClientId = MicrosoftUpdate]
2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * Title = Security Update for
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)
2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * UpdateId =
{C1BCDBBD-FD17-4032-9446-2C730A1B7F63}.102
2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent * Bundles 1 updates:
2009-08-02 12:32:28:156 1296 afc Agent *
{E94C4657-5B14-4D22-A156-84403F74F5A1}.102
2009-08-02 12:32:28:187 1296 afc Handler Attempting to create remote
handler process as ASANA\Owner in session 0
2009-08-02 12:32:28:406 1296 afc DnldMgr Preparing update for install,
updateId = {E94C4657-5B14-4D22-A156-84403F74F5A1}.102.
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc =========== Logging initialized
(build: 7.2.6001.788, tz: -0400) ===========
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc = Process:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuauclt.exe
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Misc = Module:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuaueng.dll
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :::::::::::::
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :: START :: Handler: Command
Line Install
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
2009-08-02 12:36:05:609 592 f80 Handler : Updates to install = 1
2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Command line
install completed. Return code = 0x00000663, Result = Failed, Reboot
required = false
2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Exit code = 0x8024200B
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :: END :: Handler: Command
Line Install
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::::::
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr *********** DnldMgr: New
download job [UpdateId = {A9E325EF-3002-4D74-9CC4-2CE1967678FB}.101]
***********
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr Regulation:
{7971F918-A847-4430-9279-4A52D1EFE18D} - Update
A9E325EF-3002-4D74-9CC4-2CE1967678FB is "PerUpdate" regulated and can
NOT download. Sequence 1528 vs AcceptRate 0.
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr * Update is not allowed to
download due to regulation.
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 1296 cb4 DnldMgr *********** DnldMgr: New
download job [UpdateId = {C89B9346-9511-4C47-8C45-EBC21CE363F3}.101]
***********

On Sunday, August 02, 2009 1:38 PM
JS wrote:

Re: WinXP recent updates don't succeed...eats up disk space
JDiskReport:
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/
Shows space usage by folder and also list 50 largest files.

Then use Windows 'Disk Cleanup' to create more space on your C: drive.
Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

Also take a look at CCleaner as a tool to remove Internet history info,
cookies, temp files, auto complete and other junk.
Note that when CCleaner is first installed most if not all the options
are checked which is far too aggressive. So I recommend unchecking
all the items listed in 'Applications' tab and in the 'Windows' tab
selectively place a check mark for only those options that are of some
value in increasing the amount of free space on your PC.
The 'Analyze' button allows you preview (without actually deleting)
what and how much hard drive space you will get back.
Also available is customization, see Options/Custom to add any
other/additional folders you want files deleted from.
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Next: Empty the Recycle Bin.

If you recently installed Windows XP Service Pack 3:
Look for an odd folder name which is located here
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\cf8ec753e88561d..........\
Note: the apparent random set of letter and number may vary from my
example above but whatever the name is, it will be more than
600MB in size and can be safely deleted.
You may also see a number of other folders or files located in the:
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\ directory
They also can be deleted.

You can also free up more disk space by reducing
the number of 'System Restore' points:
Select Start/Control Panel/System, then in the System Properties window
click on the System Restore tab.
Next select the drive letter where Windows is installed (usually C:),
Then click on the Setting button
Now in the Drive Settings window move the Disk space usage slider to the
left to reduce the amount of drive space System Restore points will use.
This will remove some of the older restore points and free up some space.

Disable Hibernation and delete hiberfil.sys file (If you have it enabled):
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/1...-xp-and-vista/
and:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...hibernate.mspx
and: http://www.softwarepatch.com/tips/hiberfil-sys-xp.html

If you are using IE7 and then installed SP3 read the info below.
IE7 users will find the folders listed below on their hard drive:
$NtServicePackUninstallIDNMitigationAPIs$
$NtServicePackUninstallNLSDownlevelMapping$
They are needed to uninstall IE7. However, if you installed IE7 and
then installed XP SP3 you can no longer uninstall IE7 and these
folders can also be deleted.

Note: The recommended procedure before installing XP SP3 is to
uninstall IE7 or IE8, then install XP SP3. Now you still have the ability to
install and uninstall IE7 or IE8.

Next if you still need more space:
Remove the files used to uninstall updates to Windows
These folders and associated files in these folders are safe to remove,
however once deleted you will no longer be able to un-install a patch or
update that was associated with the deleted folder/files.
I would keep the most recent set (last two months just in case) of folders
and delete the older updates.
As a safety net I burned these folders to a CD before deleting them.
These files are located in the Windows folder and have folder names
like $NtUninstallKBXXXXXX$.
They are hidden folders so enable viewing of hidden files in Windows
Explorer.
Warning: One folder you should not delete is: $hf_mig$
Also See the following web pages on this issue:
http://www.pagestart.com/ntuninstall.html
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

You can reduce the size of the Internet Explorer Disk Cache:
How and Why to Clear Your Cache:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/...learcache.mspx
Just follow the instructions but instead of increasing the size
(as stated in the article) decrease it.

Finally: Check the Recycle Bin one more time and empty it
if necessary as some of those files you deleted in the steps
mentioned above may find there way into the recycle bin.

If you have more than one partition or drive then:
How to Change the Default Location of Mail and News Folders:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307971/en-us

Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder
(Example: move it to the D drive)
See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310147
Also:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_..._documents.htm

How to move the Spool folder in Windows XP

On Sunday, August 02, 2009 1:47 PM
Shenan Stanley wrote:

Re: WinXP recent updates don't succeed...eats up disk space
Himanshu Gohel wrote:
<snipped>

Clear up as much space as possible first - using these instructions (and by
moving as much stuff as you can out of your "My Documents" and "Desktop" <-
the usual culprits --> to some external storage):

If you are comfortable with the stability of your system, you can delete the
uninstall files for the patches that Windows XP has installed...
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
( Particularly of interest here - #4 )
( Alternative: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm )

You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but your
latest restore point and cleanup even more "loose files"..

How to use Disk Cleanup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

You can turn off hibernation if it is on and you do not use it..

When you hibernate your computer, Windows saves the contents of the system's
memory to the hiberfil.sys file. As a result, the size of the hiberfil.sys
file will always equal the amount of physical memory in your system. If you
do not use the hibernate feature and want to recapture the space that Windows
uses for the hiberfil.sys file, perform the following steps:

- Start the Control Panel Power Options applet (go to Start, Settings,
Control Panel, and click Power Options).
- Select the Hibernate tab, clear the "Enable hibernation" check box, then
click OK; although you might think otherwise, selecting Never under the
"System hibernates" option on the Power Schemes tab does not delete the
hiberfil.sys file.
- Windows will remove the "System hibernates" option from the Power Schemes
tab and delete the hiberfil.sys file.

You can control how much space your System Restore can use...

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. Click the System Restore tab.
3. Highlight one of your drives (or C: if you only have one) and click on
the "Settings" button.
4. Change the percentage of disk space you wish to allow.. I suggest moving
the slider until you have just about 1GB (1024MB or close to that...)
5. Click OK.. Then Click OK again.

You can control how much space your Temporary Internet Files can utilize...

Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a
size between 64MB and 128MB..

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the
following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to
something between 64MB and 128MB. (It may be MUCH larger right
now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents"
(the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10
minutes or more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet
Explorer.

You can use an application that scans your system for log files and
temporary files and use that to get rid of those:

Ccleaner (Free!)
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Other ways to free up space..

On Sunday, August 02, 2009 2:31 PM
H Gohel wrote:

Re: WinXP recent updates don't succeed...eats up disk space
Hello JS & Shenan:

Thanks for the detailed disk clean-up options. Although I did not
specify in my post, I have done almost everything you recommended
(details below). One thing I had not done yet, is remove the
$NtUninstallKBXXXXXX$ folders from the Windows directory. That freed up
another 300MBGB of disk space.

More importantly, I downloaded JDiskReport that you suggested, and I
liked the Top-50 largest files report that it gave me. It validated my
suspicion that Windows update is to blame for the recent disk-full
episodes. In particular this what I found:

1. Two copies of a 455MB patch(?) dated Dec 7, 2006. Files are named
"ba08cb.msp" and "1770e67.msp" in C:\Windows\Installer. Are these safe
to delete? This is a total of 900MB!

2. FOUR copies of the recent Visual Studio 2005 patch 282MB (remember
this is the one that kept failing installation): One in
C:\Windows\Temp\ZNWAD, C:\Windows\Temp\ZNW5A, and two in
C:\Windows\Installer, named "40064d.msp" and "139aebc.msp" This is a
total of 1.05GB!

3. Two *more* copies of the VS2005 patch, but of a different size, 249MB
each, in C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\Install and
C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download. Total is 500MB. Again, are
these safe to delete?

4. "14831f.msp" 219MB from Oct 14, 2007 in C:\Windows\Installer.

All these together would free up about 2.75GB of disk space on my C
driver. So are these files safe to delete and then try the
installations again?


About the other things you suggested:

* Disk clean runs weekly on my PC and except for compressing old files,
I allow it to clean up mostly everything else

* Explorer is set to show all hidden files & folders and there are no
particularly large or unexpected files that I can see.

* Recycle bin is almost always empty.

* My system is WinXP SP2, so SP3 suggestion not yet applicable

* System Restore is completely turned off on all disks

* All users' IE & Firefox cache sizes are very limited - almost the
first thing I do when I set up a new account on the system

* Office MSO cache was just recently deleted by my, which freed up about
300MB or so.

Thanks,

Himanshu

On Sunday, August 02, 2009 2:46 PM
Shenan Stanley wrote:

Re: WinXP recent updates don't succeed...eats up disk space
<snip>

H Gohel wrote:

First - I would do this:
Download/install this...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN --> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.

(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)

Then - check again for the files you found with JDiskReport and the answers
are below (the safest way of getting rid of the garbage is above - if still
there after doing the above, take the following answers.)

1) Yes - delete away.
2) Yes - delete away.
3) Yes - delete away.
4) Yes - delete away.

I would still follow my advice about installing the latest Windows Installer
and Windows Update as well as resetting your Windows Update components
afterwards. Then - after doing all that - with the associated reboots -
visit the web page version of Windows Updates and do a customer
installation.

SP3 suggestion is to *install* SP3. ;-)

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

On Sunday, August 02, 2009 4:48 PM
Himanshu Gohel wrote:

Re: WinXP recent updates don't succeed...eats up disk space
Shenan Stanley wrote:
( list of duplicate msp files deleted )


Shenan,

Thanks for the suggestion - I followed your instructions and just
running that cleaned up the disk and freed up almost 2Gb on the drive.


So I now have Windows installer 4.5, and because of the fiasco with the
automatic updates, last two-three days I have been going to the web page &
attempting updates. It has not prompted me to download anything new, so
I assume I do have the latest Windows update.

What did all this get me?

Armed with 2.21Gb of free space, I first installed "Security Update for
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (KB971090)" via the web
page. Free space at one point went down to 0.85Gb, then completed
install, and showed 1.22Gb. After a reboot it showed 1.47Gb free space.
This patch apparently chewed up 800MB of disk space.

Next I installed Office 2007 SP2 using a downloaded exe I had from MSDN.
During installation free space went way down to 263MB at one point,
then after install it came back up to 1.2Gb, and after reboot it is
showing 1.16Gb down from the previous reboot at 1.47Gb. So Office SP2
chewed up about 400MB of disk space.

Lesson learned - with major patches/service packs like this, 2Gb seems
like the minimum free-space requirement although with automatic updates
one would not find that out.


I cannot afford to kill this machine like SP3 did with another PC I had
so I'd like to leave well-enough alone! Topic for another thread though.

Thanks JS and Shenan for your help.

--
Himanshu

On Sunday, August 02, 2009 5:19 PM
PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

Why isn't WinXP SP3 installed yet?
Why is not WinXP SP3 installed yet?

About IE7 & IE8 and Windows XP Service Pack 3
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/200...and-xpsp3.aspx


I suppose that might answer my question:

The hard disk space requirements for WinXP SP3
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947311

You receive error messages if there is insufficient free disk space on the
system drive to install the Windows XP SP3
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956894

How to reclaim disk space on a Windows XP-based computer that has a hard
disk capacity of 4 GB or less
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956324

Error message when you try to install Windows XP SP3: "You do not have
enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to archive the uninstall files"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949375

Before installing SP3, you might want to see
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm


The reference to Regulation in the log suggests otherwise. See...

Updates are not downloaded or the "Automatic Updates" icon does not display
the status of downloads when you enable the Automatic Updates service
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/910340

You may be able install the updates via Windows/Microsoft Update website
(WinXP): Understand that by doing so, you are pushing all other Automatic
Updates users further back in the queue (which may explain, at least in
part, why Automatic Updates has not brought them in for you yet).

If you have any problem installing KB971090, see the "How to obtain help"
section of http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971090
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002


Himanshu Gohel wrote:

On Sunday, August 02, 2009 6:14 PM
Himanshu Gohel wrote:

My issue has been resolved, and the cause was clearly low disk space.
My issue has been resolved, and the cause was clearly low disk space.
I have posted that in a separate thread, but I'd like to thank you for
your suggestions and am providing some responses below:

PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

I alluded to this in my other post, but at this point I think this is not
the cause of the disk-full and security patches not being applied
successfully, so I will leave it for later.


I do not believe that WinXP SP3 is being applied - I have asked Windows
Update to not apply SP3 and not remind me about it. The three sets that
were being applied were the .NET framework security update, the VS2005
SP1 security update and Office 2007 SP2.

The VS2005 SP1 security patch was the most troublesome. In the end my
guesstimate says this required about 1.5Gb of free disk space to
install, and 800Mb of permanent disk space, which was was not available
when the patch installation was failing.


I am not sure I completely understand this KB, but I believe the
references to regulation in my windows update log are outside the
start/end markers for the VS2005 security update patch. Specifically
for the VS2005 update failure the error code was:

2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Command line
install completed. Return code = 0x00000663, Result = Failed, Reboot
required = false
2009-08-02 12:36:50:812 592 f80 Handler : WARNING: Exit code = 0x8024200B
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :::::::::
2009-08-02 12:36:50:843 592 f80 Handler :: END :: Handler: Command
Line Install


This failed too, until I cleared 2.2Gb of disk space on the C drive and
then the patch was installed.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

--
Himanshu

On Sunday, August 02, 2009 7:11 PM
PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

Re: WinXP recent updates don't succeed...eats up disk space
You may wish to reconsider: If SP3 is not installed by early next year, the
SP2 computer will not be offered any further critical security updates.
Soon after that, you will not even be able to access/use Windows Update website
without SP3 installed.

If SP3 is installed, critical security updates will continue into 2014.

WinXP SP3 - Read all prerequisites for a successful installation
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldron...tallation.aspx

Back on-topic...


While disk space may have been an issue, the 0x8024200B error in the section
of the log you posted was most definitely pointing to the "Update is not
allowed to download due to regulation" reference just below (and 30
milliseconds after) it.


Himanshu Gohel wrote:
<paste>

On Sunday, August 02, 2009 8:12 PM
JS wrote:

You're welcome, sorry I could notreply back sooner but had 3 power
You're welcome, sorry I could not
reply back sooner but had 3 power outages
today, all at unexpected times!

Now as to why there are there are so many files in C:\Windows\Installer:
You will find a good number of these .MSI files belong to software such as
Java, AV Software, Norton Ghost, Microsoft's .NET Framework, File downloaded
during a Windows Update session and so on. It would appear that some
software will clean up after itself and deletes it is file that were in the
C:\Windows\Installer folder. A failed Windows Update will create and leave
folders and files behind each time you try to install the update and
therefore you could end up with a lot of files taking up disk space.

There also could be a lot of orphaned (no longer needed) files.
Using the msizap command (msizap g) removes any cached Windows Installer
data files that have been orphaned.

--
JS
http://www.pagestart.com


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SharePoint - Managing Unused or Archive sites automatically
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorials...aging-unu.aspx

Deadheads from Egghead are coming out of the woodwork lately as seen here with the
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--
Peter

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