I have in excess of 50 folders within the \Windows directory of my laptop. Since I bought the laptop used, I do not have ANY documentation that would tell me what any of these folders are, and looking at the contents of the same does not help me identify them, particlarly since there were a consider number of programs on the laptop that I have no idea, this being my first XP computer (as I understood the programs I was using with my Win98 machines WOULD NOT RUN in XP, and most of them not only are no longer being actively supported or developed, but either have no XP equivalents, or the same would be too closely given the frequently with which I would likely use them) if they were installed either by Windows, Compaq (the brand name of the laptop), or the previous owner(s). Is there a way, other than trial and error, to identify if removing any of these folders would disable a program still on the computer and if so, to identify what program it would disable?

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I believe these are the rollback/install files for windows updates that are installed on the PC

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Only by an extensive education - formal or informal.

You aren't going to pick this up in a forum without weeks of interrogation, but a 
good assumption would be that everything in the Windows folder is needed. On a statistical 
basis this is very close to the truth.

There aren't any files that are only "fairly needed". When Windows needs them it 
needs them and it will hiccup without them.

The way you are going you are heading for a big disaster - there are many files which, 
if deleted, will prevent your PC from booting then you'll be unable to use it at 
all.

If its running fine I would put your own data in a distinct place (My Documents would 
be good) and forget about the rest unless you are tight on disk space.

BTW I have a fairly minimal XP installation on a laptop and in the Windows Folder 
it has 1,711 sub-folders and 17,608 files. You would need to work for Microsoft to 
know what they all are - many are undocumented as there is nothing a  user can usefully 
do with them.

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You may be correct that I cannot safely remove files or folders I cannot readily identify, but your comments do not truly speak to what I ultimately want to accomplish--simplifying the structure of my XP hard drive. The issue is not space, but: 1)Why have something that will not be used? 2)Is the "status quo" the result of intentional design or lack of design? Though I risk "encroaching" on another question I have posted to the forum, an illustration of what I mean of the latter question is 4 different folders, thus 4 different Start Menus, within my Documents and Settings directory, with 3 of them significantly "slimmer" than the 4th. As they are not all identical, it would seem possible to remove not just those 3 Start Menus, but also their entire folders without adversely impacting Windows. Turning to the second question, there were quite a few programs released in conjunction with Windows 2000 that claimed Internet Explorer was required for them to work properly, if at all. WRONG! They only required the presence of a single .dll file that Windows installed in its IE subdirectory. They would work so long as first, that dll was installed somewhere on the computer, and second, the program could be configured to look for that file wherever it might be located rather than only in the IE subdirectory. Of course, many software designers and programmers were either too LAZY or too intimidated by Microsoft (fear of either licensing requirements or being denied access to critic code needed to design their programs) to add that functionality to their programs. In Windows98 I was able to remove, without the "promised" instability, a number of components that were allegedly critical to Windows, to wit, Outlook Express, Office and Internet Explorer. I had no need for any of them as I used Netscape for the both my e-mail and web browsing, though I eventually switched to Opera for the latter, and PageMaker for my word-processing (admittedly a bit of over-kill, but I started using desktop publishers, first a program called Avagio, then PageMaker, back in the days of DOS, finding that with my typing speed, 85wpm, it was faster to input text directly into a dtp rather than importing the text from a wp program). Granted, I may have lost some "functionality", but that functionality was also features I did not, and would not ever, use. As most of the software I use on a regular basis was designed specifically for Windows98, and those that were not nevertheless ran in Windows98, I still consider Windows98 to be my primary OS--this XP laptop is a "failsafe" as I have begun to have hardware issues with my Windows98 machines that cannot be resolved simply by buying new hardware as increasingly such hardware does not have Windows98 drivers, and finding the specific used equipment I need can be time-consuming, but those hardware issues are likely to force me, in time, to abandon it. The question is what will replace it? Working with more recent versions of Windows at both libraries and in clients' homes/offices, I have become sufficiently familiar with them to see more reasons to dislike them than see them as "improvement" over Windows98. Then there is the matter of 16 bit programs, of which I use quite a few, not just not running in the newest versions of Windows, but specific programs I use not having XP or Vista compatible equivalents. The idea of switching to Apple has never appealed to me because while I could run my those programs on emulators, I would have to purchase not only the OS, but also the hardware. With Linux I would not need to buy any new hardware, but the ability to run my Windows programs in an emulator is more limited than with Apple, though largely due to my knowing so little about Linux programming. I am, however, working to address that issue. Perhaps by these remarks I risk alienating the very people whose help I need in addressing my complaints with WindowsXP, but if so, it won't be the first time someone has taken offense at my "calling the kettle black".

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Of course, the PC mfgrs. don't provide documentation on what everything in Windows 
dir is for. There's plenty of documentation on the net on slimming down XP, etc., 
if you bother to take the time. 

You can't just eliminate the profile directories under Docs & Settings, because "you" 
don't use them. Some software installations use them. And, it'd be foolish to use 
trial and error on the Windows directory. 

Each of the folders in this directory can safely be deleted: $NtUninstall KBxxxxxx$ 
as long as you know you won't be Uninstalling any of those Hotfixes/updates. As I 
said a search engine will lead you to other suggestions.

As for the pre-installed junk mfgrs. put on a system, most of that can go but be 
sure you know. For example, on an HP system there'll be loads of HP related software 
showing in Add/Remove. For the trialware junk installed, PCDecrapifier will clear 
out a lot of it.

As for your ranting in your most recent post, nobody wants to hear it. I seriously 
doubt anyone will be interested enough to scroll through that unformatted mess. Have 
a look.. would you want to take the time to read it? 

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When you post, especially long ones, please tick "Check this box to preserve your 
spacing" :-)

It already is simple:

1. You keep your own files under My Documents

2. Leave the rest alone - it was not designed for direct user interaction.

We get stuck into "the rest" on this forum only when we have to - ie when things 
go wrong - but if it ain't broke don't fix it, that's just making trouble.

This is MUCH simpler than earlier versions of Windows where user files and system 
files could easily all be jumbled together.

It is all too easy to turn your PC into a doorstop, and it is you who are making 
things complicated. Can you imagine posting on an automobile forum "what nuts and 
bolts can I remove" when you find two that join the same things together ? Maybe 
your car would run on slightly fewer wheel-nuts ?

When it IS a good idea for users to delve into XP internals, Microsoft have done 
a fairly good job in providing tools to do so which insulate us all from casual mistakes 
- Control Panel, Help and Support, Policy Editors, Administrative tools etc etc etc. 
And there are plenty of 3rd party tools as well - CCleaner, WinPatrol etc etc etc.

I have not taken offence at your post, and hope you won't take offence at mine: my 
advice is straightforward:

1. Use My Documents the way it was meant to be used

2. Leave the Windows directory files severely alone, interacting with them (when 
you need to) through the tools provided.

3. Don't attempt to "learn Windows internals" by either trial-and-error or by interrogating 
a forum - that way lies disaster.

4. Get a good book on Windows and have a careful read, or attend classes. Then you 
can use the Internet to fill in gaps and pursue specific points the book may not 
cover.

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Thanks for your suggestion about spacing. None of my efforts to preserve the paragraphs 
would work, but then I was presuming the same protocols as every other "web-mail" 
site I had used in the past followed.

I did not take offense at your remarks--I am old enough to recognize the difference 
between criticize and critique.

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As I stated in my reply to the most recent posting by MichaelM, my "long-windedness" 
was the result, at least in part, of expecting behavior consistent with other sites 
which oblige me to use their "protocols" rather than my own e-mail client to post 
messages. He pointed out a solution to the same and I am now using it.

You suggest that I am "lazy" in asking for information in this forum rather than 
looking for it on the web. My experience in searching for items on the web is that 
too often the "results" do not speak to what I am trying to accomplish.

I know that part of the problem could be the terminology used. I have been involved 
with publishing for almost 40 years, and when I first started to use PageMaker, I 
was puzzled that I could not find how it did screening. It was not until I was asked 
to do a review of a third-party book on PageMaker for the Association of Professional 
Genealogists that I discovered why. What the industry calls "screening", PageMaker 
calls "fill".

I also have found that internet search engines can often yield hits that are not 
germane even when  "exact match" is stipulated, or fail to turn up the specific "hit" 
needed that can show up when using less specific criteria, with making that determination 
requiring looking at multiple sites one by one in the former instances and experimenting 
with the search criteria in the other. Surely there has got to be a better way?

Looking at all those $NtUninstall folders, I could find NOTHING that identified the 
specific program associated with ANY of them. I got nowhere searching the internet 
on $NtUninstall... itself, so am I using the wrong perimeters, the wrong engine(s), 
or does the information simply not exist?

From your comments, it is not clear if PCDecrapifier will provide me with any help 
on those specific folders, but I will certainly give it a try.

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You're making this sound so complicated. Anyway, I explained what those $NtUninstall 
folders are related to, and I told you what PC Decrapifier is for.

Below are a few good XP resources with various tips, tricks and fixes: 
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/index.html

The Elder Geek on Windows XP

Kellys Korner-XP Troubleshooting

Petri.co.il

TweakXP
 

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