The Windows "Installer" Folder and Hard Drive Space

By now, many of you have probably heard of the SSD - the Solid State Drive. This piece of hardware is many times faster than the traditional mechanical hard drive found in most computers, however it is usually significantly more expensive. So, if you have a fairly expensive computer, it may run off of an SSD with the caveat of  being significantly smaller than the traditional drive. This reintroduces the old 90's problem of conserving hard drive space.

Most PC enthusiasts with a Desktop computer will use a small SSD to store their OS and then store all their data on a larger, inexpensive traditional mechanical drive. But over time, various temporary files will begin to fill up your little SSD. These files build up through the course of simply using the computer, whether it be through the course of installing programs to various Windows Updates to program patches to MS Office upgrades. Through various means, you can find a folder within Windows called the "INSTALLER" folder - where a good deal of this stuff is stored. The problem is that a good deal of the stuff in this folder can be referred to as "Orphaned" files - files and folders which are no longer required but remain on the drive regardless, causing this folder to grow to over 15, 20, even 30GB.

Unfortunately, it gets worse - this folder cant just be deleted outright. A good deal of the files and folders within the Installer folder are still used by the system. So, if you are looking to save drive space, save the Installer folder for last. Before risking damage to your system, let me revisit some classic steps to cleaning up your drive, then, if your drive is still pretty full, we can look at the Installer folder again. I have tools that can find the files and folders which are safe to delete, and if that doesnt work, i always provide other options.

Give me a call at 617-396-7044 or shoot me an email at Help@MooreITHelp.com