Clean up all those hotfixes
Every month a batch of new updates, fixes, and patches descends on us from Microsoft. Most come with uninstall files (a good idea) and place an uninstall entry in the “Add/Remove Programs” section of Control Panel. After a while, there may be many dozens or even hundreds of these. If you look in your Windows folder, you’ll probably see a lot of uninstall files; their names begin with the dollar sign. If you have a patch on your system for a month or two and you don’t notice any problem from it, you can delete its uninstall files. I have had recourse to use the uninstall files only two or three times in the last few years and I knew I had a problem very soon after a patch was installed. Of course, I don’t use automatic updating. I wait a few days after the monthly hotfixes and check if there are any problems being reported on the Internet about any of the latest downloads, a practice that I recommend.
In any event, there is no need to let the uninstall files pile up month after month. After a reasonable wait of several months, they can go. An easy way to clean up is to use a free program from Doug Knox. It will clean up the “Add/Remove Programs” section of the Control Panel as well as deleting the backup files. You can read about the program and download it at this link (for Windows XP).
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