SP2 is TOO BIG TO DOWNLOAD -- where can I save space?

Tech-Archive recommends: Fix windows errors by optimizing your registry

From: Frank D. Nicodem, Jr. (Mail_at_FrankNicodem.com)
Date: 08/24/04 

Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 12:58:49 -0400

My automatic download of SP2 started this morning -- and completely wiped
out the 600MB of free space I had left on my C: drive! I was rather
started, since the only information I had from the Microsoft Web site was
that this was a 233MB download. However, after some searching around the
Microsoft site this morning, I found the following statement:
What to Expect
Hard disk space: You need at least 1.8 gigabytes (GB) of free space on your
hard disk.

Say *WHAT*??? 1.8GB???? What the *heck* is in this thing, anyway? I don't
HAVE 1.8GB of free space left. So that brings up three questions:

1) Is there any way to do this update "in steps", so that it doesn't require
all that space at once?
2) Is there any way to use another drive/partition for this download, rather
than C:?
3) What can I "clean up", that would give me more space? How many of these
files (and files from past updates) are "temporary", and are just saved on
C: for possible future reference?

Here are examples of directories that have *tons* of files, and take up huge
amounts of space. I'm wondering what they are, and if they can be removed.
(I've had my XP system for two years, and have been doing regular updates
that entire time. I suspect that's why I have do much "lying around"...)

C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution -- 6 folders, over 650MB of space!! (and
this is where the SP2 download is currently downloading, it seems)
C:\Windows\Installer -- 193 folders, almost 200MB
C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\I386 -- over 1100 files, 260MB
C:\Windows\$NtUninstall* -- 56 folders, mostly small but some are many MB
C:\Windows\Downloaded Installations -- 3 folders, over 40MB

Are there any other areas I should look into? How about my
C:\Windows\System32 folder? Just in that folder alone there are almost 3000
files, totalling almost 500MB!!! Is there any way to "clean out" ones that
aren't needed any more?

I believe that there are a LOT of files that have accumulated over two
years -- and ones which simply aren't needed. I've always done all of the
"normal" maintenance to keep my drives clean, but now I apparently need some
*significant* help. ALL SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank Nicodem
Mail@FrankNicodem.com

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