these take rougly ~270 MB

and me having small hard drive, I hate to waste it on useless things

so do these have any significance or I can just delete them ?

The folder c:\windows\installer store all msi packages you installed on your computer and are needed if you need modify or remove an application. You shouldn't remove them unless you spend the necessary time to remove also the related registry entries (and you might encounter problems with some applications that install feature on demand).

In case you delete them I want you to know you can uninstall the program if you still have the original msi installer, just right click it and choose uninstall

that bites

I thought by now Windoze keeps install settings and file locations in ini file(s)

btw thanks for answers

Edited September 28, 201114 yr by vinifera

that bites

I thought by now Windoze keeps install settings and file locations in ini file(s)

btw thanks for answers

It used to, back in the pre-Win9x days (<=Win 3.x), but with the advent of the registry and it's APIs and the Microsoft Installer engine, it didn't make sense to use something less powerful, harder to audit, and less secure than the registry for storing things like that. Also, the .MSI files are kept around in the event the application needs to be repaired (or needs to repair itself) so that the app can be repaired, reinstalled, or uninstalled without having the original source media available.

270MB isn't really all that much space, in the long run, but deleting those files is safe. Just be aware that anything that triggers the MSI engine to repair or remove an installed application that was installed via the MSI will prompt for the installation media location and installation files as necessary.

well for repair it has sense to junk pile backup msi's

but for uninstall only purpose either cfg or ini files to me are more logical

you'd had maybe 5 MB big file with a list

Hm, in this simple case i (wouldt) burn in it -> on a Backup&Collect DVD/CD-RW (Multisession).

BTW: since years my @1st-Option : Unsure? -> write it down eg. back it up... for sometime later ...^^

Edited September 29, 201114 yr by e-t-c

This might interest you http://www.jkwebtalks.com/2011/10/cleanup-windows-installer-unused-files.html