Blex's
Simple Seven-Step Guide to Deleting the Useless Foreign Language Files
in the Windows 7 C:\Windows Directory and Sub-Directories
Maybe I'm just too OCD, but ever
since owning my l33t Packard Bell computer
back in 1993 I've always hated having useless files and programs on my
hard drive. Weeks after getting my first computer, my friend told me
that in order for the game Star Wars X-Wing to run I needed to format
the hard drive. I knew I formatted floppy disks before but I didn't
actually know what that meant! So, in order to play the game, I got
home from school one day and typed a command at a DOS prompt that would
forever change my life: FORMAT C: !!! Once the hard drive was erased
and I saw no Windows 3.11 pop up, I knew I was in trouble! So I called
my friend for the first time and asked him what happened. He explained
that the format command erased everything on the computer. Oh no! So I
asked for his help in getting everything back and eventually I got
everything restored. As a result of typing FORMAT C: I learned
everything and anything about DOS and how computers run. At the same
time, my friend became one of my best friends all throughout high
school
and because his dad (who was previously my Little League baseball
coach) had season Packers tickets, I ended up going with him to tons of
games until around 1998 when my friend moved to San Diego where he
still resides today.
Alright, enough story telling. What I learned from formatting my hard
drive when I was 14 years old was that the default CRAP that companies
have installed on new computers slow it down, take up unnecessary disk
space, and (like so many laptops, desktops, cell phones, tablets, and
electronic devices today) unbeknownst to innocent and less
computer-savvy people, leave them forever stuck with a bloated system.
Once I learned how to master the format command I learned that I
CONTROL my computers. After upgrading to a Hewlett Packard desktop and
using that for years I learned how to build my own computer and put
ONLY what I want on it. Although desktop PCs are dwindling in sales, I
recommend building or buying a bare-bones PC.
Nowadays, when people get a new store-bought computer or make their own
and install a fresh copy of Windows, what most people don't know is
that when the OS and the plethora of services files are done
installing, anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 USELESS files are left on
the hard drive. Most of the files are VERY small in size and
perpetually throughout the hard drive's life, the "arm" that reads the
data on it the drive goes back and forth constantly. If I was a hard
drive, I would get tired of reading all these tiny insignificant files.
So what are these tiny files? FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILES! As if everybody
constantly is learning foreign languages and switches back and forth
between Chinese and English on their PCs! Microsoft does give people
the option to download and install "language packs" when first running
a service pack update. But, I would imaging most people don't click the
details button to unselect the option to download and install because
they just want to feel protected from the evildoers out there who may
exploit a non-service-pack-updated system! Even when NOT selecting to
download the language files, tens of thousands of the tiny files REMAIN
on the hard drive taking up useless space that exhausts hard drives and
potentially leads to a loss of data.
Because Microsoft does not give users the option to perform a
mass-delete of all the non-English files in the Windows folder, I told
myself that next time I format and reinstall Windows, when the
insurmountable amount of foreign language files are done being tossed
on the hard drive, why not make a web page showing other people how to
remove the files !!! Doing so, would also reminding me where and how
many files actually exist that can be safely
deleted. What is unique about this page is that it's ORIGINAL because I
found NO OTHER GUIDE like this that explains how to remove the foreign
language files!
Here are the
simple 7 steps:
Some notes before I get started:
I completed this guide on an AMD 64-bit
system. Obviously, Intel based
systems will have the same foreign language files but the first part of
the folder and file names will not start with or contain the letters
AMD64. Also, if you are NOT confident doing this, just leave this page.
Hard
drives (other than solid-state ones) are so huge now that not deleting
the files won't present a problem. But, if you're anal about useless
crap being on your hard drive (like I am) continue on.
1: Before going on the deleting spree, you MUST download and install
TWO COMPLETELY FREE programs Explorer++
and Unlocker.
2: Once installed, run Explorer++, use the details view method, and
(using this folder as an example, you are free to start in the root
directory) navigate to the
C:\Windows\winsxs directory (looked upon by many as the most fearful
folder to mess with in the Windows directory).
3: Click Tools and then Search in the menu bar (wow, I devoted an
entire step to two clicks).
4: Almost all useless non-English files contain a two-character letter
combination. To locate the useless foreign language files, I use the
two-letter combination which hunts down all the Chinese files
and consequently brings you to your starting point. Therefore, in the
filename field type in (WITH the
*s included) *zh* and click search.
5: You will get a list of folders and files in the search results.
Right-click on one of the lines and then left-click and select the Open
Folder Location option. You will then see a gigantic list of folders
containing the same folder name but with these different charactersat
the end:
ar-SA, bg-BG, cs-CZ, da-DK, de-DE,
el-GR, en-US,
es-ES, et-EE, fi-FI, fr-FR, he-IL, hr-HR, hu-HU, it-IT, ja-JP, ko-KR,
lt-LT, lv-LV, nb-NO, nl-NL, pl-PL, pt-BR, pt-PT, ro-RO, ru-RU, sk-SK,
sl-SI,
sr-Latn-CS, sv-SE, th-TH, tr-TR, uk-UA, zh-CN, zh-HK, zh-TW
6: Highlight all of the folders and/or files but be certain to
UNSELECT the ones containing the characters EN and/or EN-US. Then right
click on one of the selected
folders, left-click Unlocker, then select the delete option.
7: Repeat over and over again until all the folders and files
are gone. Watch as the useless files and folders are deleted off the
hard
drive !!!
8: Optional, contact me to send
me generous donations.
Here are the
folders and all sub-folders therein that contain the language files
safe to delete.
C:\Boot
C:\Windows\BitLockerDiscoveryVolumeContents
C:\Windows\Boot
C:\Windows\servicing\Packages
C:\Windows\System32
C:\Windows\SysWOW64
C:\Windows\winsxs
C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download
There is no need to delete the files
individually in this directly.
The entire folder is safe to delete. Why? It only contains the files
downloaded when Microsoft Updates are downloaded.
Useless! How often do
you need to uninstall a service pack? Never! Keep the folder
itself but select all the folders and files in there and delete them
all. After a
format, SP1 update, and all Windows updates downloaded, the total size
and file count I had (it will vary in size depending on what options
you select when installing windows) was 80,573 files totalling
1,535,490,111 bytes !!! DELETE !!!
KNOW ANYMORE USELESS FOLDERS? CONTACT ME AND LET ME KNOW AND I'LL
ADD THEM AND MAKE YOU FAMOUS BY GIVING YOU CREDIT ON THIS PAGE !!!